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[Catholic Caucus] Investigation Ends, Priest Returns to Duty. Why??? Several months ago Fr. Mark Payne, a priest of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, was suspended from his duties as pastor of St. Monica parish in Whitefish Bay and St Eugene's in Fox Point. He was also the Judicial Vicar--chief Canon Law dude--for the Archdiocese. That suspension followed revelations that the priest had a 'long-term relationship' with another man, including sharing a condo residence with him, vacationing with him, and bar-hopping with him. Many pictures of the pair could easily be found on social media(!!!) A spokesperson for Archbishop Jerome Listecki of...

[Catholic Caucus] Milwaukee response to clergy complaint raises questionsWhile Pope Francis has urged diocesan bishops to take more seriously the canonical discipline of clerics, the outgoing chairman of the U.S. bishops’ canonical affairs committee has not taken steps to address canonically reports of public cohabitation by a senior-ranking official in his archdiocese. A spokesperson for Archbishop Jerome Listecki of Milwaukee told The Pillar that the archdiocese has “spoken with” judicial vicar Fr. Mark Payne, who hired as a parish schoolteacher last year a layperson with whom he had maintained a public romantic relationship, and with whom he has shared a...