But he cooperated with therapy...!

By Diogenes ( articles ) | Jul 29, 2003

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.