A priest who serves as a top administrator in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg has been placed on leave while an investigation of “adult misconduct” is completed.
The Very Rev. David Danneker most recently served as vicar general and moderator of the curia, which is the Bishop’s top deputy charged with overseeing diocese operation. He is also listed as pastor of the Prince of Peace parish church in Steelton.
In a statement released Friday, the diocese said it received an allegation of “adult misconduct made against Rev. Danneker. While this matter does not involve a child, we are taking the accusations seriously. Accordingly, a full investigation, conducted by an outside third party, has been launched to review the matter.”
The diocese said the allegation centers on a relationship between Danneker and an adult female, and that the firm conducting the investigation has no ties to the diocese. Additionally, it said the church has begun an investigation into potential breaches of canon law – the church’s internal set of rules and regulations.
Adult misconduct is a broad term that, in the church, has encompassed behaviors ranging from inappropriate speech, to sexual harassment, to a sexual relationship that would be outside the bounds for priests.
Earlier this year, for example, the priest who presided over an inaugural mass for President Joe Biden became the subject of an “adult misconduct” investigation involving “behaviors in adult settings, consisting primarily of conversations, which may be inconsistent with established Jesuit protocols and boundaries.”
A diocesan spokesman told PennLive the allegation under review here came to the diocese’s attention from the adult female involved. Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo said this week that diocesan officials also briefed his office on the case, but that to this point there is no indication of criminal activity.
No other details of the case have been released.
The name of the firm performing the investigation has not been disclosed.
Danneker is 64 years old and has been a member of the priesthood since 1982.
A biography posted by Elizabethtown College, where Danneker has served as a part-time faculty member, says Danneker is a Harrisburg native who graduated from St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia in 1978. He then graduated from Mt. St. Mary’s Seminary in Emmitsburg, Md. in 1982 with masters degrees in theology and divinity.
Danneker’s other recent pastoral assignments have included St. Peter Parish in Elizabethtown, and St. John Neumann Parish in Lancaster.
The diocese said Danneker will remain on leave pending the result of the investigation.
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