BOSTON (MA)
Boston Globe
September 13, 2020
By Ainslie Cromar
“He is to live in contemplation of his sins and pray for all of those affected by his conduct.”
A former longtime pastor for a Lynn parish, who had been accused in 2012 of sexually abusing a child, has been found guilty by a Roman Catholic judicial court and sentenced to “a life of Prayer and Penance,” the Archdiocese of Boston announced in a statement Thursday.
Rev. James Gaudreau, former pastor of St. Joseph Parish, has been banned from exercising “any public ministry” or celebrating public mass, the archdiocese said.
“He may not provide spiritual direction, may not wear clerical attire and cannot function in any manner as a priest,” the statement read. “He is to live in contemplation of his sins and pray for all of those affected by his conduct.”
Allegations against Gaudreau, who’s in his 70s, first surfaced in 2012 when the cleric was accused of molesting a child in 2006. Pending an investigation at the time, he was placed on paid administrative leave.
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