Priest Defrocked

A priest has been removed from his church for offering sex to a young boy. The former priest from St. John's Church has been defrocked by the Episcopal Diocese for allegedly offering oral sex to a 13-year-old boy as a "confirmation gift." The Rev. Bruce Jacques was removed as a priest from the Diocese of Connecticut last month after he unsuccessfully appealed a similar decision made by a lower church court last year, the diocese announced. The embattled pastor, who denied the boy's accusations, resigned from St. John's in February 1995, after the boy's family went public with their story. Jacques had been the Main Street church's pastor for more than 10 years in 1984, when church officials reviewed the accusation and ruled that he could remain at the church if he received counseling. But the boy's family objected. Jacques sued the family in 1995, calling the claims "malicious and spurious accusations." The boy's parents filed a countersuit. Both suits were withdrawn after a settlement last year. The agreement permits Jacques to deny that the event in question took place as described. It also specifies the parents never claimed there was actual physical molestation of the boy. No criminal charges were filed against Jacques. In September 1997, the diocese ecclesiastical court found Jacques in violation of his ordination vows and "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." Jacques unsuccessfully appealed that decision.