Catholic priest removed from Bath church amidst sexual misconduct allegations

BATH (PA)
69 News

June 27, 2018

Civil lawsuit filed against Allentown Diocese

The Allentown Diocese has removed a Catholic priest from ministry following allegations that he encouraged a teenage boy to masturbate while being counseled online by the priest.

Florida-based attorney Jeffrey Herman filed a lawsuit in Philadelphia Tuesday against Monsignor Francis Nave, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown and Bishop Alfred A. Schlert in connection to the alleged 2012 incidents.

Nave, who served as pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bath, was removed from ministry on Wednesday after the Diocese said it learned of the allegations.

“The Diocese of Allentown was unaware of this lawsuit or these allegations. As required by our Zero Tolerance Policy, we notified law enforcement (Wednesday). We will remove Msgr. Nave from ministry today, pending the results of the investigation,” according to a statement released by Diocese spokesman Matt Kerr.

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