the Rev. Dr. Paul J. Kowalewski served as a priest in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo from 1973 to 1977, and during that time, he was sent to a church treatment facility in Canada “in response to his abuse of children.” In the late 1970s and ’80s, he earned a Ph.D. in communications and taught at universities before being ordained in the United Methodist Church in 1985, according to The Buffalo News. He then entered the discernment process for the Episcopal priesthood in the Diocese of Central New York and was received in 1990. He was a candidate for Bishop of the Diocese of Western New York in 1998. Kowalewski was Dean of the Central New York Diocesan School for Ministry and Canon for Formation and Leaderhip before serving as rector of St. James Episcopal Church and School in Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. Bishop Susan Brown Snook of the Episcopal Diocese of San Diego placed Kowalewski under suspension in 2019 after he was sued by a teenage victim from his ministry as a Roman Catholic priest.
How did he do in the bishop election?
Turns out he withdrew his nomination before the election. Can’t imagine why….