'It's sad and embarrassing': Rumors and pornography accusation disrupt Cincinnati parish

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2 days ago

Months of tension between Catholic parishioners and their priests at a West Side parish boiled over last weekend with a disruption during Mass, accusations about pornography and a plea from Cincinnati's archbishop to end "sinful" rumors and gossip.
The problems burst into public view Saturday at Our Lady of the Visitation in Green Township, when police officers escorted a man who'd interrupted the afternoon service out of the church.
The incident occurred moments after Archdiocese of Cincinnati Chancellor Jason Williams read a statement from Archbishop Robert Casey defending a Visitation priest, Martin Bachman, and its pastor, Don Siciliano.
Casey's statement referred to accusations and complaints about the priests as unfounded and unfair.
'Several concerns have been brought to the attention of the archdiocese,' Casey wrote. 'These have been investigated, and no wrongdoing – either criminally or ecclesiastically – has been substantiated.'
Casey then urged parishioners to avoid spreading falsehoods about anyone, including their parish priests. 'Rumors which quickly spiral out of control have the potential to severely harm the good reputation which each of us should enjoy,' he wrote. 'Consequently, like gossip, the spreading of rumors is sinful, and we should all work to overcome this tendency of our fallen human nature.'
Jake McQuaide, a Visitation parishioner and NFL player, stood to protest after Williams read Casey's statement, shouting at Williams and demanding, specifically, that he address an allegation that Bachman had accessed pornography on a computer at the church.
'We want to put these rumors to rest,' McQuaide said. 'Can you answer this for me?'
'This is not the time,' Williams responded.
Williams then said the accusation against Bachman was false, but the back-and-forth continued until Green Township police officers approached McQuaide and walked him out of the church.
Police Capt. Mitch Hill said the archdiocese had asked police to attend the service in case there were disruptions. He said McQuaide, who could not be reached for comment, was not detained or charged with a crime.
Bachman did not respond to calls or an email seeking comment. But an archdiocese spokeswoman, Jennifer Schack, said the allegation that Bachman used a parish-owned computer to access pornography is false.
Casey said in his statement that Bachman would begin a sabbatical in July, which he said was planned prior to the accusations and is unrelated to them.
Todd Zureick, the Visitation parishioner who filed a complaint with the archdiocese about the pornography allegation, said he saw images on the computer that included thumbnail links to adult pornography sites and other sites with explicit content. He said he received the images from a third party, whom he has not identified, and then shared them with the archdiocese in April.
Zureick said he does not believe the images are illegal but that they are inappropriate for a workplace, especially a church.
He said the archdiocese failed to adequately investigate the complaint, which has resulted in the public airing of accusations and more frustration among parishioners.
'It's sad and embarrassing that the lack of institutional control and leadership at Visitation has led to this,' Zureick said.
Casey, however, said in his statement that the matter was investigated thoroughly and that no misconduct was revealed.
'Both Father Siciliano and Father Bachman are priests in good standing in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati,' Casey wrote. 'There are no ecclesiastical investigations being conducted related to their conduct.'
He also described some of the accusations that have been made as 'defamatory statements' and said Green Township Police have found no criminal misconduct related to any priest at Visitation.
Hill confirmed his department has found no criminal wrongdoing. But police records show they did investigate an unrelated complaint in late 2023 with connections to Visitation.
The name of the person who filed the complaint is redacted, because of a state law that conceals the names of crime victims. But The Enquirer found the property listed on the complaint is owned by the archdiocese and matches Bachman's address.
According to a police report, the man who filed the complaint said he had been encouraged by an unknown person he'd met online to deposit money into an investment account. By the time he realized it was 'a scam,' the police report said, he had deposited $58,000.
Weeks later, the man who filed the complaint said he'd been contacted again by the person he'd met online, and this time she was threatening to reveal sexually explicit conversations he'd had with her 'to his parishes' if he didn't pay more money.
Hill said police, who investigated the matter as a telecommunications fraud, don't know if that threat was carried out. But he said the $58,000 investment was never recovered.
Schack did not respond late Monday when asked if archdiocese officials were aware of the fraud investigation.
Casey's statement also does not mention the fraud investigation.
Long before the uproar last weekend, parishioners at Visitation, St. Jude in Bridgetown and St. Joseph in North Bend had expressed concerns about leadership in their parishes. All three parishes are part of a 'family of parishes' that is overseen by Siciliano and Bachman.
The parish family was created a few years ago as the archdiocese began consolidating parishes and schools into groups that could share resources and priests. Those changes have, at times, upset parishioners.
A change.org petition started early this year listed a string of complaints and concerns from parishioners at Visitation, St. Jude and St. Joseph about the operation of their parishes and parish schools.
'We … are deeply concerned about the current direction of leadership and decision-making within our parish,' the petition states. It goes on to request better communication from church leaders, more transparency in parish finances, more autonomy for school faculty and protection from retaliation for parishioners who speak out.
As of Monday, the petition had 651 signatures.
Maggie Lysaght, the Visitation parishioner who started the petition, said the concerns expressed in the petition are based on input from more than 200 parishioners. She said the problems they reveal shouldn't be overshadowed by the pornography accusations that arose at the church last weekend.
'There are a lot of unhappy parishioners,' she said.
In his statement, Casey indicated he's aware the consolidation of parishes might be a challenge for some parishioners.
'Times of change can be difficult,' he wrote. 'We may not like some decisions that are made, and things may not always unfold according to our personal preferences.'
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Rumors and pornography accusation disrupt Cincinnati west side parish