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Finegan was the subject of sex assault accusations from several victims who were under his supervision as children when he worked as a parish priest in Clonduff and a headmaster in Newry.

McElroy steadily moved his way up to becoming the archdiocesan vicar for parish life and development and served in that role until his appointment to be the sixth bishop of San Diego in March 2015.

He held roles in churches around the world, serving as a chaplain at the University of Monterrey in Mexico as well as at a parish in Bethesda, Maryland.

Many of the Catholic Church’s 1.2 billion followers were thrilled with their outgoing, down-to-earth new leader, whom the Italian media quickly dubbed the “world’s parish priest.”

A Roman Catholic priest is facing five felony counts of child molestation and was removed from his Downey parish after being arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies, records and officials said.