CARMICHAELS (PA)
Observer-Reporter
August 15, 2018
By Mike Jones
A Roman Catholic priest now serving in Greene County said “nothing sexual occurred whatsoever” nearly four decades ago while wrestling with boys when he was a priest at Immaculate Conception Church in Washington.
The Rev. John Bauer forcefully pushed back against allegations of abuse years ago – along with providing alcohol to boys on a road trip to Ohio – as he addressed parishioners at the end of Wednesday morning Mass at St. Hugh Church near Carmichaels, where he is pastor.
“So, yesterday was a slow news day,” Bauer said just before ending the Mass. “If there was one scintilla of doubt of sexual abuse, I would have left the priesthood.”
Bauer was one of 301 men named in state Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s grand jury report released Tuesday that investigators termed as “predator priests,” including 99 in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, where Greene County is located. The report states a man claimed Bauer wrestled with him and other boys at IC’s school wrestling room in the late 1970s or early 1980s, discussed masturbation in front of him and provided alcohol to three students while driving to Columbus, Ohio, for a wrestling tournament.
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