Homepage / Connecticut News
E-Mail News Alerts
Get breaking news and daily headlines.
Browse all e-mail newsletters
Related To Story

Archbishop: Accused Priest Will Leave Church

Priest's Attorney Says He's Staying Put

POSTED: 7:10 pm EDT March 28, 2007
UPDATED: 8:59 pm EDT March 28, 2007

The archbishop of Hartford said there is no room in the Catholic church for a priest who is accused of sexually assaulting young boys.

Archbishop Henry Mansell said the church wants Father Stephen Foley to vacate his residence at the seminary and sell his car.

Eleven men have accused Foley of molesting them when they were boys. Foley denies the accusations and has never been arrested.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Susan Raff reported that Foley is currently residing at St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield and is driving a Crown Victoria that resembles cars used by police officers.

Foley is accused of using the same car to lure young boys when he was a police and fire chaplain.

Mansell told Eyewitness News that Foley, who is still ordained as a priest, is not allowed by the church to work with the public and cannot wear anything that suggests that he is ordained.

After the allegations of abuse originally surfaced, the Hartford Archdiocese reassigned Foley and paid a settlement to his alleged victims.

Tony Lembo claims he was abused as a boy by Foley and wrote a book about what the priest allegedly did to him.

"I decided to tell my story because I wanted to make sure that everyone knew how heartless and manipulative and selfish Foley was and how the church and others protected him," Lembo said.

Foley's attorney told Eyewitness News that Foley has not agreed to leave the Catholic church and that he has certain conical rights.

"Oh, he's leaving the seminary. He's agreed to leave," Mansell said. "We acted on that immediately, and he's agreed to leave the seminary."

Click here to e-mail newstips to Eyewitness News, or dial toll-free: 866-289-0333.
Be sure to stay with WFSB.com and Channel 3 Eyewitness News for the latest news updates.


Advertise On WFSB

Advertise with WFSB-TV-DT and WFSB.com
Reach your best potential customers by advertising on the No. 1-rated television station in the Hartford/New Haven market. More


Sponsored Links

Smart Savings

Do you catch yourself counting every penny these days? Find money saving ideas big and small in our Smart Savings guide. More


Links We Like
Sponsored Content
Learn the top five signs of common mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and bipolar disorder. More

To get the most out of your remodel, check out these 10 home updates that have the biggest payoffs when it comes time to sell your home. More

Find out what a sputtering economy and an increasingly difficult to crack job market means to you. More

Curious about what homes near you are in foreclosure? Want to be notified when a home enters foreclosure? Get all of that and more here. More

CBS Shows Online

Consumer Info



Sponsored Content Provided by ARA


Hartford Magazine
Meriden Record-Journal
AllGreen.com