Robert Sullivan’s self-imposed removal from the priesthood – known as laicization – was announced Wednesday, the day before the US holiday of Thanksgiving, in a public statement from Birmingham, Alabama, by Bishop Steven Raica.

Sullivan asked Pope Leo XIV to “be dispensed from all the obligations” of the priesthood, Wednesday’s statement from Raica said. The pontiff granted the request on Monday, Raica’s missive said.

The woman who accused Sullivan, Heather Jones, filed her allegations in a formal written statement to the Birmingham diocese that she then shared exclusively with the Guardian in August. Jones, now 33, also maintained that Sullivan had paid her hundreds of thousands of dollars to remain silent about their arrangement, backing up her claim with financial and email records, along with a copy of a legal agreement.

Raica’s letter said a subsequent church investigation into “the significant payments alleged to have been made by then-father Sullivan … found no link between the allegations and any diocesan, parish or school funds”.

“These four months since the allegations surfaced have been challenging in the life of our local church,” Raica’s letter added. “I am grateful for the patience and resilience of all who have been affected directly or indirectly by this matter.”

Raica issued a letter to his diocese’s congregants informing them of the allegations against Sullivan and the reason for his leave on 13 August, the same day that the Guardian reported Jones’s story. That letter also said the diocese had forwarded Jones’s allegations to the Vatican entity which investigates cases of clergy misconduct.



Alabama priest leaves clergy after woman alleges ‘private companionship’ beginning when she was 17.