LOS ANGELES (CA)
Los Angeles Times
By Teresa Watanabe, Times Staff Writer
The Roman Catholic chaplain at USC has been temporarily removed from his post pending an investigation of allegations involving inappropriate physical conduct with an adult, a Los Angeles Archdiocese spokesman said Monday.
Father William Messenger, the 55-year-old pastor at Our Savior Catholic Center, was placed on administrative leave Friday while USC and the archdiocese conduct an investigation, said archdiocesan spokesman Tod Tamberg. Messenger has served at USC since 1993.
Tamberg declined to offer details about the complainant or the allegation. But other sources said a male USC student brought the complaint.
In a statement read to Our Savior parishioners at weekend Masses, the archdiocese and the USC Office of Religious Life said they had "received a report about a serious violation of ministerial ethics and essential professional boundaries involving inappropriate physical conduct" by Messenger.