Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

A new bishop has been named for the Catholic Diocese of Erie. 61-year-old Monsignor Lawrence Persico will succeed Bishop Donald Trautman, who resigned when he turned 75 on June 24, 2011, according to church protocol. Pope Benedict XVI made the announcement today. Persico will come to Erie from the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg and will be installed as bishop on Oct. 1. http://www.eriercd.org/default.htm The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Father Sam Slocum will not serve any jail time following his conviction for having an inappropriate relationship with a teenage boy while he was pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Bradford and Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Lewis Run. Slocum was sentenced this morning to two years’ probation. District Attorney Ray Learn tells WESB and The Hero Slocum has also been ordered to have no unsupervised contact with minors and no contact with the victim or his family. He has also been ordered to pay a $300 fine, do 100 hours of community service and provide a DNA sample. Last month a jury found Slocum guilty of concealment of the whereabouts of a child and corruption of minors. Following the verdict Bishop Donald Trautman said Slocum will not return to active ministry. The news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Erie Dioceses Bishop Donald Trautman has been hospitalized in Rome. A spokesman for the diocese said Trautman got sick after arriving in Italy earlier this week, but he didn’t specify what kind of illness the bishop is suffering from. He is undergoing tests in the hospital. Diocese vicar general Monsignor Robert Smith says Trautman did not feel well enough to meet with Pope Benedict XVI as scheduled on Thursday, but expects to meet with him next week. The original news leader of the Twin Tiers ... since 1947

Most Rev. Donald W. Trautman, bishop of Erie, has appointed Msgr. Charles A. Kaza, pastor of St. Tobias Parish in Brockway and vicar for the Eastern Vicariate of the diocese, to serve as a second vicar general for the Diocese of Erie. The new position was created because Msgr. Robert J. Smith, who has served as vicar general since 1990, underwent heart surgery earlier this month. Msgr. Smith will remain in his position as well. “I have visited with Monsignor Smith and want to assure people he is on the mend and we expect a full recovery,” Bishop Trautman said. “But with the travel on my schedule this fall (including the mandatory 10‐day Ad Limina visit to Rome in early December) and after consultation with the Priests Council, I felt this was a prudent measure.” A vicar general assists the bishop in the areas of diocesan governance, and along with the bishop oversees the operations of the administrative cabinet, diocesan departments and agencies and matters pertaining to clergy personn...

Father Sam Slocum was arraigned today on charges related to an alleged inappropriate relationship with a 15-year-old boy. Slocum, who turns 60 on Saturday, appeared before District Judge Rich Luther at around 1 o’clock this afternoon on charges of interfering with the custody of children and concealment of the whereabouts of a child. He was released on bond with the stipulation that he not have any contact with the victim, his family or any other minors. His preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 20. Slocum is accused of communicating with the boy after his mother said she didn’t want them to be in contact. The alleged incidents happened between January 1 and March 29. Bishop Donald Trautman placed Slocum on a leave of absence while the case makes its way through the court system.

The Diocese of Erie has suspended Father Sam Slocum, who is facing criminal charges for having inappropriate contact with a 15-year-old boy after his mother prohibited it. Bishop Donald Trautman says the 59-year-old priest has been relieved of his duties and, in a brief statement, said the charges are “devastating, if true.” State police say Slocum gave the boy expensive gifts, including an iPhone and a laptop computer so the teen could contact the priest despite knowing the boy's mother had forbid it. Police say Slocum told them he knowingly contacted the boy anyway. Slocum has agreed to surrender to authorities at an undisclosed place and time on Friday.

Bishop Donald Trautman of the Erie Diocese waits in the vestibule of St. Bernard Church before administering the sacrament of Confirmation to students from St. Bernard's and St. Francis of Assisi churches in Bradford, Our Mother of Perpetual Help (Lewis Run), St. Raphael (Eldred), St. Gabriel (Port Allegany), St. Mary (Sartwell) and St. Theresa (Shinglehouse). Earlier in the afternoon, the bishop administered the sacrament at St. Joseph Church in Force to students of St. Joseph as well as St. Boniface in Kersey. The bishop blesses the congregation: