Alabama vicar general on leave after allegations of sexual, financial misconduct

(OSV News) -- A high-ranking priest in the Diocese of Birmingham, Alabama, has been removed from ministry and is under investigation following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with a woman said to date back to 2009, when she was still a minor. However, these steps taken by the diocese were only revealed to the faithful in response to a U.K.-based newspaper making public the allegations.

On Aug. 2, Father Robert Sullivan, the diocese's vicar general and pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Homewood, Alabama, announced to his congregation that he had been granted a personal leave of absence beginning Aug. 4.

Details of the reasons behind the request only emerged Aug. 13, when The Guardian released a report in which 33-year-old Heather Jones claimed that Father Sullivan had engaged in a sexual and financial relationship with her that began when she was 17.

According to the newspaper, Jones said she had come forward out of concern "others may be vulnerable to the same type of manipulation and exploitation," as Father Sullivan still continued to serve as pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The Guardian said Jones authorized the newspaper to use her full name and image, while providing a written statement, bank records, email correspondence and a nondisclosure agreement the priest and his attorney had arranged for her to sign for a $273,000 payout.

Bank records provided to The Guardian showed Jones received two transactions totaling that amount after being notified in a March 27 message from Father Sullivan's email account at Our Lady of Sorrows.

The newspaper also noted that the age of consent in Alabama is 16, and that the state -- unlike several others -- does not have an explicit law against consensual sexual relationships between religious leaders and adults whom they counsel or guide.

In an Aug. 13 letter to the faithful, Bishop Steven J. Raica of Birmingham confirmed that the diocesan victims assistance coordinator had received Jones' statement in late July.

Bishop Raica informed the faithful that when Father Sullivan announced his personal leave of absence, the diocese only sent out a notice in recognition of his role as vicar general, but "as is our practice regarding any type of personal leave of absence, we did not provide a reason for his leave."

A vicar general is the highest official in a diocese after the bishop and assists the bishop in the governance of the whole diocese, generally exercising the executive powers that belong to the bishop under canon law.

Bishop Raica explained in his letter that because of the story published by "a national media organization" -- he did not mention The Guardian by name -- on Father Sullivan’s leave, "it is necessary and appropriate to deviate from our regular practice and disclose that our diocesan Victim Assistance Coordinator also received this allegation in late July."

Jones told The Guardian that, as she had recounted in her diocesan statement, she had experienced a troubled childhood during which she was placed in foster care, and that she had begun working at age 17 as a dancer at a Birmingham-area "adult establishment," where she said Father Sullivan was a regular customer.

Quoting Jones' statement, the newspaper said the priest, who presented himself to her as a doctor, offered "to form an ongoing relationship that would include financial support in exchange for private companionship," which Jones told The Guardian entailed sex. She also wrote that the priest paid for her stay in a rehabilitation program after she developed emotional and substance abuse issues in the course of their encounters.

In his letter, Bishop Raica outlined several steps the diocese had taken in response to the claims, including that Father Sullivan "was granted a leave of absence and is currently removed from all priestly service pending the outcome of the investigation."

Bishop Raica said the allegation "was immediately reported to the Alabama Department of Human Resources," since the woman may have been under 18 at the time.

Although the state's human resources department "determined that the allegations did not match the requirements for opening an investigation," Bishop Raica said, the diocese launched an investigation according to church law and diocesan policies and guidelines.

The diocesan victims assistance coordinator "has continued to be in contact with the woman who brought forth the allegations and has provided appropriate support," Bishop Raica said in his letter.

In addition, he said, the allegation was presented to the diocese's review board, a consultative body required in each diocese to assess claims of sexual abuse, under the terms of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' "Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People."

With the charter specifying that the majority of such board members must be laypeople not employed by a given diocese, Bishop Raica said in his letter that the Birmingham diocesan board was comprised of "attorneys, professionals in psychology and child welfare, and lay members of the community."

Bishop Raica also said that in accord with canon law, the matter will be reported to the Vatican's Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, as is the case with "any allegation that may involve a relationship between a person under the age of 18 and a member of the clergy."

"That report is being developed now for submission to the Dicastery," wrote Bishop Raica, adding, "We do not know the timeframe for completion of the work of the Dicastery in Rome nor of that which will be further required within our diocese."

Bishop Raica, however, explained it was "not my intention to disclose this information prior to full resolution of the investigation." He added that "the initial work of any investigation does not lend itself to a definitive determination, and anyone accused in the Church possesses a presumption of innocence until proven otherwise, equivalent to the right granted in civil law."

In the meantime, Father Sullivan is "still a diocesan priest," although he cannot hear confession or publicly celebrate Mass, Donald Carson, communications director for the Diocese of Birmingham, told OSV News.

"It's a personal leave of absence, but there is a restriction of his faculties," said Carson.

Asked if Father Sullivan can wear his clerical collar and publicly present himself as a priest, Carson replied, "I don't know the answer to that, but I would think not."

Noting that while he was "not sure where he (Father Sullivan) is now," Carson said the priest is "not in an institution or something like that where he could assist" with pastoral care -- for example, a priestly retirement home or community of women religious.

Carson also told OSV News -- which offered to speak with the priest -- that if Father Sullivan had received a media request, "he would follow our protocols" for the diocese and "would forward that to me."

Carson said, "So he wouldn't be speaking to media at any rate."

The Guardian, which viewed records of the transactions provided by Jones, reported that along with the $273,000 payout, Jones also received close to $120,000 spanning some 125 transactions between July 2024 and March 2025 from a Venmo account in Father Sullivan's name.

Asked by OSV News if there was any evidence of financial misappropriation at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in connection with the funds, Carson said, "There is not."

"Speaking in terms of what was in the article" published by The Guardian, "I will tell you that we have a rigorous program of audits for our parishes and for our schools," Carson said. "As part of the investigation of this, I would imagine that we will go through a thorough investigation of finances over the period of time."

Carson also said that "Father Sullivan was up to date on his youth protection certifications."

In an Aug. 14 letter to Our Lady of Sorrow parishioners, Father Kevin Bazzel -- a diocesan judicial vicar appointed as the parish's administrator -- said allegations are "taken seriously and given deliberate consideration according to Church and Diocesan policy and protocol."

He shared a copy of Bishop Raica's letter, and urged parishioners to "remain close to the Lord and to one another" as the diocesan investigation proceeds.

"I encourage you to bring what is in your heart to the Lord in prayer, and, if possible, before the Blessed Sacrament at our parish," Father Bazzel said. "He wants to provide each of us what is needed during this time -- for each of you, your families, for all those affected by this news, and for all of those involved."