Why No Public Comment from Church on Priest's Removal?

WTOV
December 10, 2014

http://wtov9.com/shared/news/features/top-stories/stories/wtov_why-no-public-comment-church-priests-removal-6765.shtml

Questions have been raised about how Steubenville's Diocese is handling the news have emerged after a local priest was removed from the church. Gary Zalenski is no longer a priest. To find out why, click here That doesn't mean the church is putting him on the street right away. It does, however, mean that the Sacred Heart Parish in Neffs can finally put the controversy behind it. Plenty of people want to know what's happening with Zalenski – and they haven't heard from the Bishop Jeffrey Monforton himself. The only word came via a two-line notification in the diocese newsletter and from a letter from Monforton that was read to parishioners at Sacred Heart. Judy Jones with the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests is among those who believe the Bishop needs to do more. "The Bishop still is not saying to the public why (Zalenski) is removed,” Jones said. “And he is only letting the parishioners very little -- if they get that newspaper. "He needs to do an interview. We urge him to do a public interview about Zalenski. What took so long? Why did it take 7 years to get him defrocked?" The Steubenville Diocese is citing legal reasons for the lack of a public statement from the Bishop so far. For now, the letter to parishioners is the only official word from him. "I take this opportunity to sympathize for what you as a community have been through over these past years,” Monforton wrote. “The matter has finally been concluded." It's concluded for the parish, but not entirely for Zalenski. The church's human resources is working out a time frame to cut off Zalenski's support. So where is Zalenski now? We should point out again that he was never convicted of any crimes. He has remained in the community, and is working locally. We also reached out to Zalenski for his side of things, and we’re still waiting to hear back.