Charlotte bishop returns accused priest to active ministry

January 19, 2026

A North Carolina bishop returned a priest accused of sexual abuse to active ministry effective January 13, over six years after the priest was placed on administrative leave by the previous bishop.

The priest, Father Patrick Hoare, has denied the allegations of sexual abuse, which allegedly took place well before his ordination to the priesthood. Father Hoare has also expressed remorse for alleged boundary violations with minors while a diocesan priest.

Bishop Michael Martin, OFM Conv, of Charlotte assigned Father Hoare as the new chaplain of Pennbryn, a retirement community. The Pillar, citing diocesan sources, reported that Bishop Martin “considered a parish assignment initially,” with “an expectation that the priest might also engage in campus ministry with college students.”

“Priests were concerned about any assignment for Father Hoare,” a source told The Pillar, “and especially concerned about one that might involve proximity to young people.”

Allegations

In 2017, Bishop Peter Jugis, Charlotte’s bishop from 2003 until 2024, appointed Father Hoare the pastor of St. Matthew Catholic Church, often described as the largest Catholic parish in the nation, with over 34,000 registered parishioners as of 2016. As he retired, the previous pastor, Msgr. John McSweeney, granted an interview in which he offered strong criticism of conservative younger priests and revealed that he had convinced Bishop Jugis to appoint Father Hoare, whom he described as a “moderate,” as his successor.

In September 2019, Father Hoare became vice chairman of the North Carolina diocese’s presbyteral council. In December 2019, he was accused of sexually abusing a minor in Pennsylvania 25 years earlier—well before his 2007 ordination to the priesthood. Father Hoare’s brother said at the time that the allegation was false and had been lodged by a nephew with “extreme mental disabilities” like schizophrenia.

Bishop Jugis placed Father Hoare on leave and appointed Father John Allen, a diocesan priest serving as a dean at the Pontifical College Josephinum, as the parish’s administrator. A subsequent allegation emerged in Pennsylvania, and police found the allegations credible, Bishop Jugis wrote in a July 2020 letter to parishioners:

The Abington Township Police Department in Pennsylvania investigated this allegation, as well as a similar claim of abuse in Pennsylvania that subsequently emerged. Father Hoare denies the allegations, both of which involved accusations of inappropriate touching of relatives in the 1980s and early 1990s when he was in his teens and early 20s. In February of this year, Abington police informed the diocese that their investigation found the claimants to be credible but, citing the statute of limitations, local authorities said they were unable to bring charges.

Under Pennsylvania law, the diocese did not have access to the police investigation. Upon my request, the diocese’s Lay Review Board conducted its own investigation. The Review Board concluded that while some of the allegations appeared credible, no specific incident of sexual abuse of a minor was identified based on the evidence presented and recollections of ages and events decades earlier. I want to emphasize the diocese has not received any allegations that Father Hoare committed abuse during his ministry in the diocese.

However, the Review Board did consider three complaints against Father Hoare alleging several instances of inappropriate physical contact with minors that were observed by others in group settings at St. Matthew and St. John Neumann parishes. These complaints were reported recently and did not constitute sexual abuse but involved a hug, rubbing the shoulders or abdomen of a minor, and being “very touchy.” The Review Board concluded such behavior represented boundary violations that raised questions about Father Hoare’s judgment.

Considering the totality of these findings and the questions they raise, as well as the culture of prevention we have established in this diocese, Father Hoare will remain on administrative leave.

Removal and appeals

In December 2020, a year after the first allegation against Father Hoare was lodged and the priest was placed on administrative leave, Bishop Jugis issued a decree removing Father Hoare from the pastorate of St. Matthew Catholic Church.

“Father Hoare had repeatedly been the subject of complaints from the faithful that he failed to live up to contemporary standards of conduct with minors, with concerns raised at each parish where he had been assigned since his ordination in 2007, including St. Matthew,” Bishop Jugis wrote in a 2023 letter. “Father Hoare acted in a manner that brings grave detriment to ecclesiastical communion.”

