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MASON COUNTY - A West Michigan priest has been removed from two Mason County parishes following an accusation he engaged in “inappropriate conduct in public with an adult,” according to the Catholic Diocese of Grand Rapids.

The Rev. Johnson Jeyabal Pappusamy submitted his resignation to Bishop Walter Hurley last week, while law enforcement officials continue to investigate, according to the diocese statement Monday morning.

Pappusamy was pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Custer and St. Jerome Catholic Church in Scottville. A temporary administrator will serve those parishes.

Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola confirmed an investigation was ongoing involving Pappusamy, but said he has not been arrested or charged. He refused to discuss details of the accusation.

Michigan State Police detectives in Hart are handling the investigation.

Ordained in India, Pappusamy previously served as parish administrator at All Saints Catholic Church in Fremont and St. Joseph Catholic Church in White Cloud. He was also a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Rockford in 2007.

The diocese has no details of the investigation against the priest, and Bishop Walter A. Hurley will not comment while it is continuing, said spokeswoman Mary Haarman. He will speak to parishioners at St. Mary Catholic Church in Custer tonight.

“We don’t want to do anything that would compromise the investigation,” Haarman said.

CITED FROM:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/02/grand_rapids_catholic_diocese.html

UPDATE TO ARTICLE:

GRAND RAPIDS — Neither law enforcement nor diocese officials are releasing details about a Catholic priest removed from two Mason County parishes for alleged inappropriate conduct, and it may take weeks before the case is resolved.

The Rev. Johnson Jeyabal Pappusamy submitted his resignation to Bishop Walter Hurley last week while police continue to investigate, according to a letter Hurley sent to the parishes. Pappusamy was pastor of St. Mary Catholic Church in Custer and St. Jerome Catholic Church in Scottville, both east of Ludington.

Hurley wrote that Pappusamy has been “accused of engaging in inappropriate conduct in public with an adult male.” Hurley will not comment further while the investigation is continuing, said spokeswoman Mary Haarman.

“We don’t want to do anything that would compromise the investigation,” Haarman said.

Mason County Prosecutor Paul Spaniola also refused to discuss details, but said Pappusamy has not been charged with any crime.

He said he has received some reports from Michigan State Police detectives in Hart on an incident alleged to have occurred Feb. 11 in Mason County. He added he is waiting for more information and the process could take several weeks.

For now, Pappusamy will remain in the diocese, pending a legal resolution and a decision from his religious superior, Hurley said.

Pappusamy previously served as parish administrator at All Saints Catholic Church in Fremont and St. Joseph Catholic Church in White Cloud. He also was a parochial vicar at Our Lady of Consolation Church in Rockford in 2007.

Pappusamy was ordained in India in 1998 as a priest in the Rome-based Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales. The Rev. Augustine Tharappel, regional superior of the order, said Pappusamy is in the U.S. temporarily to serve the Grand Rapids Diocese.

“He will go back to India when that service period is over,” Tharappel said. “Now that some issues have come, he may have to go back earlier.

“There have never been any complaints about him before,” Tharappel added. “He was a good priest.”

Hurley spoke to parishioners of St. Mary’s on Monday. The Rev. Thomas Schiller, a retired priest, has been appointed temporary administrator of both parishes.

CITED FROM:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/02/police_investigation_of_mason.html

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