Fr. James Kemp Gardiner
In 1997 the Diocese received a report that Gardiner had engaged in unwanted sexual touching with a man who had reached out to him while feeling suicidal. Gardiner admitted to the incident, which occurred in 12/1996. In 2015 a man reported sexual assault by Gardiner and Fr. Ronald Gronowoski numerous times when he was age 17 in the early 1980s. The alleged victim said that the priests paid him to keep quiet. The Diocese deemed the allegations against Gardiner not credible. In 2019 the man said that Gardiner was a life-long friend and that nothing sexual happened between them. Ministry restricted in 1/24 after Bishop Walsh met with the Diocesan Review Board.
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