A Maronite chorbishop was suspended from ministry after he was arrested for allegedly engaging in a public sex act with a registered sex offender at an Ohio park.
“I write to you today in response to the charges that have been made against Chorbishop Anthony Spinosa,” Bishop Elias Zaidan of the Eparchy of Our Lady of Lebanon in Los Angeles wrote in a letter dated August 18.
Bishop Zaidan continued: “Like you, I am saddened and looking for answers, which will only come when the civil authorities have completed their investigation and any subsequent legal action.”
Chorbishop Spinosa, 75, has been removed from his post as rector of the Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine in North Jackson, Ohio, “with immediate effect”, Bishop Zaidan said.
“I am grateful for Reverend Michael Shami who has agreed to immediately assume, during this time of transition, responsibility as temporary administrator for the Basilica and National Shrine starting today. I ask for your support for Fr. Shami as he begins this temporary assignment,” he said. He also requested that people pray for Spinosa and everyone involved in the incident.
Spinosa was arrested and charged with a pair of misdemeanours following a July 31 incident in which a couple saw him and a man named Kenneth Kopp allegedly engaged in a sex act in broad daylight at a public park in Warren, Ohio.
Kopp is a tier three sex offender and was sentenced to 10 years in jail in 2011 after being convicted of raping a juvenile female. In Ohio, “tier three” is the highest category of sex offenders.
Police issued a warrant for Spinosa’s arrest on August 3. Spinosa has pleaded not guilty to charges of procuring, which is a first-degree misdemeanour, and public indecency, a second-degree misdemeanour.
At the time of the arrest, Spinosa and Kopp denied knowing each other, according to local media reports.
Spinosa is currently free on bail, with orders to avoid the park where he was arrested.
In the Maronite Catholic Church, the title of “chorbishop” is given to senior priests. It is below the rank of diocesan bishop and was traditionally used for rural areas. Spinosa had been at the Our Lady of Lebanon Shrine since 2004.
