NEW JERSEY
Courier-Post
TRENTON — The leader of the Diocese of Trenton on Thursday suspended a priest at the center of a sexting scandal.
The Rev. Matthew Riedlinger now is barred “from all priestly ministry, including presenting himself as a priest or wearing clerical garb,” the diocese said in a statement. Riedlinger is accused of sexting with a man he reportedly thought was a 16-year-old boy.
Bishop David O’Connell called Riedlinger’s actions a “betrayal of trust and confidence.” In a previous statement, the diocese said Riedlinger had taken an indefinite leave of absence Sept. 23.
A victim-advocacy group, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, has criticized the diocese for waiting a year to tell parishioners why it removed Riedlinger from St. Aloysius Church in Jackson, Ocean County.
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