Bishop Alan M. Gates notified the clergy and wardens in the Diocese of Massachusetts on Oct. 25 of the following clergy disciplinary matter.
On Oct. 23, the Buffalo News reported that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo has added the Rev. Ramon Aymerich to its list of clergy and former clergy who are the subjects of child sexual abuse claims.
Aymerich is a former Roman Catholic priest who was received into the Episcopal Church in 1982 in the Diocese of Western New York. He was made an Episcopal deacon in 1983 and priest in 1984. He worked in congregations in the Episcopal dioceses of Bethlehem in Pennsylvania, Southeast Florida and Newark before serving in the Diocese of Massachusetts at St. Anne's Church and St. John's Church in Lowell from 2004 to 2008. He was also an Air Force Reserve chaplain from 1976 to 2003. He retired to North Carolina in 2008 and moved to Medellín, Colombia, in the spring of 2019, but remains canonically resident in the Diocese of Massachusetts.
In January of this year, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo informed Bishop Alan M. Gates of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts of two separate allegations against Aymerich of child sexual abuse alleged to have occurred while he was still a Roman Catholic priest.
Following the Episcopal Church's clergy disciplinary canons, Bishop Gates acted promptly to refer the matter to a diocesan intake officer, who initiated an inquiry that included attempts to contact those who had made the allegations to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. He also ensured that civil authorities in Erie County, N.Y., were informed of the allegations received from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, and that the bishops of the Episcopal Church jurisdictions where Aymerich held positions were notified, along with the two Massachusetts congregations he served.
No allegations have been received regarding sexual misconduct by Aymerich during his Episcopal Church tenure.
Though Aymerich is retired and is not known to be serving in a priestly capacity, a pastoral direction that puts parameters on Aymerich's pastoral relationships and activities remains in place while further investigation is conducted. Disciplinary proceedings are in progress regarding Aymerich's violation of that pastoral direction.
The Episcopal Church has long had in place canonical disciplinary procedures for handling allegations of clergy misconduct. The Diocese of Massachusetts is committed to carrying out those procedures and to doing all that it can to foster safe church environments.
Anyone with relevant information to report may contact Diocese of Massachusetts intake officer the Rev. Thea Keith-Lucas at revthea@gmail.com or 617-458-1253.