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Vatican Ousts 2 from Priesthood Cincinnati Post [Ohio] May 12, 2007 http://news.kypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070512/NEWS02/705120330/1014 Two men who served as pastors in Southwest Ohio have been removed from the Roman Catholic priesthood by the Vatican, after several years of considering the evidence that the two had sexually abused children, according to the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. Pope Benedict XVI has permanently removed Kenneth Schoettmer and Richard Unwin from the clerical state, archdiocese spokesman Dan Andriacco said Friday. Schoettmer is a former pastor at Queen of Peace church in Millville, Ohio in Butler County and Unwin is a former pastor at St. John the Baptist church in Tipp City, Ohio, north of Dayton. He is also a former teacher at Badin High School in Hamilton and a former associate pastor at St. Matthias in Forest Park. Their removal brings to seven the number of priests from the archdiocese who have been ousted for sexual misconduct. In 2001, Schoettmer, 65, publicly admitted to three sexual encounters with teenage boys between 1984 and 1999. In 2003, he pleaded guilty to a charge that he fondled a 17-year-old boy in 1999 and was sentenced to five years of probation. The archbishop said in 2003 that Unwin, 54, had acknowledged having inappropriate sexual behavior 15 years earlier. He has been on leave for almost four years. The cases involving both men had been pending before the Vatican for about three years. Neither Schoettmer nor Unwin fought their removal. According to the archdiocese there are seven other priests on paid administrative leave because of sexual misconduct allegations while the Vatican considers their cases. |
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