Joseph Mouser, 86, was arrested by Marion County Sheriff's Department deputies Thursday morning on charges of first- and second-degree sodomy involving a child 12 or younger and first-degree child sexual abuse for the alleged occurrences that happened between 1989 and 1993.
Archdiocese records show that Mouser, one of 48 archdiocese priests and members of religious orders credibly accused of child sexual abuse, abused four boys when he was assigned to St. Helen Catholic Church from 1968 to 1972 and a fifth when he was at St. Francis of Assisi from 1973 to 1979. He was not charged criminally.
Mouser was previously ordered by the Vatican to stop functioning as a priest and asked to live a life of "prayer and penance" by the Holy See, meaning he could no longer wear clerical garb, celebrate Mass publicly, administer the sacraments or present himself publicly as a priest.
The Courier Journal confirmed he was continuing his priestly responsibilities at the Sisters of Loretto, which is south of Bardstown in Marion County, as a chaplain after being removed from ministry by the Archdiocese in 2002.