CINCINNATI (OH)
WLWT - NBC 5 [Cincinnati OH]
October 13, 2024
By Kurt Knue
A Catholic priest who previously stepped down from his position at a Mason church for his self-described actions in quietly destroying a computer that contained what a police report called “inappropriate content, possibly child porn” is being reassigned.
The Rev. Barry Stechschulte, formerly the pastor of St. Susanna Parish, is being reassigned to be the parochial vicar of seven churches in Mercer County, which is a rural county bordering Indiana and is north of Dayton.
The Archdiocese of Cincinnati said that the appointment will go forward on Oct. 14.
Stechschulte stepped down in July after public outcry from parishioners about his involvement in an incident from 2012, when Stechschulte says he found the content on the computer of another priest.
This is described by a police report obtained by WLWT to have happened while Stechschulte was a priest at Holy Rosary in St. Mary’s, Ohio.
According to the report, Stechschulte then instructed a deacon to destroy the computer with a blow torch, which the deacon later did.
However, Stechschulte didn’t tell police about this incident until 2018, and details about the case only began to spread among most members of the church community this year.
“I wish I could redo my initial decision from 2012. I am deeply sorry for the distress this has caused all of you,” Stechschulte said in a letter he wrote to St. Susanna parishioners over the summer addressing his past actions.
He also repeatedly asked for forgiveness and prayer in the letter and in spoken homilies at St. Susanna over the summer after the incident became known.
In total, 500 St. Susanna parishioners eventually signed a petition this summer calling for his resignation.
Just two days later after the petition was publicly filed, Stechschulte caved in to the pressure put on him by his parishioners and resigned in late July.
WLWT has reached out to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for comment on Stechschulte’s reassignment but did not hear back.