HOMEWOOD, Ala. (WIAT) — An Alabama priest who was put on leave in August after a woman claimed he began a sexual relationship with her when she was 17 has been removed from the clergy by Pope Leo, according to the Catholic Diocese of Birmingham.
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“In light of complaints made against him in July of this year, Father Robert J. Sullivan, of his own accord, submitted a petition to Pope Leo, requesting that he be dispensed from all the obligations arising from Holy Orders,” Bishop Steven Raica said in a statement Wednesday.
According to Raica, Pope Leo’s decision to remove Sullivan from the clergy was communicated Monday.
“The canonical investigation of the allegations, referred to the Dicastery in late summer, now concludes with this dispensation,” Raica’s statement continued. “A diocesan financial review, initiated at my request due to the significant payments alleged to have been made by then-Father Sullivan, was recently completed and found no link between the allegations and any diocesan, parish, or school funds.”…