RICHMOND (VA)
Richmond Times-Dispatch [Richmond, VA]
July 17, 2023
By Eric Kolenich
A retired priest who served at two Richmond-area churches for more than a decade has been accused of child sexual abuse, the Catholic Diocese of Richmond said.
An allegation was made against the Rev. Walter Lewis. The person who made the allegation, whom the diocese did not identify, said the abuse took place in the 1980s at St. Anne Catholic Church in Bristol. Lewis denies the allegation, according to the diocese, which removed him from all public work while the investigation is ongoing. Law enforcement has been contacted, the diocese said.
Bristol is in the Diocese of Richmond, which takes up much of Virginia, south of the Diocese of Arlington in Northern Virginia.
Lewis became a priest in the diocese in 1979. During his service, he was assigned to St. Bridget Church in Richmond and St. Mary in Henrico County. Lewis worked at St. Mary from 1995 to 2009, according to the Catholic Virginian.
He also worked at Holy Spirit in Virginia Beach, St. Andrew in Roanoke, St. John Neumann in Powhatan County and Good Samaritan in Amelia County. Lewis retired from active ministry on July 1, the diocese said.
In 2017, Lewis pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of drunken driving, his second such charge in less than 10 years, according to the Powhatan Local. Lewis, who worked at St. John Neumann at the time, was sentenced to 10 days in jail.
Lewis grew up in Richmond and graduated in 1971 from Cathedral High School, which used to be near the Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, according to The Catholic Virginian.
He also conducted services at the State Farm Correctional Center for about 22 years.
In 2019, the diocese published a list of clergy who were accused of sexual abuse involving a minor. There are roughly 50 names on the list.
The purpose of the list, Bishop Barry C. Knestout said at the time, was to “bring about healing to those who have experienced abuse in the church and heighten awareness of this tragic situation.”