St. Louis priest removed from clergy

ST. LOUIS -- At the request of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Pope John Paul II has defrocked one of seven area priests removed from parish duties this year following accusations of sexual misconduct, church officials said in a copyright story published Thursday by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Officials with the archdiocese declined to say if they had asked the pope to remove any other priests from the clergy.

Word from Rome about Joseph D. Ross, 58, arrived within the last ten days, said Jim Orso, a spokesman for the archdiocese. Ross is a former priest at St. Cronan Catholic Church in St. Louis who had pleaded guilty in 1988 to sexually assaulting an 11-year-old boy during confession.

Parishioners at St. Cronan, where Ross was assigned in 1991, were never told about his past. Following his removal from St. Cronan, other allegations of sexual abuse have been filed against Ross, diocesan officials said.

"Mr. Ross' reassignments in the past would not have occurred under current clinical standards and archdiocesan policies," Orso said. "We regret that he had previously been reassigned to active ministry."

"We deeply apologize to victims and their families for the pain and suffering that have resulted from Mr. Ross' wrongdoing."

Both the archdiocese and the U.S. Conference of Bishops said they did not know if Ross was the first priest to be laicized, or removed from the priesthood, since a national level of focus was placed on the church and allegations of sexual abuse by priests earlier this year.

The laicization process returns a priest to the status of layman and the diocese no longer financially supports him.

"I hope that the church understands that their obligation to keep kids safe doesn't end with Joseph Ross," said David Clohessy, national director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. "The church still has an obligation to warn parents about this man and protect kids from him."