In a development in the case of Father George Rutler, the prominent priest-author-commentator released the following statement a few days ago to LifeSiteNews.com and other Catholic media outlets:
I want to express my gratitude to the many people who have written to me and offered their support over these last seven months.
After having diligently and thoroughly examined [the] accusations, the Manhattan District Attorney has stated that he is not going forward against me.
September 8, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, will be the 40th anniversary of my ordination as a Catholic priest by the Servant of God Terence Cardinal Cooke. I cherish my years of service. Please continue your prayers that the Lord may lead us all to trust in His Providence.
The case was covered late last year by various media outlets, including The New York Times.
The Archdiocese of New York’s communications office has not yet responded to my request for a statement on the matter.
I asked Rutler in an email if he thought the archdiocese would reinstate him to public ministry. He responded: “I am more than a year past retirement age and so I expect to retire.”
Matt C. Abbott is a Catholic commentator with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication, media and theatre from Northeastern Illinois University. He also has an Associate in Applied Science degree in business management from Triton College. Abbott has been interviewed on HLN, MSNBC, Bill Martinez Live, WOSU Radio in Ohio, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's 2019 ‘Unsolved’ podcast about the unsolved murder of Father Alfred Kunz, Alex Shuman's 'Smoke Screen: Fake Priest' podcast, WLS-TV (ABC) in Chicago, WMTV (NBC) and WISC-TV (CBS) in Madison, Wisconsin. He’s been quoted in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune and other media outlets. He’s mentioned in the 2020 Report on the Holy See's Institutional Knowledge and Decision-Making Related to Former Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1930 to 2017), which can be found on the Vatican's website. He can be reached at mattcabbott@gmail.com.
(Note: I welcome and appreciate thoughtful feedback. Insults will be ignored. Only in very select cases will I honor a request to have a telephone conversation about a topic in my column. Email is much preferred. God bless you and please keep me in your prayers!)
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I want to express my gratitude to the many people who have written to me and offered their support over these last seven months.
