The Vatican has defrocked a former Langley priest accused of sexual misconduct.

The Archdiocese of Seattle announced Monday that Gerald Moffat, 75, is permanently barred from the priesthood, stripped of his title and prohibited from wearing clerical robes. Moffat served at St. Hubert from 1992 until 2002, when he was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of molestation charges that had been leveled against him.

In 2002, one of Moffat’s alleged victims, Jeff Alfieri, committed suicide in the parking lot of Holy Family Catholic Church in Kirkland.

Alfieri, 43, sued in 2002 saying that Moffat had repeatedly sexually abused him while he had been an altar boy at the Kirkland church in the early 1970s. Moffat has continually denied the charges.

The archdiocese settled the Alfieri case for $600,000 in June 2005, though his parents said at the time that the monetary award did not address their grief.

Father Rick Spicer of St. Hubert said he has not been contacted by anyone in his congregation concerning the matter.

A panel of five people from the Catholic Chancery in Seattle will meet with members of the St. Hubert community at 7 p.m. Monday, March 13 to address the issue.

In Moffat’s case, the archdiocese and the review board recommended he be defrocked and forwarded their findings to the Vatican for final action, archdiocese spokesman Greg Magnoni said.

The Vatican concurred, and in a written statement released Monday, Archbishop Alex Brunett said the decision is final.

“I am deeply sorry for harm to any victim of clergy child sexual abuse,” Brunett said. “My hope is that this decision will bring resolution, healing and closure to all involved.”

Brunett said the decision is final and concludes the review process conducted in accordance with national norms established in 2002 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Moffat served as an assistant in several parishes in the Archdiocese of Seattle, including St. James Cathedral from 1956 to 1960, and Holy Family Church in Kirkland from 1972 to 1975. He became pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Snoqualmie from 1980 to 1992.

In 1992 he was named pastor of St. Hubert Church in Langley until he was placed on administrative leave on July 11, 2002.