May 17, 2005

Worcester Diocese strips priest of ministry

WORCESTER (MA)
MaineToday

Associated Press

WORCESTER, Mass. — The Diocese of Worcester said a priest who was sent home from Maine last week has been stripped of his ability to minister, enforcing a decision made by Portland Bishop Richard Malone to remove the Reverend Michael J. Sheridan´s priestly authority.

Meanwhile, Worcester Bishop Robert J. McManus said Monday he is awaiting a full report on Sheridan from Portland.

Sheridan, 56, was returned to Worcester after an alleged incident at a jail in Machias, Maine.

District Attorney Michael Povich of Ellsworth, Maine, told the Telegram & Gazette of Worcester in a telephone interview that he did not want to go into details of the incident, except to say it involved "inappropriate physical interaction" with a female inmate at the jail. Some of the interaction was videotaped by a camera in the jail, he said.

Posted by kshaw at May 17, 2005 07:56 AM