Advocacy group says priest violating terms of his suspension

Cincinnati, Ohio --

A Roman Catholic priest suspended by the church for sexually abusing children violated terms of his suspension by living near children and presenting himself as a priest at a funeral, an advocacy group for abuse victims says.

The Rev. Thomas Brunner is on paid suspension from the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He is living with a woman and her adopted son in the Dayton suburb of Riverside, said Christy Miller, co-leader for the Cincinnati chapter of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.

Brunner is an abuser who should not have access to children, Miller said in a telephone interview Thursday. She faxed a letter of complaint to the Cincinnati archdiocese office on Wednesday.

"It seems that Tom Brunner is blatantly disregarding your authority and is mocking the directives of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati," Miller wrote to Cincinnati Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk. "Brunner, as you know, is still a priest employed by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, therefore still under your supervision."

Miller also sent the archdiocese a copy of a published obituary that reported Brunner had presided at a Dec. 3 funeral in Hamilton.

The archdiocese received the letter and is investigating, church spokesman Dan Andriacco said.

"If it is true, it is very serious," Andriacco said.

Read the article at ONN. Ohio News Now dated February 18, 2005

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