SPRINGFIELD (IL)
Effingham Daily News
SPRINGFIELD — Following an allegation of clerical sexual misconduct with a minor said to have occurred over 30 years ago, a priest of the Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Illinois has temporarily withdrawn from ministry.
Father Robert “Bud” DeGrand, pastor of parishes in Sigel, Neoga, Green Creek and Lillyville, is cooperating with the recommendation of the Diocesan Review Board that he temporarily withdraw from public ministry and from his ecclesiastical residence pending further investigation.
The alleged abuse was said to have occurred in 1980 when Father DeGrand was assigned to Our Saviour Parish in Jacksonville.
“The Springfield diocese takes such allegations very seriously,” said Bishop Thomas John Paprocki. “We have a strict Policy on Sexual Abuse of Minors by Church Personnel that reflects our desire to safeguard the welfare of minors in our parishes, institutions and programs. It also reflects our determination to deal properly and decisively with any allegations of sexual abuse of minors.”
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