Buffalo Diocese says it is cutting off financial support for priest accused of abhorrent crimes

The Diocese of Buffalo has stopped all financial support for Father Jeffrey Nowak following federal accusations of criminal conduct. The diocese is also seeking to have Nowak dismissed from the clerical state.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York reported in July that Nowak, of Lackawanna, New York, was arrested and charged with the receipt and possession of child pornography. While the diocese previously provided Nowak with some level of financial sustenance due to canon law requirements, a July 15 statement said it is no longer providing any support following these recent allegations.

Bishop Michael Fisher has instructed the diocese's judicial vicar to collect documentation to petition the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith to dismiss Nowak from the priesthood. The diocese had not previously petitioned for his dismissal because there had been no allegations of child sexual abuse.

Nowak was placed on administrative leave by the diocese in 2019 following allegations of sexual harassment involving a seminarian. Bishop Fisher previously informed Nowak that his priestly faculties would not be reinstated and stated he would advise other bishops not to accept Nowak into their dioceses.