MINNESOTA
Pioneer Press
By Raya Zimmerman
rzimmerman@pioneerpress.com
POSTED: 06/22/2014
The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis temporarily removed a deacon on Sunday after reopening a previous allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, and also placed restrictions on a priest from a boundary violation.
Archbishop John C. Nienstedt’s decision follows the Clergy Review Board’s investigation into reviewing the files of all clergy that started last fall regarding alleged sexual abuse.
Deacon Joseph Damiani, whose alleged abuse more than 40 years ago happened decades before he was ordained, has consistently denied the allegations, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens said in a statement released Sunday.
Damiani has served as the deacon at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis and on staff at Gichitwaa Kateri Catholic Church in Minneapolis in the Office of Indian Affairs since 2009.
“To my knowledge, we have not received any allegation that Deacon Damiani has sexually abused a minor or engaged in any sexual misconduct during his ministry,” Cozzens said.
When the original allegation was received by the archdiocese, the claim wasn’t substantiated and the matter was closed, Cozzens said. The review board reopened the case to ensure “some key facts are clarified and Deacon Damiani’s suitability for ministry established.”
Any priest or deacon with an accusation of sexual abuse of a minor that is not obviously false must not be in ministry pending a full investigation of the claim, according to the review board’s procedure.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.