Priest accused of porn may have been protecting confessional seal
October 04, 2010
A priest who was fired from his teaching post at a Pennsylvania Catholic college and suspended from ministry may have been protecting the seal of confession, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Father Mark Gruber was dismissed last year by St. Vincent College after pornography was found on his computer. But a young man has now told police that he downloaded pornography onto the priest’s computer and later confessed to Father Gruber. The young man argues that the priest accepted responsibility for the pornography in order to protect the integrity of the confessional seal.
Father Gruber—who has sued St. Vincent College for defamation—never directly denied using pornography, school officials have noted. An attorney for the college points out that the priest could still bear responsibility for some of the images on his computer.
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Posted by: Obregon -
Oct. 04, 2010 11:21 PM ET USA
One might be able to accuse the priest of poor judgment in allowing others to use his computer, but the charge against him might be totally unjustified and if it is for the protection of the seal of the confessional, he should be commended, not fired! I hope readers read the "whole" story before making judgments.
