A former Roman Catholic priest who served for several years in the Diocese of Lafayette has been implicated in the recent Pennsylvania grand jury report on sexual abuse in the Church.
According to a release from the Diocese of Lafayette, the Rev. John Bostwick, a former priest from the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, came to the Lafayette diocese in 1992 at the invitation of then-Bishop Harry Flynn. He had received permission to minister outside of the Richmond diocese beforehand.
Flynn and Bostwick had become friends when they were at Mount Saint Mary's College and Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland, the release states.
Three years before transferring, Bishop Walter Sullivan of the Richmond diocese recommended that Bostwick get psychological counseling, The Advocate reported, but the reason for the recommendation was unknown.
At the time of his transfer, the Diocese's release states, there were no reports of any accusations of sexual abuse involving Bostwick as noted in the timeline of the grand jury's report.
In 1996, when Bostwick was serving as administrator of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Franklin, then-Bishop Edward O'Donnell received information regarding an abuse allegation against Bostwick. According to the release, the allegations concerned an incident that occurred in the 1980s in the Diocese of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
"Upon learning of the allegation, Bishop O’Donnell immediately removed Father Bostwick from priestly duties in the Diocese of Lafayette and notified parishioners of Our Lady of the Assumption," the release states. The bishop also instructed Bostwick to return to the Diocese of Richmond to face the allegation.
The bishop invited any other victims to come forward, but no one in the Lafayette diocese made any complaints against Bostwick.
The former priest is still alive, The Advocate reported, but his whereabouts were unknown.
