Bishop Larry J. Kulick / Diocese of Greensburg (Left), Shon Harrity / CBS News (Right)
CV NEWS FEED // The bishop of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, recently called a priest’s unwitting allowance of a man with a sex crimes record to work at his parishes an “egregious failure to uphold our higher standards related to the safety of children.”
Local outlet Triblive reported that Fr. John Moineau resigned after a diocesan investigation found that Shon Harrity, who worked for two different parishes, had previously been guilty of lewdness and indecent exposure. In May, Harrity was arrested and charged with sexually assaulting a girl for two years. However, the charges were not related to his employment at the parishes.
Until his resignation, Fr. Moineau was the pastor of both parishes. Harrity had been hired in 2012 by a previous pastor, Fr. Leonard Stoviak.
In a recent interview with Triblive, Greensburg Bishop Larry J. Kulick said that both Fr. Moineau and Fr. Stoviak were guilty of “culpable negligence” in hiring Harrity and allowing him to continue to work.
Fr. Stoviak reportedly knew Harrity had a criminal record but hired him anyway. Fr. Moineau had claimed in 2020 that he reviewed Harrity’s employee file and saw no issue in his employment for the parish, but later admitted he didn’t complete the review.
“Although I was not aware of this employee’s criminal background, it was my responsibility to know,” Fr. Moineau told his parishioners in June.
“I was the pastor when his clearances were renewed in 2020, and they showed he was disqualified from employment by the state and the church,” Fr. Moineau added, according to Triblive. “I signed a letter stating I personally reviewed his clearances. I did not. And for that, I am sorry for this act of negligence.”
Bishop Kulick said that Fr. Moineau’s resignation was opposed by many parishioners, who argued that the Diocese was too hard on him. Bishop Kulick refuted the claims.
“I have received dozens of letters stating that what occurred was simply a clerical error,” Bishop Kulick said. “This was much more than a clerical error. This was negligent supervision, which was an egregious failure to uphold our higher standards related to the safety of children.”
While Fr. Moineau has gone on medical leave to undergo cancer treatments, Bishop Kulick recently reappointed him to several other parishes in a different city. Fr. Moineau will not be in charge of parish administrative functions, Triblive reported.
Bishop Kulick also imposed limitations on Fr. Stoviak, who will not be allowed to feature in church-related media for one year or be brought out of retirement to fill ministerial vacancies. According to Bishop Kulick, the restrictions are “a prudent action, a recognition that harm has been done, even if it’s through the lack of proper administration. There is an acknowledgement and recognition that there needs to be justice brought to this situation because of neglect.”
The bishop also required all parishes and schools within the diocese to audit their employee and volunteer criminal history clearances.
“[T]he church has had a lot of work to do to build up trust, and the only way I believe we’re going to build that trust up is by being consistent with what we say and what we do, especially with child protection and vulnerable adults,” Bishop Kulick told Triblive. “It’s a top priority for me in all that we do.”
