Father Gerald Baker suspended permanently from ministry

Former Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church pastor, Father Gerald Baker, has been suspended permanently from public ministry.

The Diocese of Owensboro released a statement Thursday that was quoted in a Kentucky New Era story Saturday saying, “In 2016, Gerald Baker, a priest of the Diocese of Owensboro, was accused of sexual abuse by three minors. Law enforcement and the Diocesan Review Board both began their investigations. While we cannot comment on the results of the law enforcement’s investigation, we can say that the Diocesan Review Board found the accusations against Baker to be substantiated, and therefore Bishop William F. Medley recently suspended Baker permanently from public ministry.”

Baker served as pastor at Sts. Peter and Paul from 1989 through 2003.

As previously reported, the allegations that led to his suspension came in 2016 while he had been serving as pastor at St. Mary of the Wood Catholic Church in Whitesville and at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Fordsville.