The Roman Catholic Church in southern India has lifted the suspension of a priest convicted last year of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl in the US more than a decade ago, a spokesman said on Saturday.
The suspension of the Reverend Joseph Palanivel Jeyapaul was lifted last month after the bishop of the Ootacamund Diocese in India’s Tamil Nadu state consulted with church authorities at the Vatican, diocese spokesman the Reverend Sebastian Selvanathan said.
Bishop Arulappan Amalraj of Ootacamund had referred Jeyapaul’s case to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and the suspension was lifted on the church body’s advice, Selvanathan said.
“After Jeyapaul’s release from the United States and his return to India, this matter was referred to Rome, and according to the guidelines of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the suspension against Jeyapaul was removed,” Selvanathan said.
The Vatican office of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith declined immediate comment.
Jeyapaul was sent to Minnesota in 2004 and served at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Greenbush, Wisconsin.
He was suspended in 2010 after being charged with sexually assaulting two girls who were both 14 at the time of the alleged abuse.
Jeyapaul fled the US, but was arrested in India by Interpol in 2012 and extradited to the US. Jeyapaul pleaded guilty to molesting one of the teenagers who has not been identified publicly.
The charges involving sexual abuse of the second teenager, Megan Peterson, were dropped as part of a plea deal. Peterson accused Jeyapaul of raping her in his office in a statement posted under her name on the Web site of The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, which has advocated for victims’ rights.
Jeyapaul, now 61, was sentenced to one year in jail, but was freed on account of time served while awaiting trial.
Jeyapaul returned to India five months ago and the process to lift the suspension was started soon after, Selvanathan said.
Bishop Amalraj lifted the suspension mid-last month, but Jeyapaul has not yet been assigned any responsibilities, Selvanathan said.
“That will be decided in May, when decisions are taken by the diocese on changes and assignments,” he said.
Jeyapaul could not be contacted and Selvanathan said the church did not know his whereabouts.
The two Minnesota women both sued the Diocese of Crookston, Minnesota, and settled out of court.
Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represented the women, criticized church authorities for lifting Jeyapaul’s suspension.
“The Vatican must be held accountable ... This is on them. This is on the pope,” Anderson said.
While Peterson has spoken publicly about her case before in hopes that it would help others, Anderson said she was too upset to comment on Saturday.
“They’re both quite upset, disturbed and feel deeply betrayed that they would have the audacity to consider even putting him back in ministry,” Anderson said.
Anderson, who has represented hundreds of victims of sexual abuse by clergy, said they’re exploring further legal action over the decision to lift Jeyapaul’s suspension and will announce details soon.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
CANCER: Jose Mujica earned the moniker ‘world’s poorest president’ for giving away much of his salary and living a simple life on his farm, with his wife and dog Tributes poured in on Tuesday from across Latin America following the death of former Uruguayan president Jose “Pepe” Mujica, an ex-guerrilla fighter revered by the left for his humility and progressive politics. He was 89. Mujica, who spent a dozen years behind bars for revolutionary activity, lost his battle against cancer after announcing in January that the disease had spread and he would stop treatment. “With deep sorrow, we announce the passing of our comrade Pepe Mujica. President, activist, guide and leader. We will miss you greatly, old friend,” Uruguayan President Yamandu Orsi wrote on X. “Pepe, eternal,” a cyclist shouted out minutes later,
RSS