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  Westchester Pastors Charged with Sexual Abuse of Minors

By Gary Stern
Journal News (Westchester County, New York)
September 2, 2005

The Vatican has defrocked two more Westchester priests who were accused of sexually abusing minors, as well as a deacon who served as a school official for the Archdiocese of New York, the archdiocese announced yesterday.

The one-time priests were Gennaro Gentile, a former pastor of Holy Name of Mary Church in Croton-on-Hudson, and Lawrence Inzeo, a former pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Church in West Harrison.

Also defrocked was Arthur Manzione, a former deacon and associate secretary for education for the archdiocese. He was also on staff at St. Anthony of Padua Church when he was removed from ministry in August 2003, only weeks after Inzeo was taken out of the parish.

All three men's cases were heard by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the archdiocese announced in the September edition of Catholic New York, its official publication, released yesterday.

Gentile pastored Holy Name of Mary until 2000, even though he was openly accused of abuse while serving there. He was working in a church office dealing with marriage annulments when he was removed from ministry in April 2002.

He was accused of abuse or improper sexual behavior by at least five families or individuals. Among the accusers, two adult men said they fought off sexual attacks by Gentile during the 1970s in Wappingers Falls and Poughkeepsie.

Inzeo and Manzione both were accused of abusing a minor two decades ago, when both were assigned to Sacred Heart Church in Newburgh. The archdiocese has said the allegations against them were not related.

In July, the archdiocese announced that the Vatican had defrocked six former priests accused of abuse: Daniel Calabrese, a former Poughkeepsie priest; David Carson, a former priest at St. Paul's Church in Congers; Kenneth Jesselli, who replaced Gentile at Holy Name of Mary; Ralph LaBelle, a former pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Putnam Lake; Patrick Quigley, a former priest at Immaculate Conception Church in Stony Point; and Francis Stinner, a former priest at St. Joseph's Church in Bronxville.

The Vatican still has not ruled on other open cases, including that of Monsignor Charles Kavanagh, former vicar of development for the archdiocese.

 
 

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