Parishioners at Catholic churches in Irwin and North Huntingdon were upset Tuesday night when they learned of a popular priest’s resignation under fire.
“It is difficult for us not to have emotions about this,” said Chris Peta, one of a few hundred parishioners who learned about the Rev. John Moineau’s resignation at a gathering called by Greensburg diocese officials in the auditorium of Queen of Angels School in Irwin.
“It was not well-received, with all that Father John has meant to us,” said Peta of Penn Township, a longtime worshiper at Immaculate Conception Parish in Irwin and a member of the church’s pastoral council. “When I think of all the marriages, baptisms and funerals he will no longer be able to preside over.”
Bishop Larry J. Kulick has said he asked Moineau to resign as pastor of Immaculate Conception and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in North Huntingdon after diocesan officials discovered that a now-former employee had worked at both parishes despite a previous criminal record that should have barred him from employment.
“These were serious and unacceptable administrative failures which call into question the higher standards we have worked so hard to implement,” Kulick said in a statement.
Moineau, who is battling pancreatic cancer, is loved by all, Kulick said.
But the bishop said Moineau needed to resign for the good of the parishes, the diocese and the church.
Attempts to contact Moineau were not immediately successful.
Diocesan officials have expressed concern about what they describe as a potential conspiracy to conceal former worker Shon M. Harrity’s criminal background, which includes guilty pleas in the early 2000s to charges of indecent exposure, open lewdness, obscene disorderly conduct, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance.
The Westmoreland County Bureau of Detectives is reviewing a request from the diocese that it investigate the purported concealment of Harrity’s background.
That background came to light once again after Harrity, 47, of North Huntingdon was arrested May 8 by North Huntingdon police on charges unrelated to his work at the diocese.
Police have accused him of sexually assaulting a girl for two years. He faces a June 19 arraignment in Westmoreland County Court on charges of rape, statutory sexual assault, aggravated indecent assault and related offenses.
According to diocesan spokesman Cliff Gorski, county detectives were asked to investigate how Harrity’s criminal history was missed by church officials.
Review required
According to the diocese, the pastor and a designated “safe environment coordinator” at each parish are responsible for ensuring that employees pass three different criminal background checks and complete child abuse training.
Priests normally are expected annually to review each employee and volunteer file in their parishes. According to the diocese, Moineau signed a letter attesting that he’d done so and that all required background clearances were valid.
“They made it very clear that they were putting the onus of this on Father John,” Peta said. “We never expected he would be made the Paschal (sacrificial) lamb for what has happened here. It doesn’t make sense. How is this blame being focused on a single person?”
The diocese said additionally that three parish employees are being placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
When Harrity initially was hired in 2012 as a maintenance worker at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, he was not required to undergo a background clearance, Gorski said. Once the diocese changed its policy, Harrity underwent criminal background checks in 2015, which were updated in 2020.
In 2023, when Harrity was transferred to the cemetery of Irwin’s Immaculate Conception Parish, the safe environment coordinator at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton electronically forwarded his employee file.
After Harrity’s May 8 arrest on cemetery property, Moineau informed the diocese’s vicar general — an assistant to the bishop — of the fact and a diocesan representative retrieved Harrity’s clearance files.
According to the diocese, the version of the file at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton included a complete listing of Harrity’s criminal history, which should have disqualified him for employment, but some clearance documents were missing from the version of the file at Immaculate Conception.
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Harrity was terminated from employment by the diocese on Tuesday.
Bishop orders broader review
Kulick on Tuesday gave pastors in all diocese parishes a week to review and certify the clearance records for their employees and volunteers.
In addition, over the summer, Tim Fogarty, director of human resources, is slated to audit the files for all 1,000 lay and clergy employees and about 9,000 volunteers in the diocese.
Fogarty, former director of human resources at Clarion University, was hired in 2023 for his full-time role with the diocese.
Moineau has offered “full cooperation and assistance,” Gorski said.
Medical leave set
Moineau is to begin a medical leave on June 17, with his medical and retirement benefits remaining intact.
He was diagnosed in 2021 with stage 4 pancreatic cancer that had spread to his liver. He had been keeping parishioners informed about his treatments through YouTube videos.
In a March 28 video, Moineau said he faced several upcoming rounds of chemotherapy while reporting the results of a recent medical scan. “The pancreas tumor has shrunk slightly,” he said, “but all the tumors in the liver have been completely resolved. They’re not even detectable by the scan.”
Citing Moineau’s regular visits to the Queen of Angels School, Peta said, “There’s no one who cares more and looks out more after the welfare of our children.
“He’s been our miracle. We’ve seen him every day and watched how he witnessed to us with the cross he bore with cancer. Even prior to his sickness, you would be very hard-pressed to find anyone who would have an unkind word to say about him.”
“Our hope and our prayer is that Father John would be reinstated and he would come back to our parish,” Peta added.
Once the investigations are completed, Kulick will determine Moineau’s future status with the diocese. If he is returned to pastoral duties, officials said, he would not be assigned again to the Irwin or North Huntingdon parishes.
Kulick is expected to announce a new pastor for the parishes on Saturday. Until the new pastor takes over, the parishes will be administered by the Rev. Lawrence L. Manchas, who is pastor at St. Paul and St. Bruno parishes in Greensburg and is regional dean in the diocese.
There are about 6,500 parishioners at Immaculate Conception Parish and about 1,200 at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton.
Jeff Himler is a TribLive reporter covering Greater Latrobe, Ligonier Valley, Mt. Pleasant Area and Derry Area school districts and their communities. He also reports on transportation issues. A journalist for more than three decades, he enjoys delving into local history. He can be reached at jhimler@triblive.com.