BALTIMORE (MD)
Catholic Review - Archdiocese of Baltimore [Baltimore MD]
October 15, 2023
The Archdiocese of Baltimore has removed Benedictine Father Paschal Morlino as pastor of St. Benedict in Southwest Baltimore and has suspended his faculties to function as a priest following revelations that he entered into a financial settlement with a man who accused him of sexual assault.
According to an Oct. 15 statement by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, the archdiocese and the Benedictines were made aware of the settlement Oct. 12 after The Baltimore Banner inquired for a story it was preparing about the allegations.
The archdiocese immediately conducted an internal investigation and decided within 24 hours to remove the priest’s permission to celebrate Mass or engage in public ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Father Morlino, a longtime and popular pastor of St. Benedict, has returned to his religious community, St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pa.
The archdiocese and the Benedictines intend to conduct further investigation, according to the statement.
“In 2018, an individual filed a complaint with the archdiocese involving Father Morlino, citing multiple concerns,” the statement said. “The complaint did not include any information at all about the issues that led to the settlement. …”
The 2018 complaint included allegations of sexual harassment against Father Morlino involving an adult man separate from the one who entered the settlement.
“However,” the statement said, “at the time of the complaint the man was deceased, and therefore the third-party allegation could not be corroborated.”
According to an Oct. 14 article in The Baltimore Banner, Father Morlino acknowledged he paid $200,000 to the man who accused him of rape, but the priest denied he had assaulted or defrauded him.
Originally from Virginia, Father Morilino left a pre-med program at Belmont Abbey College, a Benedictine institution in Charlotte, N.C., to pursue religious life. He was ordained in 1966 and celebrated his 50th jubilee at St. Benedict in 2016.
In 1971, he founded Adelphoi, a home in Latrobe for troubled boys, that is still active. The priest had been at St. Benedict since 1984, helping to breathe new life into the parish with a host of programs and outreach to the surrounding community. Over his decades in Baltimore, he has served on the boards of numerous community associations, hosted monthly meetings between residents and police, provided help for women in crisis pregnancies and expanded the size of the congregation.
The archdiocese will appoint a new administrator to oversee St. Benedict, owned and operated by the Benedictines.
Anyone with information about inappropriate conduct by Father Morlino or any representative of the church is encouraged to contact the Archdiocese of Baltimore by calling the Ethics Hotline at 1-888-572-8026 or by visiting archbalt.org and clicking on “Report Misconduct” at the top of the page.