A retired Catholic priest sentenced to 60 days in jail after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a boy in Syracuse has been removed from the priesthood. The Diocese of Wilmington, Del., announced Thursday the Vatican had accepted its request to "laicize" the former Rev. Francis DeLuca, 79.
"This decree from the pope permanently dismisses DeLuca from the priesthood and he is now known as Mr. DeLuca," the Wilmington Diocese said in a news release.
That diocese had requested Deluca's change in status a day after his October 2006 arrest in Syracuse.
DeLuca was charged with five misdemeanours accusing him of repeated sexual contact with an underage boy.
He had moved to Syracuse in 1993 after he was dismissed from public ministry in Delaware because he was accused of sexually abusing a minor in the 1960s.
He was ordained in 1958 and ministered in the Wilmington Diocese for 35 years.
Victims' advocates have criticized officials in the Syracuse and Wilmington dioceses for not warning the community that a Roman Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing minors was living unsupervised.
It's unclear if DeLuca still lives in Syracuse.
He is listed as a Level 1 sex offender on the New York State Sex Offender Registry. Offenders at Level 1 - the lowest level - are required to register for at least 20 years. The registry does not provide residence details or other information about Level 1 offenders to the public.
Thomas S. Neuberger, a Wilmington lawyer who represents clients in eight lawsuits accusing DeLuca of sexual abuse, said the laicization is part of the church's attempt to belatedly show its concern about the case.
"The diocese is simply trying to make it look better for the upcoming jury trials," Neuberger said. "We're going to prove there is a cover-up since 1962."
Cases filed in Delaware accuse DeLuca of sexual abuse from 1961 to 2006.
Delaware last year eliminated the statute of limitations in cases of child sexual abuse and provided a two-year window in which previously time-barred cases can be filed.
Neuberger said he expects to file at least two more lawsuits accusing DeLuca of sexual abuse.
The Neuberger firm, meanwhile, no longer represents Ronald Santee Jr., of Rome, Oneida County. Last year, Neuberger said he planned to file a lawsuit on Santee's behalf.
Santee had said DeLuca sexually abused him on more than 200 occasions from 1967 to 1976.
Stephen Neuberger, Thomas Neuberger's son and law partner, would not say why the firm no longer represents Santee.
In June, a suit filed against DeLuca by Santee was withdrawn. The lawyer in that case, James Bailey, of Wilmington, said he no longer represents Santee.
Santee could not be reached Friday. A phone number he previously provided is out of service and directory assistance could find no listing in his name.
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