Martin Bachman, a priest at Our Lady of the Visitation in Green Township, on June 6 told members of the parish he would begin a previously planned sabbatical immediately and not return.
"I have viewed adult pornography and engaged with some video games of an inappropriate nature," Bachman said in a letter on the parish website that the Archdiocese of Cincinnati provided.
Bachman said he did not view the pornography or video games in the parish office or on a parish-owned device.
Bachman also said he'd been "scammed out of a significant amount of my personal money" but not parish funds, and reported the scam to law enforcement.
Both matters – related to pornography and the alleged scam – had bubbled up in recent weeks at Our Lady of the Visitation.
They came to a boil at the end of May when a member of the Archdiocese staff read a letter during Mass from Archbishop Robert Casey defending Bachman and Visitation's pastor.
In that statement, Casey said no wrongdoing had been substantiated.
On June 6, the Archdiocese changed course.
"We confirmed information this week about the nature of the sinful and disturbing online activity in which Father Bachman has participated that requires immediate attention," a statement from the Archdiocese said.
The priest will address the issues "during his time away from ministry," the statement said.
Bachman, in his letter, said the past couple of years had been "particularly difficult ones" with the deaths of his parents within 30 days of each other and "not taking sufficient time to grieve."
But he added that he would "take ownership" of his behavior and asked for parishioners' prayers to move from "sin to grace, out of darkness into light."