Diocese lifts Fr. Monahan’s suspension

    REGIONAL -- The Diocese of Des Moines last week announced that it was lifting the suspension from priestly ministry of Fr. Paul Monahan.
    Bishop Richard E. Pates said in light of the filing of the “Procedendo” on June 4 in the case of Monahan which finalized the reversal of an earlier conviction in Monahan’s regard, the suspension from the ministry is fully lifted effective immediately.    
    “As the resolution of the matter has been achieved, the Bishop encourages prayer for healing of all involved,” a press release from the Diocese read.
    Monahan had been convicted in an invasion of privacy case, but the Iowa Court of Appeals in May reversed the conviction of five counts of invasion of privacy, saying there was “very slim evidence” showing Monahan viewed five teenage witnesses who had accused the priest of looking at their genitals in a public bathroom at a track meet in Treynor in April 2016.
    Monahan is a retired Catholic priest, former senior chaplain at St. Albert Schools in Council Bluffs, and had served in the Shelby County area.