Vatican removes 2 from priesthood in Ohio over sex abuse allegations

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Vatican removed from the priesthood two men who faced credible complaints of sexual abuse of children, the Cleveland Catholic Diocese said. Gary Berthiaume, who was suspended from active ministry in 2002, and J. Brendan McNulty, who was suspended in 2003, had asked to be removed from the clerical state, the diocese said Friday. Berthiaume transferred to Cleveland after serving six months in a Michigan jail for molesting two boys in the 1970s, diocese spokesman Bob Polomsky said. More allegations surfaced when he worked in Cleveland. McNulty was suspended while serving as pastor of Saints Philip and James Church in Cleveland. The allegations involved sexual abuse of boys from a large churchgoing family in the 1970s.