Kenosha priest was attempting to warn parents, letter says

Online posting of “questionable material” by the pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church in Kenosha on his “personal Polish Facebook” page aimed only to warn parents about teens’ “poor use of social media,” according to a letter the Archdiocese of Milwaukee shared this weekend with parishioners.

The letter, written by the Rev. Kazimierz Chwalek, provincial superior of Massachusetts-based Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, noted the Rev. Ireneusz Chodakowski was placed on administrative leave while Catholic church officials and law enforcement agencies investigated allegations accusing Chodakowski of inappropriate postings on his Facebook page.

Late last week, the Kenosha Police Department detectives concluded an investigation into the matter, along with state investigators, and cleared Chodakowski of any criminal wrongdoing. However, police said Chodakowski exercised poor judgment regarding the posted material.

Chwalek’s letter to parishioners said when the posting “became known, standard procedures for addressing any possible breach of ethical standards went into effect,” leading to Chodakowski being place on administrative leave and the initiation of the investigations.

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Racine Catholic priest won't face charges for Facebook images

A Racine Catholic priest removed for posting questionable images on his Facebook page will not face criminal charges, the Kenosha Police Department said Friday.

It was not immediately clear whether Father Ireneusz Chodakowski will return as pastor at St. Peter's Catholic Parish. Archdiocese of Milwaukee spokesman Jerry Topczewski said that will be up to his religious order, the Massachusetts-based Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception. An attorney for the order declined to comment Friday other than to say it is undertaking its own investigation of the matter.

Chodakowski, who had been at St. Peter's since 2010, was removed last week after someone complained that images on his Facebook account could be potentially pornographic.

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Kenosha priest removed and investigated for Facebook posts

An ongoing investigation has led to the removal of the Rev. Ireneusz Chodakowski as pastor of St. Peter Catholic Church.

The probe, according to a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, is for Chodakowki’s alleged “lack of good judgment” regarding use of social media.

An anonymous parishioner told the Kenosha News that Chodakowski is “accused of using his Facebook account to share pornography, primarily with adults, but occasionally with minors.”

The parishioner said he was at Saturday’s Mass when the Rev. Bill Hayward read a prepared statement saying Chodakowski would be replaced by another priest “for at at least three weeks until somebody else could replace him more permanently.”

According to the parishioner, Chodakowski allegedly rebuffed a parish employee’s requests that he “make changes in the video content of his Facebook account,” apparently to prevent minors from seeing “pornographic images (Chodakowski) was distributing.”

That employee, the parishioner said, then attempted to contact the Rev. Kazimir Chwalek, the provincial superior of Chodakowski’s religious order, the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception based in Stonebridge, Mass.

When Chwalek apparently did not return the employee’s phone messages, the employee called the archdiocese, and officials there instructed Chwalek “to act immediately” as the allegations against Chodakowski “would likely result in a felony charge.”
Porn charge denied

Archdiocese spokeswoman Julie Wolf confirmed Chodakowski’s removal and temporary appointment of Hayward, who is pastor of Holy Rosary Catholic Church and Parish, as St. Peter administrator in Chodakowski’s absence.

Wolf denied that Chodakowski was removed due to sharing pornography with adults and minors. 

continue at Kenosha News

Note: Chodakowski is not a diocesan priest, he is a MIC.

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