RIDGEFIELD (CT)
The News-Times
By Susan Tuz
THE NEWS-TIMES
RIDGEFIELD — Rumors spreading among parishioners of St. Mary's Catholic Church that Fr. Robert Morrissey has been exonerated of sexual abuse charges are not true.
The rumors prompted the church's pastor, Msgr. Laurence Bronkiewicz, and Joseph MacAleer, spokesman for the Bridgeport Catholic Diocese, to issue statements that allegations against the former St. Mary's priest remain under investigation.
"It is untrue that Fr. Morrissey was exonerated of charges," MacAleer said Thursday. "We support the statement Msgr. Bronkiewicz made in the church bulletin."
Morrissey stepped down from his post as pastor at St. Mary's in December 2002 after a man sent a letter to the Diocese of Bridgeport claiming Morrissey and two other priests sexually abused him from 1979 to 1983, when he was between 15 and 19 years old.
The three priests resigned from their positions while the matter was reviewed.