Robert Sullivan, 61, on ‘personal leave’ after Heather Jones, now 33, brought allegations, sexual in nature, to diocese
A Roman Catholic priest in Alabama is under investigation, church officials say – and he abruptly announced he is taking “personal leave” – after a woman alleged to his superiors that he traded financial support for “private companionship” including sex, beginning when she was 17.
The accuser, Heather Jones, has also alleged that the clergyman, Robert Sullivan, recently paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to remain silent about it, a claim she supported with bank records, an email and a copy of a legal agreement.
Of course abuse is still going to happen, it happens outside of the priesthood too. Putting words in my mouth is just dumb.
There are tons of pedos who are/were married, this argument is completely idiotic. Positions of authority will always attract abusers, that doesn’t mean that having to be celibate and unmarried isn’t a large part of why priests molest others and then try to cover it up.