HomeNewsBRIEF: Local Catholic priest removed from ministry

BRIEF: Local Catholic priest removed from ministry

By: Tracy Simmons

Date:

October 30, 2014

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The Catholic Diocese of Spokane has announced that Archbishop Blase Cupich has permanently removed a retired Spokane Catholic priest from ministry after accusations that he sexually abused a child decades ago.

According to the the Inland-Register, it is the second time in 12 years that the Rev. Dan Wetzler has been removed. The first time Wetzler fell under scrutiny he claimed innocence, the church investigated and he was exonerated.

Another allegation from a different person who claimed he was abused as a minor was recently made and the Diocesan Review Board recommended Wetzler be removed.

Wetzler last served at St. Paschal Parish in Spokane from 1992 to 2002.

The details of the allegation are not public and happened long enough ago that criminal charges would not be pursued, according to reports.

Tracy Simmons

Tracy Simmons is an award-winning journalist specializing in religion reporting and digital entrepreneurship. In her approximate 20 years on the religion beat, Simmons has tucked a notepad in her pocket and found some of her favorite stories aboard cargo ships in New Jersey, on a police chase in Albuquerque, in dusty Texas church bell towers, on the streets of New York and in tent cities in Haiti. Simmons has worked as a multimedia journalist for newspapers across New Mexico, Texas, Connecticut and Washington. She is the executive director of FāVS.News, a digital journalism start-up covering religion news and commentary in Spokane, Washington. She also writes for The Spokesman-Review and national publications. She is a Scholarly Associate Professor of Journalism at Washington State University.

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