St. Ignatius Priest Removed from Assignment

Reading Eagle
March 4, 2012

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=368991

A priest at St. Ignatius Loyola Roman Catholic Church in Whitfield was removed from his assignment after acknowledging he had an inappropriate relationship with a woman, according to the Diocese of Allentown.

Diocese officials said the relationship between the Rev. Cletus Onyegbule, 44, and the woman began when she was 18 years old.

Bishop John O. Barres announced the dismissal to the parish Saturday during the 5:30 p.m. Mass.

Onyegbule served as an assistant pastor at St. Ignatius since March 2009. He was ordained in 2002 and served at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven and Our Lady at Perpetual Help Church in Bethlehem Township before his assignment at St. Ignatius.

According to a release from Diocese spokesman Matthew Kerr, Diocesan officials reported the matter to the "appropriate authorities" and are cooperating with those authorities.

"We always do that," Kerr said Sunday. "It's not up to us to decide the legality of a situation."

Kerr would not go into specifics about the matter "in respect for the privacy for all the parties involved."

Onyegbule is currently at a treatment facility outside the diocese and is not permitted to function publicly as a priest.

Kerr did not specify what type of facility, but said that it is designed to work with members of the clergy.

No criminal charges have been filed against Onyebule.