Priest retires after review of abuse claim is inconclusive

A Roman Catholic priest is retiring and will not participate in public ministry after a Vatican office found it could not determine whether a single allegation of past sexual abuse by him could be proved.

Bishop David Zubik granted the Rev. John P. Fitzgerald’s request for immediate retirement, the diocese said in a statement Wednesday.

Father Fitzgerald, 68, had most recently served as pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in Conway. He was placed on leave in July 2014 after the diocese received an allegation he had sexually abused a minor in the 1990s.

No allegations have been brought against him before or since, Bishop Zubik said.

Father Fitzgerald maintains his innocence, but the person bringing the accusation continues to stand by it.

Bishop Zubik said in an interview that he referred the matter to Rome after he and the review board members weighed the competing accounts.

“It was very clear to everybody that both were believable,” he said.

The bishop said he had to provide for justice for the accused and

the accuser, but he also has to ensure the safety of children. He concluded the best thing was to accept Father Fitzgerald’s retirement and remove his authorization for public ministry. He will not be living in a parish setting, Bishop Zubik added.

“The most important thing we have to deal with here is the protection of youth and young adults,” he said.

The Vatican sent its finding on March 8. Bishop Zubik said the announcement was delayed until he could meet with both Father Fitzgerald and his accuser.

“I think everybody seems to be at peace,” he said. “It’s an unusual process, but in the end, I hope it points to the fact that we take all these things very seriously.”

At the time Father Fitzgerald went on leave in 2014, the diocese publicly announced the reasons in a press release and church bulletins. It asked anyone else who may have been a victim of abuse to come forward. No one else did.

The diocese’s Independent Review Board, which evaluates such allegations against priests, recommended Bishop Zubik refer the case to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which has final say over whether accused priests are removed from the priesthood.

Often, by the time a case reaches the Vatican, there has been ample evidence gathered, such as multiple accusers or court verdicts. In those cases, the only question is whether the priest would be removed entirely from the priesthood or, in cases of older clerics, be told to live out their days in prayer and penance, with no public ministry.

The diocese also referred the case in 2014 to prosecutors in Lawrence and Allegheny counties, where the abuse was alleged to have occurred. There is no court record of any action being taken in either county. The diocese refers allegations as a matter of procedure, even if they happened years ago and any prosecution would be barred under the statute of limitations.

Mike Manko, spokesman for the Allegheny County District Attorney’s office, said it was “unable to proceed due to evidentiary issues.”

Father Fitzgerald was ordained in 1974, according to the diocese. He was a parochial vicar at St. Michael and St. Thomas in Braddock from 1974 to 1977, then held the same job at the following parishes: St. Michael in Butler from 1977 to 1982; St. Alexis in McCandless from 1982 to 1983; All Saints in Etna from 1983 to 1988; St. Anselm in Swissvale from 1988 to 1989; and St. Teresa of Avila in Ross from 1989 to 1991.