Veteran Mass priest on administrative leave after sexual allegation

A Lancaster, Mass., priest was placed on leave after an allegation of sexual misconduct was made against him, church officials said. Bishop Robert J. McManus of the Diocese of Worcester told parishioners Sunday at Immaculate Conception Parish that Rev. Edward J. Lettic was placed on administrative leave for an alleged incident involving a minor in the early 1970s. "I come before you today with a saddened heart to announce that I have placed Father Edward P. Lettic on administrative leave due to a credible allegation of sexual misconduct with a minor which took place forty years ago," McManus said in a statement on the diocese website." Recently the victim came forward to the diocese with this allegation which has been investigated with the oversight of the Diocesan Review Committee." McManus said is "the first and only report of an allegation of misconduct " received by the diocese involving Lettic. "Because of the serious nature of the allegation, and consistent with the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, I must relieve Father Lettic of his duties as pastor of the parish and remove his faculties as a priest." Lettic was ordained a priest for the diocese in 1973.