The Catholic church has brought formal charges against Monsignor Craig Harrison, even before completing an investigation into allegations of sexual impropriety with minors, after he refused to drop a defamation lawsuit against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fresno and two of its officials.
Harrison had been warned in a letter Bishop Joseph Brennan sent Nov. 18 that if he did not drop the suit then canon law proceedings against him would commence within two weeks. The diocese declined to comment but Harrison s legal team confirmed Wednesday the proceedings are underway and that he now faces penalties potentially including excommunication.
Harrison s refusal to drop the lawsuit, one of three defamation suits he has pending in Kern County Superior court, may suggest he is more anxious to clear his name than he is hopeful that a church investigation opened earlier this year will ultimately allow him to return to work as a priest.