Vatican Sacks Priest and Former Colleague of Shamed Cardinal Keith O'brien after He Escapes Prosecution for Decades of Sexual Abuse Allegations

By Lindsey Archibald
Daily Record
May 15, 2014

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/vatican-sacks-priest-who-former-3544197

Father Thomas Mullen

THE Vatican has sacked a priest who escaped prosecution for decades of sexual abuse allegations.

In an unprecedented move the Catholic church has removed Father Thomas Mullen from his post despite Crown prosecutors deciding not to proceed with the case because too much time had passed between the alleged offences.

Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh Leo Cushley told parishioners at Our Lady of Lourdes in Dunfermline of the Vatican's decision at the weekend.

In a letter he said: "With the canonical process now completed, I regret to inform you that, in a trial which finished recently in Rome, Father Mullen was found guilty of certain canonical offences.

"As a result he has been dismissed from the clerical state. This means he may no longer function as a priest.

"I know this is a harsh blow for many of you and I share your sense of shame and distress. I also feel for his family and friends who will recall with affection the good he accomplished.

"We ought to remember that this sentiment must be balanced against the gravity of the abuse of minors, something which cannot go unheeded, above all when found in someone who ought to be an unequalled example of goodness."

Mullen, who was a priest at the same parish as Cardinal Keith O'Brien in the 1970s, was arrested in 2011 after two alleged victims came forward and gave statements against him.

One of the men claimed he was abused in his home and in the priest's car as well as during two trips to Germany and the US in the early 1990s.

The 75-year-old's dismissal comes just weeks after the Vatican sent its chief sex crimes investigator to report on the allegations against ­Cardinal O'Brien.

Archbishop Cushley added: "I express the deepest regret of the Archdiocese for what has happened and would ask you to pray for all those whose lives have been affected by the actions of Thomas Mullen."