Baltimore man accused of abuse is defrocked by the Vatican
Baltimore, Maryland -- Maurice Blackwell, a Baltimore priest accused of sexually abusing a parishioner who shot the cleric years later, has been defrocked in an irrevocable decree by Pope John Paul II, according to a statement released yesterday by the Archdiocese Of Baltimore.
The pope decided in October to dismiss the former pastor of St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in West Baltimore from the clerical state, said archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine. Local church officials received the pope's decree this month, and Cardinal William H. Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, personally delivered it to Blackwell at his Reservoir Hill home, Caine said.
"He is no longer a priest in the eyes of the church," said Caine of Blackwell. The cleric had already been "removed from the ministry," which effectively had barred him from performing most sacraments and limited his priestly functions to saying Mass in private.
Read the article at Newsday.com dated Sunday, January 2, 2005
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The pope decided in October to dismiss the former pastor of St. Edward Roman Catholic Church in West Baltimore from the clerical state, said archdiocese spokesman Sean Caine. Local church officials received the pope's decree this month, and Cardinal William H. Keeler, archbishop of Baltimore, personally delivered it to Blackwell at his Reservoir Hill home, Caine said.
"He is no longer a priest in the eyes of the church," said Caine of Blackwell. The cleric had already been "removed from the ministry," which effectively had barred him from performing most sacraments and limited his priestly functions to saying Mass in private.
Read the article at Newsday.com dated Sunday, January 2, 2005
posted by God Almighty Himself at 7:36 AM
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