Church officials in Pennsylvania have removed a monsignor from ministry after learning of a lawsuit that claims he told a teen he was counseling online to disrobe and perform sex acts.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown announced the move Wednesday.
The suit was brought by a Suffolk, Virginia, man who says he was 16 when Monsignor Francis Nave began counseling him in 2011 after the teen sought support on a gay social media website.
The boy reportedly told Nave he was depressed, had low self-esteem and suffered sexual and emotional abuse at home. The counseling sessions lasted about a year before the man said he stopped communicating with Nave.
Efforts to reach Nave for comment were unsuccessful. He was pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Bath.
