WOODRIDGE (IL)
Woodridge Reporter
[Why we published this story: A note from the editor]
By Dave Heitz, dheitz@mysuburbanlife.com
Woodridge Reporter
Woodridge, IL —
The Catholic Diocese of Joliet insists it takes the conduct and celibacy of its priests very seriously, a statement that comes days after a longtime pastor resigned amid reports of a 20-year-old public indecency guilty plea the diocese maintains it was unaware of until recent weeks.
The Rev. Gerald Riva resigned as pastor of St. Scholastica Catholic Church in Woodridge this weekend.
The diocese has launched an investigation into Riva’s 1992 arrest and guilty plea to public indecency — a charge stemming from a DuPage County Forest Preserve officer’s report that Riva masturbated over his clothes in front of the officer, then grabbed the male officer’s genitals.
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