SCRANTON — Monsignor Joseph P. Kelly, a priest of the Diocese of Scranton and former executive director of Catholic Social Services in Wilkes-Barre, has been found guilty under canon law of the sexual abuse of two minors at the conclusion of a disciplinary process authorized by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith at the Holy See.

According to a news release from the Diocese of Scranton, Monsignor Kelly is “immediately and permanently prohibited from the exercise of priestly ministry and permanently prohibited from wearing clerical attire or presenting himself as a priest.”

The news release went on to say that the Vatican authorized the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, to impose a permanent penalty on Monsignor Kelly, short of authorizing his dismissal from the clerical state, given his advanced age.

These penalties conclude a canonical process that began nearly four years ago.

https://www.timesleader.com/news/1662863/monsignor-kelly-found-guilty-under-canon-law-of-sex