TEMPERENCE (OH)
Toledo Blade
TEMPERANCE — A well-known local Roman Catholic pastor who stepped down in 2002 following allegations of child sexual abuse was removed from the ecclesiastical ministry by the Vatican earlier this month.
The Rev. Alfred Miller, known as “Father Al” at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church on Lewis Avenue in Temperance from 1982 to 2002, has been barred from public ministry after an investigation supported by the Vatican, the Catholic Church’s highest authority.
Ned McGrath, communications director for the Archdiocese of Detroit, noted that Father Miller “is still a priest … he has not been laicized,” but he may not present himself as a priest or wear priestly attire in public. He may still celebrate Mass in private.
Father Miller, 67, retired from the church in July, 2002. That day, the Archdiocese of Detroit said Father Miller left because of health reasons, though several days later the archdiocese announced that he had been placed on an administrative leave of absence because of “a credible allegation of sexual misconduct with minors.”