A Sewickley priest will not face criminal charges following an investigation into Facebook posts he made to a minor but has announced he will step down as pastor of St. James Catholic Church.In a letter to his parishioners of the last six years, the Rev. Daniel Valentine said Bishop David Zubik last week accepted his resignation from the Walnut Street church, effective Aug. 15.
Valentine went on voluntary leave May 19, after Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese officials received a complaint regarding posts he made on Facebook.
The diocese turned over the complaint to the Allegheny County district attorney’s office and instructed diocese staff to perform a forensic audit on the church’s computers and Valentine’s personal computer.
In a previous letter to parishioners, Zubik said the district attorney’s office concluded that “while the postings were a matter of poor judgment, there was no criminal activity involved.”
The district attorney’s office recently informed the diocese that it would not pursue criminal charges against Valentine, according to another letter written by Zubik over the weekend.
Diocese spokesman the Rev. Ron Lengwin said Valentine will remain on leave for as long as he chooses, and will be permitted to return to ministry. Lengwin declined to comment further on the investigation and the nature of the Facebook postings.
Zubik will join Valentine at 7 p.m. Aug. 15 for his last Mass at St. James, which will begin celebrating its 150th anniversary year this fall.
Valentine, a Bethel Park native, was ordained in 1974 and previously served as pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in West Mifflin.
A new pastor, the Rev. Thomas Burke, will join the parish on Aug. 27.
Burke, who was ordained in 2001, currently serves as pastor of Good Shepherd Catholic Parish in Braddock.