OKLAHOMA CITY (OK)
KFOR
August 22, 2018
By Bill Miston
The Archdiocese of Oklahoma City is investigating a report of alleged abuse dating back more than three decades involving a former priest defrocked by the pope in 2011.
Archdiocese officials said Wednesday the Archbishop has ordered an independent investigation of former priest Ben Zoeller, who served in eight parishes in Oklahoma since the 1960s.
According to an archdiocese spokeswoman, a letter August 17 was sent by a former resident reporting abuse at the hands of Zoeller in 1985.
Archbishop Paul Coakley ordered a review of Zoeller’s file, which “found credible allegations of abuse” and ordered an independent investigation, the spokeswoman said.
Zoeller was removed as a priest from the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City in 2002 and defrocked in 2011.
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