NEW JERSEY
The Times of Trenton
Protesters call for Trenton bishop’s resignation over handling of Jackson priest who sent explicit messages
By Brendan McGrath/The Times of Trenton
on October 01, 2013
LAWRENCE — Protesters stood outside the offices of the Catholic Diocese of Trenton this morning to call for the resignation of Bishop David O’Connell for his handling of a priest who exchanged sexually explicit text messages with someone he thought was a 16-year-old boy.
Matthew Riedlinger, who was an assistant pastor at the St. Aloysius Church in Jackson, did not know he was actually communicating with a character created by Catholic University graduate Timothy Schmalz, who said the priest sexually harassed him in the past.
The diocese found out about Riedlinger’s behavior and removed him from his post, but waited more than a year to inform his parish why he had been removed.
Road to Recovery, an organization that assists victims of clergy sexual abuse, held a protest outside of the diocese headquarters in Lawrence this morning.
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