March 10, 2005

3 priests suspended on allegations

OHIO
Dayton Daily News

By Tom Beyerlein
Dayton Daily News

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati announced Wednesday that it has suspended three more priests — two of them with strong ties to the Dayton area — after an independent panel found substance in child sexual-abuse allegations against them.

Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk suspended David P. Vincent and Stanley Doerger, both of whom have served Miami Valley parishes, and Michael Paraniuk of Cincinnati after a tribunal decided that allegations involving them merited compensation of victims from a special fund.

Officials said the suspensions don't mean the priests are guilty. The three are the only active priests with plausible accusations against them, the tribunal decided, but all accusations have been reported to law enforcement, the archdiocese said.

"We believe this action is following the letter and the spirit of the very tough church law the U.S. Catholic Bishops approved in 2002," said Dan Andriacco, spokesman for the 19-county archdiocese serving 500,000 Catholics.

Their cases will now go to a review board that will recommend whether Pilarczyk should seek to have them defrocked under the bishops' zero-tolerance policy on child abuse, Andriacco said.

Posted by kshaw at March 10, 2005 01:44 AM