Higher Standards: Truth and Transparency

On Wednesday, May 8, 2024, North Huntingdon Township Police arrested a cemetery employee of Immaculate Conception Parish, Irwin, on cemetery property.  Shon M. Harrity of North Huntingdon was charged with eight felonies including forcible rape, statutory sexual assault of a minor, forcible compulsion, and indecent sexual intercourse with a person under 16 years old, and three counts of aggravated indecent assault.  He faced a number of misdemeanors as well.  These alleged offenses date back to 2022.  To the best of our knowledge, none of this allegedly occurred on parish or cemetery property.

The late Father John Moineau, who was pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish, Irwin and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish, North Huntingdon at the time, told the Vicar General that Harrity was hired in March of 2010 by Father Len Stoviak, now a retired priest in the Diocese of Greensburg.  Mr. Harrity was to perform maintenance work at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Church.  Upon Father Moineau’s appointment as pastor in July 2017, Harrity performed duties at both parishes.  In 2023, he was transferred full-time to Immaculate Conception Parish cemetery.  The Higher Standards initiative in the Diocese, creating a safe and transparent environment for our most vulnerable, began in August of 2018, one year after Father Moineau assumed this pastorate.  

Following Harrity’s arrest, the Diocese discovered Harrity’s extensive criminal record dating back to 2000.

Because clearances for parish employees are kept within the parish, a Diocesan employee went to Immaculate Conception Parish in Irwin to obtain copies of Harrity’s clearances.  At Immaculate Conception Parish, the Diocesan representative was provided with a set of clearances from 2020 which included a signed Diocesan Code of Pastoral Conduct, the Mandated Reporter Training, the VIRTUS Training and a PA Criminal History Check Form.  The file did not contain the FBI Fingerprint Check or the PA Child Abuse Form.

Those documents, the set of clearances that included FBI Fingerprint check and a Child Abuse Clearance form were on file at Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.  The results of the FBI Fingerprint check clearly disqualified Harrity from being employed in a parish.  In 2020, the complete file was emailed to office personnel at Immaculate Conception Parish.  As part of his pastoral responsibilities, Father John Moineau attested to the validity of all of the clearances in his parishes, signing a letter to the Office of the Bishop that he personally reviewed and certified that all of employees and volunteers met Diocesan clearance standards, which would have included Mr. Harrity’s file.

Questions arose as to whether Mr. Charles Quiggle, the Diocesan Human Resource Director at the time, was told of this criminal record by Father Leonard Stoviak.  Mr. Quiggle, who is incarcerated in Florida for a crime not committed while employed for the Diocese, was interviewed by investigators.  He denied that any conversation ever occurred between himself and Father Stoviak.  A subsequent forensic investigation into communications between Father Stoviak and Mr. Quiggle also revealed no discussions about Mr. Harrity, his employment in the parish or his clearances.  In addition, the investigation by outside resources showed no such communication was reported to the Vicar General or the Bishop’s Office.

Father John Moineau was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July of 2021.  Father Moineau attested to the validity all of his clearances a year before he became ill.  After his diagnosis, Bishop Kulick communicated regularly with Father Moineau to check on his health situation. 

Each time they spoke, Bishop Kulick offered Father Moineau pastoral supply and administrative support while he focused on his treatment.  Each time, Bishop Kulick’s offer was declined by Father Moineau.

In Canon law, Canon 532 implies that pastors have the primary authority to hire staff as they are responsible for the pastoral care, administration and governance of the parish under the Bishop.  The pastor is the ultimate supervisor of parish personnel and their records – not the Diocese.

The Diocese, as per the protocol of our High Standards Policy, reported the matter to the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office.  The Westmoreland County District Attorney’s office investigated the matter and did not find that there was a conspiracy involved to hide the record – however they did not say that there was no wrongdoing.

Immediately, upon learning of the clearance violations, and in accordance with the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops (USCCB) Zero Tolerance Policy, and the Diocese of Greensburg’s Higher Standards Mandate, Bishop Kulick ordered a comprehensive review of all clearances for priests, employees and lay volunteers in all parishes, schools and diocesan offices.  Over 3,000 clearance documents were reviewed and verified.  The only violation discovered in this review was the one at Immaculate Conception Parish and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish.

Before the canonical investigation was initiated, Father Moineau was asked to resign his pastorates, which is Diocesan protocol.  He voluntarily agreed to do so.  Bishop Kulick placed Father Moineau on a medical leave so that he could continue to obtain treatment for his illness.

Father Moineau asked Bishop Kulick if he would permit him to “tell his parishioners” about his resignation.  It was proposed that there be a gathering at the Queen of Angels School Auditorium in Irwin.  Bishop Kulick agreed and the meeting for Immaculate Conception and St. Elizabeth Anne Seton’s parishioners was advertised for May 28, 2024.

It was during that gathering in the auditorium that the Vicar General outlined what transpired and why Father Moineau would no longer be their pastor.  Father Moineau spoke briefly to the audience at the May 28 meeting.  According to the transcript of his message from the actual video recording, Father Moineau admitted that he did not check Mr. Harrity’s employee file because Harrity had been an employee for 12 years.  Under the Higher Standards policy, Mr. Harrity would have had to renew all of his clearances at least once in that time frame, and Father Moineau would have had to attest that he reviewed those clearances.

Fr. Moineau did not deny the facts of his gross administrative negligence which led to his removal. 