“Multiple reports of inappropriate behavior in violation of ministerial standards of conduct with minors raised grave concerns among parishioners and at a minimum called into question Father Hoare’s judgment,” he added. “Consequently, Father Hoare’s ministry had become harmful and/or ineffective in part or in total.”

In January 2021, Father Hoare appealed his removal from the pastorate to the Vatican. In July 2021, the Dicastery for the Clergy upheld Bishop Jugis’s decision, ruling that the diocese “sufficiently demonstrated grave and lasting cause for the removal.”

Father Hoare then appealed his removal from the pastorate to the Apostolic Signatura. In November 2022, the Apostolic Signatura ruled that the appeal was “manifestly lacking in foundation” and “must be dismissed.”

Father Hoare then appealed his removal to a full panel of the Apostolic Signatura. The full panel upheld the removal of Father Hoare from the pastorate.

Bishop Martin’s announcements

In announcing the Apostolic Signatura’s final decision in May 2025, Bishop Martin wrote that the diocese’s lay review board (LRB) had examined the abuse allegations in Pennsylvania, as well as the allegations of boundary violations in North Carolina:

The LRB recommended that Father Hoare remain out of ministry until he underwent an assessment and education program to address any issues identified. Since that time, Father Hoare has been engaged in this process as recommended.

As part of its scope, the LRB also examined two allegations against Father Hoare that were said to have occurred 25 years earlier in Pennsylvania, before he became a priest. Father Hoare denies those claims, both of which involved accusations of acts of inappropriate behavior with relatives when he was in his teens or early 20s.

The LRB concluded that while some of those claims appeared credible, the precise ages of those involved could not confidently be ascertained based on the evidence presented to the LRB and recollections of people’s ages and events decades earlier. Pennsylvania authorities also investigated the abuse claims in 2020 and reported to the diocese that they were unable to pursue charges.

The following day, Bishop Martin announced that he was transferring Father Allen, who had administered St. Matthew Catholic Church for six years, to a rural parish that seats 140. Bishop Martin named Father Patrick Cahill as the new pastor of St. Matthew Catholic Church.

Four months later, in September, Father Hoare was elected to the diocese’s presbyteral council.

In December, Bishop Martin announced that he was appointing Father Hoare as chaplain of the retirement community, effective January 13:

During this five-year appeals process, Father Hoare remained on administrative leave, engaging in a period of reflection and counseling and taking the other steps laid out for him by the Review Board to be considered for reinstatement to public ministry. Father Hoare has repeatedly shared with me his remorse, unaware in those moments that his actions with minors might be perceived as boundary violations.

He has also acknowledged the events of the past five years, including completion of the assessment, counseling and course work in respecting healthy boundaries, have helped him understand these perceptions and concerns. He also has faithfully participated in the non-pastoral life of the Church throughout this period, and his fellow priests recently elected him to the diocese’s Presbyteral Council, which represents all priests in the diocese’s administrative and policy discussions.

Father Hoare is committed to resuming a ministry that will enable him to help others and spread the Good News of Jesus by fostering safe environments and healthier boundaries for all. He has addressed the cautions and concerns that were raised, completed the course of action recommended by the Review Board, including a multi-week professional assessment, and has committed to an ongoing plan of professional counseling, reflection and review. After consideration of all of this, I can now affirm that he meets the standards for public ministry.

 

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Further information:

• Charlotte priest assignment sees pushback over ‘credible’ allegations (The Pillar, 1/16/26)
• Father Hoare returns to ministry to serve as chaplain at Pennybyrn (Catholic News Herald, 12/19/25)
• 2025-26 Presbyteral Council officers, members announced (Catholic News Herald, 9/10/25)
• 2025 priest assignments announced (Catholic News Herald, 5/30/25)
• Bishop Martin updates St. Matthew parishioners on pastoral leadership (Diocese of Charlotte, 5/29/25)
• Bishop Jugis updates St. Matthew parishioners (Diocese of Charlotte, 1/21/23)
• Letter to St. Matthew parishioners (Diocese of Charlotte, 7/1/20)
• Administrator appointed to St. Matthew Church while pastor remains on leave (Catholic News Herald, 12/13/19)