November 17, 2005

Priest cleared of sex charges

SOUTH AFRICA
The Star

November 18, 2005

By Winnie Graham

A foreign Catholic priest has been cleared of sexual abuse charges by both a South African court and the Church.

Father Justin Nnaji, a member of the Society of the Missionaries of St Paul in Abuja, Nigeria, was charged with rape and sexual abuse in the Clocolan (Free State) Magistrate's Court on October 11 last year, refused bail and held in custody for more than five months.

In a statement released by the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference, the Right Reverend Hubert Bucher, the Bishop of Bethlehem, said he was relieved that this tragic episode in the history of his diocese had come to an end.

Posted by kshaw at November 17, 2005 09:36 PM