Former church rector resigns from priesthood

Saturday May 20, 2006
NEWS

Exit after sexual misconduct probe 'vindication' for another embattled ex-rector

By William Moyer
Press & Sun-Bulletin

OWEGO -- A former rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church has resigned from the priesthood following a five-month investigation of sexual allegations against him.

Ralph E. Johnson, 79, voluntarily renounced his ministerial orders amid allegations that he sexually abused a boy in the 1970s while he was rector of St. Paul's, but he has not admitted guilt, said Bishop Gladstone B. Adams, of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York.

The attorney for another former rector -- the Rev. David G. Bollinger -- said Johnson's resignation is vindication for his client.

David Gouldin, of Levene, Gouldin & Thompson of Vestal, said Bollinger, years earlier, had alerted Episcopal officials to Johnson's alleged sexual misconduct, but was rebuffed by the regional bishop.

The diocese, based in Syracuse, began its investigation five months ago after receiving an affidavit from the alleged victim.

"This is a clear vindication of what Father Bollinger has been contending for several years," Gouldin said Friday. "Father Bollinger is pleased. Something has taken place that definitely established that his concerns were well-founded."

Under terms of his resignation, Johnson will have no priestly authority, cannot perform the sacraments and cannot wear a clerical collar, Adams said. Johnson is retired and will keep his pension from the diocese, which has 16,000 confirmed members from Alexandria Bay near the Canadian border to Waverly at the Pennsylvania-New York border.

In January, Bollinger, who had been St. Paul's rector for more than 20 years before going on disability and retiring on Jan. 1, filed suit against the diocese for $4.35 million.

In the lawsuit, Bollinger accused the bishop and diocesan officials of failing to respond to the sexual misconduct allegations and also retaliating against him by alleging misuse of money at St. Paul's while he was rector. The allegations are false, Bollinger said.

Bollinger, who had been "inhibited" by the diocese from performing priestly duties at St. Paul's for over a year prior to his retirement, said diocesan officials broke into his personal bank account using identity theft and that Adams' allegations of financial impropriety against him are without merit.

Diocesan lawyers have asked State Supreme Court Justice Jeffrey A. Taitto to dismiss Bollinger's lawsuit. Tait reserved a decision April 14 and will issue a ruling at a later date, Gouldin said Friday. Bollinger will not drop the lawsuit, he added.

Shortly after Bollinger filed the suit, diocesan officials received the victim's affidavit, Adams said, and began their internal investigation.

In the affidavit, the victim, who was an Owego resident at the time, said Johnson molested him at least 20 times in the rectory of St. Paul's and at a cabin in Gibson, Pa., in Susquehanna County. The victim, who was reported to be 15 years old at the time, now lives in Florida, Adams said.

Adams said the diocese's investigation found no other allegations of inappropriate behavior by Johnson.

"The record will show that Adams first received a letter in June of 2002 identifying an abused victim of Father Johnson at that time," Gouldin said. "The diocese is trying to rewrite the histories of what has occurred."

Though the resignation can be seen as a vindication of Bollinger, these incidents give the church a black eye regardless of the outcome, said a local Episcopalian priest and personal friend of Bollinger's.

"There are no winners in this; it makes the church look bad," said the Rev. Anthony Seel, pastor of St. Andrew's Church in Vestal. "It would be nice for David (Bollinger) to get his reputation back."

Johnson was ordained in 1962. He served as rector of St. Paul's from 1970 to 1977, as well as Episcopal parishes in Binghamton and Windsor and a parish in Buckingham, Pa., before he retired 15 years ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.