An Accused Priest Gets Reinstated

A priest who was removed after allegations surfaced that he had raped a boy in the 1960s was reinstated Thursday because Boston Archdiocese officials said they couldn’t substantiate the claim.

Father Edward McDonagh will be allowed to resume his work at St. Ann’s parish starting today, an archdiocesan spokesman said.

McDonagh was removed from the parish in West Bridgewater in May, two months after the archdiocese received a letter from a woman claiming her brother, a prostitute who died of AIDS complications, told her 20 years ago that McDonagh had raped him in the early 1960s.

“I am in a spirit of prayerful thanksgiving to God, that through the investigation by the archdiocese, it has been determined that the allegation was not credible, and that I have been returned to Saint Ann’s,” McDonagh said in a statement.

Father Christopher Coyne, an archdiocesan spokesman, said no other allegations had been made since McDonagh’s name was made public.

Bishop Richard G. Lennon, the interim leader of the Boston Archdiocese, made the decision to reinstate McDonagh after receiving a report and recommendation from a church review board and his delegate, Coyne said. The spokesman did not provide details of the report.

“Throughout this investigation, every effort was made to ensure that the canonical and civil rights of the person who made the complaint and those of Father Edward C. McDonagh were respected and protected,” Lennon said in a statement.

The archdiocese’s investigation included a review of the priest’s ministry record and interviews with “numerous” people, including the accuser.