Diocese removes incarcerated priest

A Roman Catholic priest serving a federal prison term for possession of child pornography has been removed from the priesthood, according to the Diocese of Pittsburgh.

David F. Dzermejko has been incarcerated at the Federal Medical Center in Devens, Mass., since his sentencing in April 2014 in U.S. District Court for possession of what prosecutors said were more than 100 images of child pornography.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh had removed Dzermejko from ministry in 2009 following allegations he had sexually abused children. But he had remained technically a priest until Oct. 31, when the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which handles abuse cases, issued a decree dismissing him from the clerical state.

The Diocese of Pittsburgh published notice of Dzermejko’s removal in the most recent issue of the Pittsburgh Catholic newspaper. The Vatican decision cannot be appealed, it said.