To the faithful of the Diocese of Charlottetown:
Earlier this year, the Diocese received an allegation of sexual misconduct against the Reverend Maurice Praught.
We notified police at that time. We also began implementing our procedure for misconduct cases: we placed Fr. Praught on administrative leave and opened a preliminary canonical investigation.
Shortly afterward, we informed the parish he was serving that we had received historical allegations of misconduct, that Fr. Praught was on leave, and that we had begun our investigation.
He had been planning since winter to retire in June, so we announced his retirement along with the clergy appointments as had been planned.
Since then, our preliminary investigation has been completed and a copy has been sent to the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. We have received notice that the Dicastery received our file.
During this time, we also cooperated with police when requested and we will continue to cooperate with them in this matter.
This is a sad and difficult time for our Diocese and for all connected to this matter. We take these allegations seriously and are committed to ensuring our churches are safe environments.
We invite your prayers for everyone connected to this matter.
Finally, we would like to remind everyone that we have a phone number to report misconduct of clergy or lay staff or volunteers: 902-892-1252. The Canadian Catholic Bishops also established a reporting system to report bishops: 1-866-892-3737.
Of course, these matters can always be referred directly to the police.
Media contact: Fr. Chris Sherren 902-368-8005 ext. 232
chancellor@dioceseofcharlotteown.com