CINCINNATI (OH)
Dayton Daily News
By the Dayton Daily News
CINCINNATI | A retired priest and former pastor in Urbana is on administrative leave stemming from a report that he inappropriately touched and engaged in other inappropriate sexual behavior with a minor in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the Archdiocese of Cincinnati said Wednesday.
The leave for Donald E. Shelander, 69, announced by Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, "does not represent a presumption of guilt on the part of the archdiocese.
"In accordance with church law, it is a response to an allegation deemed to have the 'semblance of truth' while further steps are taken," a statement issued by archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco's office said.
The leave — the strongest step a diocesan bishop can take on his own — prohibits Shelander from celebrating sacraments or presenting himself as a priest.
The archdiocese said a man reported that Shelander engaged "in a series of inappropriate activities with him while the complainant was 14 to 18 and Shelander was pastor of St. Mary Parish in Urbana."