GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – A request by retired auxiliary Bishop Robert Morneau to withdraw from public ministry has been approved by the Catholic Diocese of Green Bay.
The request stems from Morneau failing to report an incident of sexual abuse of a minor by a priest in 1979 to civil authorities.
The issue will be addressed by Bishop David Ricken at a media event on Friday morning.
The Compass, which is the official Diocesan newspaper, posted a copy of Morneau’s Sept. 14 letter to Ricken. It reads, in part:
I failed to report to local authorities an incident of abuse of a minor by a priest in 1979 and, as a result, this priest was able to abuse again several years later. Because of this, I voluntarily request a withdrawal from all public ministry. I intend to spend my time in prayer for all victims and survivors of sexual abuse and I will do corporal works of mercy in reparation for what I failed to do. I apologize to all those who put their trust in me.
According to the newspaper the case relates to former priest David Boyea who was sentenced to ten years in prison in 1985 for first-degree sexual assault of a child.
A letter from Bishop Ricken was also published. It reads, in part:
Bishop Morneau is a good and faithful man who did what was he felt was right at the time, realizing now that he could have and should have done more to protect the innocent.
The Compass reports that a civil lawsuit filed by three victims of Boyea was settled in 1986.
