Archbishop Blase Cupich Removes Retired Catholic Priest Dan Wetzler from Ministry

The Spokesman-Review
October 30, 2014

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/oct/30/in-brief-archbishop-blase-cupich-removes-retired/

Archbishop Blase Cupich has removed a retired Spokane Catholic priest from ministry following accusations that he sexually abused a child decades ago.

It is the second time in 12 years that the Rev. Dan Wetzler has fallen under scrutiny and been removed.

The decision last month by Cupich was published by the Inland Register, the newspaper of the Spokane Catholic Diocese. Wetzler last served at St. Paschal Parish in Spokane from 1992 to 2002.

The first time allegations surfaced he declared his innocence and the church investigated. He was publicly exonerated.

Another allegation from a different person who claimed he was abused as a minor has since been made and the Diocesan Review Board found the complaint to be credible. Cupich then acted on the finding.

The details of the allegation are not public and happened long enough ago that criminal charges would not be pursued.

John Stucke

Spokane breaks rainfall record

Spokane International Airport reported a daily rainfall record of 0.57 inches on Tuesday, breaking a 132-year-old record for the date.

The previous daily record for Oct. 28 was 0.53 inches in 1882.

Most of the rainfall came after dark.

Ty Judd, forecaster for the National Weather Service, said the storm apparently tapped into remnants of Hurricane Ana.

“It was a good moisture tap,” he said.

Nearly a quarter-inch of rain fell from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. and another 0.14 inches fell from 11 p.m. to midnight.

Across the Inland Northwest, rainfall amounts varied from about 0.1 inch in the deep Columbia Basin to 0.7 inches in parts of North Idaho. Kootenai County measuring sites had up to 0.6 inches.

A succession of rain storms dating to Oct. 14 is expected to continue, forecasters said. Another storm arrives today and Friday.

Spokane’s October rainfall total of 1.42 inches is 0.41 inches above normal for the month and helps bring this year’s precipitation of 11.68 inches, which is just shy of normal for the year.

Mike Prager