“When his (Harrity) clearances showed that he should not be with children, I was not made privy of that.  But ultimately, my negligence is that I’m the one who’s the pastor.  I’m the one who put the people in charge, and I failed to review Shon’s file when he was transferred.  So, I take the responsibility in recognizing that I could have certainly done a better job,”  Father Moineau said that evening.

“Bishop asked me to resign my parishes, and I did so out of obedience, and that’s where we are with that,” Father Moineau continued.  “More importantly, I know what you’re thinking, what your hearts are telling you.  But the Church has been under attack by Satan implicitly, and this is another where he’s trying to win a battle.  He wants to take away a parish’s strong faith because of the negligence on the pastor’s part in this situation.  But I need you to continue to be who you’ve become.  I need you to be faithful to the Church.  It doesn’t do us any good to beat ourselves up, to beat up the bishop, beat up the process.  The process is the process,”  Father Moineau said before departing the stage.

Subsequently, in order to assuage the emotions in the parish, Father Moineau offered to make a video to be used on the social media channels of the parish.  It was later stated by some that Father Moineau was told ‘what to say and that his statement was edited’.  The fact is that his words were his own and if the video looks edited, that is because he stopped in the middle of the recording to gather his thoughts.  The only edits made to the video were to remove his pauses.

Along with the civil investigation, Bishop Kulick opened a canonical investigation utilizing outside sources.  Bishop Kulick was obliged to convene this investigation by Church law.  It was his desire to demonstrate our Diocesan commitment to our Higher Standards Policy, with transparency and with zero tolerance for any violation.  Church law demands that such an investigation be conducted with fairness, objectivity and confidentiality, and that the rights of the accused be protected throughout the process.  Father Moineau had Canonical counsel throughout the entire process.

The review of the independent investigation utilized two Canonical assessors from outside the Diocese of Greensburg who each made an independent recommendation to the Bishop about the status of Father Moineau’s future ministry

The information presented to them was deemed credible, demonstrating that there was a violation of Canon 1378, §2 which references culpable negligence in Church administration. 

Additionally, three independent boards: The Clergy Personnel Board, The Diocese of Greensburg Pastoral Code of Conduct Review Board and the Review Board for Clergy Sexual Misconduct, which is mandated by the USCCB Charter for the Protection of Children, each independently reviewed the facts and the findings of the canonical investigation and made recommendations to Bishop Kulick.  Each found that while Father Moineau’s failures may not have been civilly criminal in nature, they were more than a ‘clerical error’.  His failure was deemed a serious violation of Church law and Diocesan policies.  The legal term is called culpable negligence.  All three boards independently came to this same decision, and each made the same recommendation by unanimous consensus to the Bishop.

Following the recommendations he received, Bishop Kulick returned Father John Moineau to public ministry as a priest assigned to St. Margaret Mary Parish in Lower Burrell, as well as Mount St. Peter Parish, St. Joseph Parish and St. Mary of Czestochowa Parish in New Kensington, with residence at St. Mary of Czestochowa Rectory.  The recommendation was that he was not to be assigned to a pastorate or as an administrator at any parish.  Since Father Moineau was a Lower Burrell native, this new assignment enabled him to be near family and live in the community that first nurtured his priesthood.  He was also able to conveniently access his medical treatments.

The canonical investigation also determined that Shon Harrity was hired by then St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish Pastor Father Leonard Stoviak in 2012.  Father Stoviak told investigators he was aware that Harrity had ‘some sort of criminal record’.  Former finance Council members stated that they, too, had warned Father Stoviak about Harrity’s background.  Father Stoviak proceeded to hire Harrity anyway. 

Father Stoviak, now retired, will not be given another an appointment as pastor, administrator, or parochial vicar.  Additionally, Father Stoviak received a canonical penalty not permitting him to conduct a social media broadcast, or any mass media presentation for one year.

A small group from the Irwin area continues to claim a lack of transparency, on the part of the Diocese and a lack leadership by Bishop Kulick.  They also claim there was a lack of respect and dignity afforded to Father Moineau.

Despite the results of the investigations, they continue to falsely claim that Father Moineau was a ‘scapegoat’ in this situation.  This small group has focused on continuing to make defamatory remarks and creating divisiveness through the use of billboards, and social media comments.

Bishop Kulick personally invited each of these people to his office to discuss with him these very points.  A few agreed to the meeting.  The most vocal of the group have refused, preferring to continue to pursue an inaccurate narrative.  Many parishioners in the two parishes have stated that they would like to move forward but are afraid to share their feelings for fear of a public excoriation on social media or an “in-church” rebuke for not supporting the narrative of this small group.  Even on Social Media platforms, many speaking their narrative have had their postings deleted by the administrator of the site.

Father Moineau died in October of 2025.  In accordance with his and his family’s wishes, Bishop Kulick and many of his brother priests were excluded from the Funeral Mass.

Mr. Harrity is scheduled to go on trial for his alleged sexual assault on July 6, 2026.  Those who continue to focus on the alleged ‘treatment’ of Father Moineau have not mentioned any concern for Mr. Harrity’s alleged victim.  Their narrative states that the only victim is Father Moineau. 

Canon law (Canon 212) allows Catholics to voice concerns about Church matters, but requires that criticism of Bishops be done with respect, reverence, and without damaging the Church’s reputation or unity.

Before he left the stage on May 28, 2024, Father Moineau said:
“I beg you, do nothing to disgrace the Church. Do nothing to allow it to fail.”