I hope not

I really hope this is baseless:

A prominent Catholic priest and professor about to be sued for allegedly sexually abusing a Twin Cities-area girl more than a decade ago has taken a voluntary leave of absence from his priestly and teaching duties.

The Rev. Michael J. Keating, a popular Catholic Studies teacher at the University of St. Thomas, is on a voluntary leave of absence, Jim Accurso, a spokesman for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, said Sunday. Accurso said he couldn’t discuss the reasons for the leave or any of the allegations involving Keating.

Lawyer Jeff Anderson, the woman’s attorney, said that his office notified Keating of the lawsuit on Saturday and plans to file the complaint Monday morning in Ramsey County District Court.

You would be hard pressed to find a priest who has done a better job of explaining Catholicism than Fr. Keating, who served as an assistant pastor at my home parish, St. John the Baptist, about 10 years ago. He is the best homilist I've ever seen in person, by miles.