The proposed merger of the two dioceses has been prompted by factors such as aging and fewer priests, a decline in baptisms and first Communions, as well as the diocese seeing a decreasing number of Catholics.
STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (CNS) A proposed merger between the Diocese of Steubenville and the Diocese of Columbus, Ohio, will undergo further discussions on the diocesan level after a survey of parishioners showed disappointment and even fear over the proposal, said Steubenville Bishop Jeffrey M. Monforton.
He made the comments in a Nov. 7 letter to the priests of his diocese.
It was scheduled to be discussed and voted on by the U.S. bishops during their Nov. 14-17 general assembly in Baltimore,
Morrier
LORETTO A Franciscan priest working in Loretto has been charged with rape and sexual assault against an individual with mental illness that had been under his care.
Third Order Franciscan Father David R. Morrier, 59, was charged with one count of rape and two counts of sexual battery Wednesday in Jefferson County, Ohio, according to the National Catholic Reporter.
Morrier, who according to LinkedIn is currently employed as an “assistant to local minister at TOR Franciscans” in Loretto, allegedly assaulted an individual with mental illness under his care from November 2010 through Spring 2013.
According to the indictment, obtained by the NCR, the alleged victim’s ability “to resist or consent was substantially impaired because of a mental or physical condition.”
Staff writer
STEUBENVILLE The Rev. David Morrier, TOR, under indictment for rape and sexual battery of a woman he counseled a decade ago at Franciscan University of Steubenville, had been banned from campus in 2014, university officials said Thursday.
The statement, released Thursday morning in response to a Herald-Star story detailing Morrier’s indictment, did not explain why the university removed him or when administrators were made aware of the allegations against him.
It did, however, note that FUS “has cooperated and will continue to cooperate fully” with authorities investigating the alleged sexual misconduct.
Morrier, 59, was indicted Wednesday by a county grand jury on one count of rape and two counts of sexual battery of a female patient dating from November 2010 to the spring of 2013.