Former Our Lady of Perpetual Help priest had inappropriate relationship with 18-year-old, diocese says

PENNSYLVANIA
The Express-Times

Sunday, March 04, 2012

By Express-Times staff

The Rev. Cletus Onyegbule, 44, who once served at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Bethlehem Township, Pa., was removed from his assignment with a Berks County parish after he acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with a woman that began when she was 18, a spokesman for the Allentown Diocese announced today.

Onyegbule, a native of Nigeria, was serving as assistant pastor at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Sinking Spring. A church official said the matter was reported to the appropriate authorities and the priest is at a treatment facility.

Diocese spokesman Matt Kerr said he would not release specifics about the circumstances “in respect for the parties involved.” He would not say which authorities were alerted about the relationship.

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