Off the Record

But he cooperated with therapy...!

By Diogenes (articles ) | July 29, 2003 11:37 AM

A priest of the Diocese of Crookston (MN) had an unsavory past that caught up with him:

After being arrested in October 1984, [Fr. Rick] Boyd pleaded guilty to possessing magazines showing boys under 18 engaged in a variety of sexual acts. He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to undergo therapy. Boyd fully complied with the sentence, [Vicar General Fr. Roger] Grundhaus said. He said that there has never been any evidence that Boyd has victimized anyone, but that the bishop accepted Boyd's resignation from the parishes to allay parishioners' concerns.

A more recent article touches obliquely on the nature of the faithful's misgivings:

Boyd gave up his posts at churches in Bagley and Fosston last Thursday, after some members pressed diocesan officials over why they weren't told about his 1984 conviction for possessing child pornography, and expressed concern about the way Boyd interacts with young people and his frequent use of the Internet.

We are told that Bishop Victor Balke accepted Boyd's resignation "with regret." Boyd's own reasoning seems to follow these lines: Policy dictates that a priest convicted of sexually victimizing a child is to ve yanked; ergo, a priest not convicted of sexually victimizing a child has an ipso facto right to pastoral ministry.

Boyd told the Grand Forks Herald that groundless accusations forced him to leave. "I feel like I'm a victim here," he said.

An appeal from our founder, Dr. Jeffrey Mirus:

Dear reader: If you found the information on this page helpful in your pursuit of a better Catholic life, please support our work with a donation. Your donation will help us reach five million Truth-seeking readers worldwide this year. Thank you!

Easter Campaign:
Progress toward our Spring 2013 goal ($33,066 to go):
$80,000.00 $46,933.77
41% 59%
Sound Off! CatholicCulture.org supporters weigh in.

All comments are moderated. To lighten our editing burden, only current donors are allowed to Sound Off. If you are a donor, log in to see the comment form; otherwise please support our work, and Sound Off!

There are no comments yet for this item.

Think with the Catholic Leaders: Subscribe to Catholic Culture Insights Newsletter
Donate to Support this Site: Your contribution will be put to good work.
Tour the CatholicCulture.org Site
Shop Amazon to Raise Money for Catholic Culture

Recent Catholic Commentary

Learning from the sick, and from the death of a child May 17
The case for change in Irish abortion law: based on a framework of falsehood May 17
The Smell of the Sheep May 16
Too many missing funds: Catholic institutions need tighter financial controls May 16
What capitalists should learn from the Pope's critique May 16

Top Catholic News

Most Important Stories of the Last 30 Days
Pope strongly supports call for reform in religious life CWN - May 8