Priest with Southwest Iowa Ties Faces Restrictions

By Tim Johnson
Daily Nonpareil
December 3, 2020

https://nonpareilonline.com/news/local/education/priest-with-southwest-iowa-ties-faces-restrictions/article_c347982c-ef9f-5eb0-85c9-e49a80c687af.html

An Iowa priest who served in southwest Iowa early in his career has been restricted by Des Moines Bishop William Joensen after an investigation found evidence of sexual misconduct.

The Rev. Robert “Bud” Grant, who has been on administrative leave since March, will return to ministry with restrictions and supervision, with the approval of the school and Davenport Bishop Thomas Zinkula. He is a faculty member at St. Ambrose University in Davenport and a sacramental minister at St. Andrew Parish in Bluegrass.

The investigation followed an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor during the early 1990s, according to a press release from the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines. Since the investigation began in March, Joensen and the diocesan Allegation Review Committee gathered and reviewed evidence, including the initial complaint, examined an investigative report produced by a third party and consulted with experts in church law. The state attorney general’s office and law enforcement in Polk, Pottawattamie and Scott Counties are aware of the allegation of behavior occurring in the early 1990s.

“The investigation clearly established that the allegation did not meet the criteria of sexual abuse of a minor as defined by church law at the time of the incident, because the complainant was above majority age,” the press release stated. “However, it was also established that Father Grant engaged in behavior in select instances in the early 1990s that violated the Sixth Commandment and his priestly promises.”