The Vatican has defrocked a Pennsylvania priest who has been accused of sexual abuse against children.

The accused priest pleaded guilty to two felony charges in October. His conviction makes just one part of the efforts to untangle what seems to be a systemic problem of sexual assault in the Catholic Church, and to hold abusive priests accountable.

CNN reports that David L. Paulson, a priest in Pennsylvania’s Erie diocese, has been removed from priesthood by the Vatican and the Pope in light of felony charges regarding his alleged sexual abuse of children. He plead guilty in October to the corruption of minors and endangering the welfare of children — two felony charges.

He was accused of repeatedly asexually assaulting a boy in two churches, and was accused of trying to assault a second boy at a hunting cabin owned by Paulson and a friend.

As part of his guilty plea, he agreed to laicization, or the process that removes a priest from the priesthood. According to Bishop Lawrence T. Persico, “Mr. Paulson has now been removed from the clerical state, he is forbidden to function as a priest in the Catholic Church and should not longer present himself as a priest and not be admitted as a priest in the celebration of the sacraments.”

Additionally, a man who claims that he was sexually assaulted by Paulson received a $2 million settlement from the Erie diocese. According to the New York Times, Paulson was sentenced to up to 14 years in prison. 

In recent years, claims of sexual abuse against children and other parishioners have been launched against the Catholic Church. In Pennsylvania alone, over 300 priests have been accused of sexual abuse since 1947. This information was released as part of a grand jury report that the state released in August. As a result of this report, two allegedly abusive priests were charged with sexual assault.

Unfortunately, the problem of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church is reportedly nationwide. Many people claim that the Catholic Church has not done enough to stop the epidemic of abuse, actively covering up patterns of abuse and protecting allegedly abusive priests. PBS says that experts claim that evidence points to a “sophisticated” cover-up of the systemic problem by church officials.

However, some action is being taken as the Catholic Church begins to confront the problem of abusive priests. Funds to compensate victims of past abuse are being established, and states are investigating the abuse suffered by people in their state — Pennsylvania and New York launched grand jury investigations of the dioceses in their states.

According to PBS, investigations, and settlements have been launched around the country, in part, because of the Department of Justice’s investigation into sexual abuse in Pennsylvania’s Catholic Churches. This investigation followed the grand jury’s lengthy report into Catholic Church sex abuse that was released in August. 

Reportedly, in their investigation, the Department of Justice served subpoenas to seven of the eight dioceses in Pennsylvania.

States who followed suit and have pursued investigation into Catholic Church sexual abuse include Illinois, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, and others.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.