RENO (NV)
KOLO-TV, ABC-8 [Reno NV]
June 23, 2023
By Steve Timko
Published: May. 13, 2023 at 7:25 PM EDT | Updated: Jun. 23, 2023 at 7:29 PM EDT
RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – JUNE 23 UPDATE: A Reno priest scheduled to be transferred to Douglas County following an inappropriate relationship with a parishioner has been put on hold pending a criminal investigation, the Diocese of Reno said.
Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg made the announcement Thursday about Rev. Patrick Klekas.
Mueggenborg said in May that Klekas would return to church duty on July 1 at St. Gall parish in Gardnerville after completing counseling and discernment.
Klekas had served as associate pastor at St. Albert the Great in northwest Reno.
Thursday’s announcement said the parish was cooperating with a criminal investigation and will decide about Klekas’ return to ministry after the investigation.
“As is our policy, we wait until civil authorities have completed their inquiries into allegations; in this case, a complaint recently filed in the same matter with local Reno law enforcement,” the statement said.
ORIGINAL STORY: A Catholic priest suspended from ministry from a northwest Reno church for misconduct will return to serve at a Douglas County church on July 1, Bishop Daniel Mueggenborg of the Diocese of Reno said Saturday.
Father Patrick Klekas had an inappropriate relationship with an adult woman in 2020 while he served as associate pastor at St. Albert the Great Parish, Mueggenborg said in a statement.
Klekas was suspended and the church offered pastoral care and counseling to the woman and her husband, Mueggenborg said.
Klekas has undergone counseling and discernment away from the diocese and completed the program in April, the bishop said.
The parish’s Adult Misconduct Review Board, which is made up of lay professionals, made recommendations and the bishop is following those in assigning Klekas to St. Gall parish in Gardnerville where he will be supervised by Father Mark Hanifan.
“Please know that I take my responsibility to ensure clergy who serve the People of God are fit for ministry very seriously,” Mueggenborg wrote. “We invite anyone who believes he or she has been harmed by misconduct to come forward and receive the help and healing they deserve.”
Copyright 2023 KOLO. All rights reserved.