FLORIDA
JRN
[with video]
By Karl Fortier
NAPLES, Fla. – A Naples priest is on administrative leave after recent allegations of child molestation in his former parish of Dubuque, Iowa.
The incident is alleged to have occurred 30 years ago in 1985.
The priest, Father Leo Riley, was placed on leave from his post at St. Peter the Apostle on Rattlesnake Hammock Road by the Diocese of Venice, which oversees the church.
Frank Kelly, a parishioner at St. Peter who thinks well of Father Riley, wishes he was still on the job.
“That’s all it is, an accusation,” Kelly said. “Everybody’s vulnerable for any little thing you did, and any little thing you might have done in your past that was youth-oriented.”
David Clohessy of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests- or SNAP – says that even though the alleged abuse happened three decades ago, it should still be taken seriously.
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