Charlotte bishop assessing future of priest accused of boundary violations, sexual abuse

A police investigation found the sexual abuse allegations credible, the diocese said.

Bishop Michael Martin of Charlotte has indicated that he will assess whether to return to ministry a priest who has been accused of both boundary violations and sexual abuse of a minor.

The priest - Fr. Patrick Hoare - was removed from his role as pastor after the diocesan lay review board found boundary violation allegations against him to be credible.

Hoare has also been accused of sexually abusing minors decades ago in Pennsylvania – allegations which the Pennsylvania police determined to be credible, according to Martin’s predecessor.

St. Matthew’s Church in Charlotte. Credit: Facebook.

Martin said the priest’s future ministry in the diocese will depend, in part, on his completion of an “assessment and training” program.

In a May 29 letter to parishioners of St. Matthew’s Parish, where Fr. Hoare had previously been pastor, Martin announced that the Apostolic Signatura – the Church’s supreme tribunal - has sided with the diocese in its decision to remove Hoare from his role as pastor. Hoare had appealed his removal to the tribunal.

Hoare has been on administrative leave in Charlotte since December 2019, when allegations of sexual abuse of a minor were made against him in Pennsylvania. Hoare denied the allegations.

The abuse was alleged to have taken place more than 25 years prior, when Hoare was in his teens and 20s, before he became a priest.

After investigating the abuse allegations, Pennsylvania police told the Diocese of Charlotte that they had determined them to be credible, but that charges could not be filed against Hoare due to the statute of limitations, the diocese said.

Then-Bishop of Charlotte Peter Jugis subsequently asked the diocesan lay review board to conduct its own investigation. He noted that the diocese did not have access to the full investigation conducted by the Pennsylvania police.

The lay review board concluded that some of the sexual abuse allegations appeared credible, but the exact ages of alleged victims could not be determined with confidence based on the available evidence.

The board also said that while there were no allegations of abuse against Hoare during his time in Charlotte, he had been observed several times engaging in boundary violations with minors, including hugging, rubbing a minor’s shoulders or stomach, and being “very touchy,” according to the diocese.

On the recommendation of the review board, Jurgis removed Hoare from his role as pastor of St. Matthew parish in 2020.

Jugis said that Hoare “had repeatedly been the subject of complaints from the faithful that he failed to live up to contemporary standards of conduct with minors, with concerns raised at each parish where he had been assigned since his ordination in 2007.”

“Multiple reports of inappropriate behavior in violation of ministerial standards of conduct with minors raised grave concerns among parishioners and at a minimum called into question Father Hoare’s judgment,” the bishop said.

He added that Hoare’s conduct had brought “grave detriment to ecclesiastical communion” and that his ministry “had become harmful and/or ineffective.”

The priest remained on administrative leave while he filed several appeals with the Vatican.

The Dicastery for the Clergy denied his appeal in July 2021, saying that he had “sufficiently demonstrated grave and lasting cause for the removal,” according to the Diocese of Charlotte.

Hoare appealed that decision to the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican’s supreme appeals tribunal, which dismissed his appeal in November 2022, saying it was “manifestly lacking in foundation,” according to the diocese.

Subsequently, Hoare appealed to a larger panel at the Apostolic Signatura.

That panel has now determined that Hoare’s removal as pastor was “in accord with canon law,” Bishop Martin said in his May 29 letter.

“The [Lay Review Board] recommended that Father Hoare remain out of ministry until he underwent an assessment and education program to address any issues identified. Since that time, Father Hoare has been engaged in this process as recommended,” Martin said.

He added that “the faithful can be confident that in matters involving the welfare of minors we do not take shortcuts or risks. For this reason, in considering how Father Hoare might best serve the diocese in the future, I will take into consideration Father Hoare’s satisfactory completion of the recommended assessment and training, along with consultation with diocesan leaders and the [Lay Review Board].”

The Diocese of Charlotte did not respond to questions from The Pillar about the specific restrictions Hoare is subject to while he remains on administrative leave.

Nor did it respond to questions about the priest’s podcast Daily Reflections with Fr. Pat, whether it is actually published by Hoare, and if so, whether the diocese has given him approval to create the podcast while he is on administrative leave.