By Michael Gannon
Journal News
August 21, 2003

West Harrison - For the second time in less than a month, a cleric at St. Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church has been removed from his duties by the Archdiocese of New York after being accused of sexually abusing a minor almost two decades ago.

Arthur Manzione, a 60-year-old deacon and the archdiocese's associate secretary for education, was removed from his duties at the parish last Tuesday and placed on administrative leave after church officials learned of the allegations, said Joseph Zwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese.

The time and place the alleged abuse occurred - Sacred Heart parish in Newburgh, about 20 years ago - coincide with that of the accusation that led St. Anthony's former pastor, the Rev. Lawrence Inzeo, to be removed from the West Harrison church last month.

The sources of the allegations against the two men, however, are not related, Zwilling said. Specifics of the allegations are not revealed by the archdiocese.

The accusation against Manzione stems from the time when he was a deacon and elementary school principal at Sacred Heart, Zwilling said.