By Robert Champagne [1]
BELLEVILLE – A Roman Catholic priest in Picton has been placed on indefinite leave over allegations of inappropriate conduct with minors in the 1990s, according to a statement from the Archdiocese of Kingston [2] released Monday.
None of the incidents involving Rev. Robert J. Chisholm took place in Picton according to Deacon Bill Gervais who is the Archdiocesan spokesman for the Kingston diocese.
“All the allegations or accusations were coming from his time at different locations,” said Gervais.
Gervais went on to describe how the Archbishop planes to proceed now that the news is out.
“What he will be trying to be doing, is be as transparent as possible and I guess by posting it (the press release) too, if anyone else has concerns or what not, they might come forward. But he (the Archbishop) wants to be as transparent as possible.”
Chisholm made headlines in June when he said via a bulletin at his church, St. Gregory the Great, that Christians could not participate in Pride Month.
Monday’s statement from the archdiocese said that Chisholm had been placed on leave effective immediately after the archdiocese investigated what it called a “historical report” it had recently become aware of that “in the mid-1990s he was investigated for possible violations of appropriate conduct with minors.”
In its own investigation, the archdiocese “has found a semblance of truth,” the statement said.
The church is not currently investigating any further allegations made against Chisholm.
Chisholm has been placed on indefinite administrative leave, without being allowed to practise ministry, while the allegations are forwarded to the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith [3] at the Vatican, the statement said. The archdiocese is awaiting instructions from the congregation, it said, adding, “This is done without prejudice to the presumption of innocence, which is afforded to him by the law.”
Gervais also spoke about the next steps for Chisholm and how the Vatican will deal with the issue.
“They will review the file and then they will either make some decisions and they will advise us on what to do next or they may say (it) needs more investigation. It is a series of things, but we will have to wait to see the direction they (Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith) take or give us.”
The archdiocese will continue to monitor the situation and work with appropriate authorities, “with particular concern for any potential victims,” it said.
Last June, Chisholm drew widespread criticism from his parishioners, the Picton community and provincial Pride groups after calling on “Catholics and all other Christians” not to participate in Pride events:
The church-bulletin notice that Rev. Robert J. Chisholm released at the time of Pride Month.
A protest that drew widespread media coverage was staged [4] outside the church on June 16.
Despite the controversy, Chisholm remained the parish’s leader, although his statements were condemned [5] by Archbishop Michael Mulhall. The archbishop issued a statement saying Chisholm’s message “does not reflect the spirit of accompanying charity and compassion that should always characterize our faith.”