Jesuit Liturgist Removed from Ministry

I met him once and immediately didn't like him. He was cocky, the kind of person who if you didn't agree with him on one point--would laugh at you like there was something wrong with you. Now it turns out that he was a troubled individual...



From toledoblade.com:



"An award-winning expert on the liturgy - the public worship of the church - Father Gallen served as editor of Hosanna Magazine, wrote numerous books and articles on liturgy and worship, and in the 1970s was director of the pastoral liturgy center at the University of Notre Dame. He has continued to write about liturgy, publishing articles as recently as June, 2003, in the national Catholic magazine The Tidings.



Father Gallen arrived in Sylvania in March, 1980, to lead a week-long parish retreat at St. Joseph's - where then-Auxiliary Bishop James R. Hoffman was pastor - and stayed at the church rectory.



'He was a very charismatic, very friendly man, and would call me into his room to talk to me and stuff,' Kevin told The Blade. 'That's when the ...'



Kevin's voice faded, finding the allegations difficult to discuss even after 24 years. Married for 12 years and the father of one daughter, Kevin has been undergoing counseling both individually and with his spouse, for more than a decade.



'First it started out with a hug, and then, you know, he'd be rubbing his leg up against [me]. Then he was kissing me,' Kevin said.



'And it was all very, very, very confusing to me. I was completely taken up by his speech, by his talking, the respect that he had from the other priests and the bishop, and what do I do with that? In my mind, I was very, very confused.'



Shortly after Father Gallen returned to his home in Phoenix, Ariz., he called Kevin's parents in Sylvania and asked if their son could help him move to California.



'He didn't even talk to me, he got permission from my parents to help him move from Phoenix to Sacramento,' Kevin said.



He said he was afraid to go but also was afraid to tell his parents "