NEW HAVEN (CT)
New Haven Register [New Haven CT]
April 11, 2022
By Ed Stannard
The Rev. Joseph M. Elko, administrator of St. Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Church, has been placed on administrative leave because of a claim of sexual abuse that allegedly occurred in the 1990s.
In an email Monday, David Elliott, spokesman for the Archdiocese of Hartford, said the news was announced at Masses this weekend. The church is located at 136 Dixwell Ave.
“As a result of the receipt of that claim, pursuant to the Archdiocese’s protocol, Fr. Elko has been placed on administrative leave pending the results of the investigation of the claim,” Elliott said in the statement.
The Rev. Sebastian Kos, administrator of St. Stanislaus Church, has been appointed temporary administrator of St. Martin de Porres, and weekend Masses will continue as scheduled, Elliott said.
Elko answered the phone at the parish Monday morning but said any comment would have to come from his attorney, and that he did not know who his lawyer would be. A call later in the day was unanswered.
Elko was ordained May 23, 1970, according to an article in the Catholic Transcript from the time, and his appointment as administrator of Saint Martin de Porres Parish was renewed as of Feb. 11.
St. Martin de Porres Roman Catholic Church is not affiliated with St. Martin de Porres Academy.
Ed Stannard is a reporter whose beats include Yale University, religion, transportation, medicine, science and the environment. He grew up in the New Haven area and has lived there most of his life. He received his journalism degree from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism and earned a master’s degree in religious studies from Sacred Heart University. He has been an editor at the New Haven Register and at the Episcopal Church’s national newspaper.
He loves the arts, travel and reading.
