On April 25, the Diocesan Review Board recommended to Bishop William F. Medley that Fr. Joseph Edward Bradley, a priest of the Diocese of Owensboro, be permanently suspended from public ministry after two allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made. The allegations — the first received on Feb. 26 and the other on March 4 — were determined to be substantiated by the 12-member review board.
Both allegations dated back to the 1980s when Bradley was Dean of Students and then Principal of Owensboro Catholic High School. The allegations were immediately reported to the Daviess County Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Kuegel.
According to Kuegel, Owensboro Police Department is investigating these allegations. Once OPD reviews the allegations and completes their investigation, the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney will determine how to proceed with both claims.
“We received notice of the first allegation, and it is currently under investigation,” said OPD Public Information Officer Andrew Boggess.
While OPD was not made aware of the second allegation until they received a press release from the Diocese of Owensboro on May 1, Boggess said OPD is now looking into the claim as well.
Bradley was ordained as a priest for the Diocese of Owensboro in 1975 after attending the Josephinum Seminary school. Bradley worked at OCHS as Dean of Students for four years (1976-1980) and as principal from 1980-1985. At some point(s) during Bradley’s time at OCHS is when these allegations took place, according to the Diocese of Owensboro.
Bradley also served as a pastor at Owensboro’s St. Stephen Cathedral from 1985-1995.
Bradley stepped down as OCHS principal in 1985 and served as diocesan vocation director at OCHS until May 1987. Bradley left Owensboro in 1995 for Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church in Henderson, where he served as a priest until 2005.
In 2011, Bradley retired from public ministry and began working as a volunteer at OCHS. In 2016, after local priest Fr. Gerald Baker was permanently suspended from public ministry following a bout of allegations, Bradley stepped in as administrator pro tempore to St. Mary of the Woods in Whitesville and St. John the Baptist in Fordsville.
According to Director of Communications for the Diocese of Owensboro Tina Kasey, Bradley’s permanent suspension means Bradley will retain his clerical status but is no longer permitted to perform priestly functions such as public mass celebrations, preaching or administering the Sacraments.
“‘Removed from priesthood’ should canonically be called a ‘dismissal from the clerical state,’” Kasey said. “It is a canonical action imposed by the Holy See through which a priest loses his rights and obligations to the clerical state and is permanently barred from all priestly ministry.”
Kasey said she could not determine a timeframe for Bradley’s permanent suspension to be officiated by members of the Vatican.
“It is dependent upon the response of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to the report Bishop Medley will send,” Kasey said.
No other allegations have been made against Bradley aside from the two that led to his temporary and then permanent suspension, Kasey said. Once reports of sexual abuse with a minor are reported to the Diocese of Owensboro, those claims are submitted to civil authorities as per regulations published in the Sexual Abuse Policies and Procedures of the Diocese of Owensboro.
According to documet provided to Owensoro Times by Kasey, titled “Questions and Answers Regarding the Canonical Process for the Resolution of Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests and Deacons,” the Catholic Church performs all legal proceedings regarding priests and sexual abuse of minors in a confidential setting that requires formal trials and other processes that lead to the imposition of penalties to be dealt with privately.
“This is meant to protect the accused, the witnesses, and the integrity of the Church process,” the document states. “General members of the public are not admitted to the court proceedings. Although these proceedings are confidential, that does not forbid or even discourage anyone from reporting the underlying allegations to civil authorities. In fact, the opposite is true when it comes to the sexual abuse of minors. The Essential Norms strictly mandate that bishops will follow civil reporting laws, and that they advise a person of his or her right to make a report to public authorities and support the person in doing so.”
