The Vatican has removed three priests in the Cincinnati Archdiocese over allegations of improper conduct involving minors.
Before Tuesday’s announcement, Thomas Kuhn had been on administrative leave since 2002. He was convicted of public indecency and providing alcohol to minors while serving as pastor of St. Henry’s Parish in Dayton. Kuhn served as the principal of Elder High School in the 80's.
Thomas Feldhaus was suspended in 2003 after he was accused twice of touching a child. At the time, he was serving as an associate pastor in Mount Airy.
Ronald Cooper had been on administrative leave since 2004, after a man said he had been molested by Cooper in Bridgetown between 1983 and 1984.
“I hope that this resolution will bring some measure of closure and healing to anyone harmed by these priests,” said Dennis Schnurr, Archbishop of Cincinnati. “As Archbishop, I deeply regret that any representative of the local Church has ever harmed a child under our care.”
The three priests were defrocked by order of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) at the Vatican. According to a press release from the Archdiocese, a panel of three priests from another diocese made the decision to remove the accused. The CDF confirmed the decision.
With this action, Schnurr says, there are no more priests on administrative leave in the Archdiocese.