The Archdiocese of Kingston has put a Picton priest on administrative leave after investigating historic allegations of possible misconduct involving minors.
On Monday, the archdiocese released information about Robert J. Chisholm, a priest at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Picton, who was reportedly investigated in the mid-1990s for “possible violations of appropriate conduct with minors.”
It’s unclear what happened during the initial investigation, but on Monday, the archdiocese said it had recently investigated that report and found “a semblance of truth” in it.
The investigation is now being passed off to the Catholic Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
Prince Edward County OPP say they have not received any complaints regarding Chisholm.
Const. Kim Guthrie says she believes Chisholm was not living in Prince Edward County in the mid-1990s so it’s possible a complaint has been made to another police force.
Deacon Bill Gervais, with the Archdiocese said at this moment, police have not been involved in the investigation and would not disclose where the pastor was preaching during the alleged incident, citing privacy concerns.
“You can say that he’s been in several different parishes over the over the past 30 or 40 years of his priesthood and most of the time was in the eastern part of Ontario part of our diocese,” Gervais told Global News.
In June of this year, during Pride month, Chisholm was embroiled in a controversy after he allegedly encouraged his congregation not to attend any Pride events, saying they promoted a lifestyle contrary to Christian morals.
Not long after, Chisholm apologized for his message to the church’s congregation during a Sunday mass, according to churchgoers, while Pride supporters and members of the LGBTQ2 community held a peaceful demonstration outside St. Gregory the Great in response to the priest’s alleged comments.