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Lansford Priest First Disappeared, Now Guilty

Lansford Priest First Disappeared, Now Guilty - Thursday, December 4, 2008 at 10:43PM EST

LANSFORD, CARBON COUNTY- The front page story hit Saint Katherine Drexel parishioners "like a brick." Their priest, Monsignor Lawrence Bukaty, had finally surfaced. After months of wondering and suspicion, they learned the former pastor of the combined Lansford and Coaldale parishes had been arrested and charged in June with open lewdness. It's not what parishioners expected.

Court papers show the monsignor had fondled himself on a nude beach in Sandy Hook, NJ. Park Rangers apparently witnessed the act and filed charges. That was June 15.

The priest, a long-time fixture in Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, would return to active ministry following the beach charges. Bukaty would then oversee the transition and consolidation of six parishes to one. Three days after the July ceremony uniting multiple ethnic Catholic communities, parishioners say Bukaty was gone. The diocese supposedly told people in Lansford Bukaty had left for health reasons. "I guess we were disappointed because we didn't know what happened," Irene Pavlis said.

In late July, Bukaty pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. Efforts to reach Msgr. Bukaty were unsuccessful.

Some people in Lansford are angered with the church's handling of the matter. "The community should look into it, because it might be bigger than what happened. As far as him getting caught doing what he did, who knows what he could have done," Jermaine Thomas said.

In a Thursday afternoon phone interview, Diocese of Allentown spokesman Matt Kerr said no statement was available on the arrest of one of the diocese' own. Kerr would only say the apparent health issues were related to surgery. Kerr also said the diocese had nothing to say to Lansford parishioners about the incident and transfer. It's unclear if Bukaty will be returned to active duty. At one time, he taught at the shuttered Cardinal Brennan High School in Ashland.

Representatives of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) released a statement Thursday night to Eyewitness News writing "Once again, high ranking Catholic officials lie to parishioners about the priest's departure....we challenge Allentown's Bishop to come clean."

Bukaty is on probation for one year and was ordered to pay a $525 fine. Diocesan officials confirm he is receiving treatment at an unknown facility in Pennsylvania.
 


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