A priests suspended from ministry after abuse accusations were made more than 20 months ago finally resigned from his parish without having the case resolved. Fr. Jim Nyhan apparently got tired of waiting or has decided that it’s going to go against him anyway.
Nyhan used to be the chaplain at the local Catholic high school and my only memory of him, if I recall correctly, was at a teen Mass on Salem Common, during his homily he wore an elephant hat to make some point about the roles we play. An elephant hat with ears and a long snout. For teenagers. Talk about missing your intended audience.
Anyway, at least now it appears that his former parish can now move on.
A bishop of a neighboring diocese placed a priest on administrative leave (“de facto” suspension) because of allegations of sexual improprieties with adolescents. When asked by the bishop, the priest refused to resign his pastorship (although he was not in the parish, nor could he come near it as part of the terms of his administrative leave) on the grounds that the charges against him were from a time before he entered the priesthood when he was a counselor at a camp for adolescents. The bishop has started procedures for canonical trial aginst the priest to remove him from his pastorship, and the priest has retained a canon lawyer for his defense.