Suspended Priest Ordained in Maine Dies in Texas

By Judy Harrison
Bangor Daily News
August 1, 2012

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/08/01/news/portland/suspended-priest-ordained-in-maine-dies-in-texas/

PORTLAND, Maine — A former Maine priest suspended from the ministry seven years ago after he was arrested for allegedly groping a teenage boy in a Texas movie theater has died, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland announced Wednesday.

Paul Clogan died Sunday in Austin, Texas, at the age of 81.

Clogan worked as a priest in Maine for 18 months before transferring to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin in January 2001.

He was a priest at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church in Horseshoe Falls, Texas, when he was arrested in December 2005 at a movie theater in the nearby town of Marble Falls, according to a previously published report.

Both communities are about 50 miles northwest of Austin.

Clogan was never convicted of indecency with a minor, according the press release issued by the diocese. His 2008 trial in Texas on the charge ended in a mistrial. A second trial was scheduled for March 2009 but never was held, the release said.

Clogan was born in Massachusetts, married and raised his family in Texas. He was an English professor for 35 years before becoming a priest, according to a previously published report. After he was widowed, Clogan was ordained to the priesthood in Maine in 1999 at the age of 68.

He served as chaplain of Eastern Maine Medical Center and St. Joseph Hospital, both in Bangor, for one month after his ordination, according to a previously published report. In August 1999, he was named parish administrator of Holy Name Catholic Church in Machias and St. Michael Mission in Cherryfield, where he served for 14 months.

He retired in May 2004 but continued to serve the Diocese of Austin until he was suspended in 2005, the Maine diocese said in Wednesday's press release.