Palm Beach Diocese Responds to Priest Arrest on Child Porn Charges

WBZT
January 7, 2015

http://www.wbzt.com/onair/local-news-wire-55666/palm-beach-diocese-responds-to-priest-13125439

The Diocese of Palm Beach is responding to the arrest of a visiting priest from India. 

The Reverend Jose Palimattom began serving at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach last month.  Investigators say he showed a 14 year old parishioner his cell phone, with about 40 images of nude pre-teen boys, asking for help in deleting the pictures. 

Detectives say the 47 year old priest told them he had been reprimanded by his superiors in India for involvement with a minor.  But the local Diocese says it did a thorough background check and no prior misconduct was revealed.

Here is the official statement from the Diocese of Palm Beach, with regards to this incident:

“The Diocese of Palm Beach is greatly concerned and takes very seriously the charges against Father Jose Palimattom, OFM. Father Palimottom is a priest of the Franciscan Province of St. Thomas the Apostle in India and began serving in December 2014 at Holy Name of Jesus Parish in West Palm Beach, a parish of the Diocese of Palm Beach. Father Palimattom was arrested yesterday on charges of possession of pornography and distributing it to a minor.
Upon learning about the allegations, the Diocese of Palm Beach immediately contacted authorities and cooperated in the investigation conducted by the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office. This cooperation resulted in the arrest of Father Palimattom.

The Diocese of Palm Beach completes a thorough screening of visiting priests and religious before granting them faculties to minister or celebrate sacraments within its diocese. As part of its due diligence, the diocese completed a background screening which also included a screening in India, and received a Certificate of Aptitude from the Minister Provincial in India. During this background process, no prior misconduct was revealed.
Bishop Gerald Barbarito wishes to assure the faithful community that this allegation is being taken very seriously and expresses sincere regret to the family involved and all the faithful hurt by this regrettable matter.
The Diocese of Palm Beach encourages anyone who may have additional information on this or similar matters to contact the Palm Beach Sheriff’s Office at 561 688-3400 and the Chancellor of the Diocese of Palm Beach at 561-775-9500.”