Catholic priest forced to resign amid ‘conspiracy to conceal criminal background’ of church employee
A respected priest from the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, has been compelled to resign after an employee at a church cemetery was arrested on charges of sexually assaulting a minor. The diocese has also initiated an investigation with local authorities into what they suspect was a conspiracy to conceal the employee’s criminal history.
Bishop Larry Kulick asked Fr. John Moineau to resign and the diocese is now collaborating with the Westmoreland County Detective Bureau in its probe into allegations of a “conspiracy to conceal the criminal background” of the implicated employee, Shon Harrity, WPXI-TV reported.
Harrity, who worked as a maintenance worker at the Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Irwin, was charged last week with eight felonies, including the sexual assault of a minor unrelated to the church. Despite his troubling criminal record, which includes charges of indecent exposure, open lewdness and drug offenses, Harrity was employed in various roles across the parishes for over a decade.
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“I am outraged that he was permitted to be employed at our parishes, and I am beyond disappointed that our tireless efforts to raise the bar on safe environment training were blatantly disregarded,” Kulick said in a video message.
The Catholic Accent noted that the Diocese of Greensburg appoints a safe environment coordinator at each parish, school and diocesan office tasked with implementing policies that protect children. This coordinator, in collaboration with the pastor, is responsible for ensuring that all employees complete mandatory child abuse training and successfully pass three distinct criminal background checks.
At Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in North Huntingdon, where Harrity previously worked, the safe environment coordinator compiled a file on Harrity that included an FBI Fingerprint Check, which explicitly disqualified him from employment. This file was electronically sent to Immaculate Conception Parish Cemetery when Harrity was transferred in 2023. Despite this, the coordinator at Immaculate Conception failed to act on the disqualifying information, the Accent said, adding that a recent audit revealed that several essential clearance documents were absent from Harrity’s file.
Fr. Moineau had previously certified the completeness and accuracy of all required clearances within his parishes by signing a letter to the bishop confirming his personal review of these documents.
Fr. Moineau allegedly overlooked critical gaps in the background check process, despite his longstanding reputation as a community pillar.
“I personally met Father John 40 years ago ... he’s just an unbelievable person, not just as a priest but as a person he would never put somebody in harm’s way, ever, if he had knowledge of it,” Dave Reese, a parishioner at Immaculate Conception, was quoted as saying.
Linda Hixson, an Irwin resident, said accountability is crucial. “It’s a shame he had to retire and leave, but if he knew something and didn’t report it ... then I’m sorry that was wrong on his part. Stand up for your church and keep your church safe,” Hixson was quoted as saying.
The diocese has announced immediate and sweeping changes to prevent future oversights. These measures include a mandatory review of employee and volunteer files by all priests and administrators within a week, a comprehensive audit of clearances across all 78 parishes and 12 Catholic schools scheduled for this summer, and mandatory safe environment training for all staff.
