Priest taken off parish duties

Sexual misconduct allegations spur action

A Roman Catholic priest sued for alleged sexual misconduct, who is serving as parochial vicar at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Hamden, will not have interactions with parishioners while his case is ongoing, according to the Archdiocese of Hartford.

The Rev. Mauricio Galvis was serving at St. John Paul the Great Roman Catholic Parish in Torrington on Sept. 22, 2020, when the alleged misconduct occurred. The woman suing Galvis claims she suffered “physical injuries and serious mental illness and emotional distress, anxiety, depression … and permanent psychological and psychiatric scarring.”

The archdiocese, which is also a defendant in the lawsuit, issued a statement over the weekend in which it said: “In order to allay any concerns that parishioners may have about (Father) Galvis, he is being assigned to non-parish duties while his civil case alleging sexual misconduct with an adult awaits adjudication.” Galvis disputes the claims in the suit, online records show.

Archbishop Leonard Blair and the Rev. Emmanuel Ihemedu, pastor of St. John Paul the Great, also are defendants in the suit, filed in Superior Court in Torrington.

The woman suing Galvis and the others was a parishioner of St. John Paul the Great and a lay eucharistic minister, according to the legal complaint. The suit states that she “developed trust, reverence, reliance and respect” for Galvis.

The complaint alleges Galvis exposed himself to the plaintiff during the incident.

The lawsuit claims the archdiocese, Blair and Ihemedu were negligent and engaged in reckless and wanton conduct because of their failure to protect the woman, to evaluate Galvis’ mental fitness, to “adequately monitor and supervise” Galvis in his interaction with the plaintiff and to report to authorities “reasonable suspicions” that Galvis had allegedly engaged in sexual misconduct.

The archdiocese, Blair and Ihemedu “had a duty to provide safety and protection” to parishioners, according to the lawsuit.

The suit goes on to allege that a “general risk of harm or injury of the type suffered by the Plaintiff was foreseeable by the Defendants.” It states the defendants should have known about the alleged actions and failed to remove him from his post.

Instead, he was reassigned to Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Galvis is accused of failing to seek evaluation for his mental fitness and of failing to protect the plaintiff.

In an answer to the complaint, Galvis denied accusations, including that he failed to report his actions to authorities, failed to cooperate with investigators and concealed alleged sexual misconduct, harassment and/or exploitation.

He also denied a claim that the “injuries and damages sustained by the Plaintiff were the result of (Galvis’) negligence and carelessness.”