Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 14, 2024 / 18:20 pm
Monsignor Kieran Harrington has resigned his position as the national director of The Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States (TPMS US) after the Diocese of Brooklyn found “sufficient proof” of “inappropriate behavior with an adult,” which he has since admitted to.
The Diocese of Brooklyn’s Adult Allegation Committee (AAC) investigated Harrington after it received an allegation of “inappropriate conduct” on March 6, 2023. The committee found “sufficient proof” to support the allegation but did not disclose any specifics about the conduct.
In a statement provided to CNA, Harrington admitted that he had an “inappropriate” encounter with a woman in which he had “broken [his] promise of celibacy.” However, he claimed that the incident was consensual and occurred long before he assumed his leadership role with TPMS US.
“Regrettably, more than a decade ago and prior to my appointment to this position, I had a single, inappropriate, consensual encounter with an adult woman for whom I cared deeply,” Harrington said in a statement provided to CNA. “I was wrong to have done so.”