A prominent Roman Catholic priest in Alabama has chosen to leave the priesthood following serious allegations from a woman who claims their inappropriate relationship began when she was just 17 years old.
Allegations and Investigation
Robert Sullivan, 61, announced his self-imposed removal from the clergy – a process known as laicization – after Heather Jones, now 33, filed formal allegations with the Birmingham diocese. Jones claimed Sullivan provided her with hundreds of thousands of dollars in financial support in exchange for what she described as "private companionship" that included sexual relations.
Bishop Steven Raica confirmed Sullivan's departure in a public statement released on Wednesday, the day before the US Thanksgiving holiday. The bishop acknowledged that the past four months had been "challenging in the life of our local church" since the allegations first surfaced.
The Woman's Account
In her formal complaint shared exclusively with the Guardian in August, Jones detailed meeting Sullivan when she was working as a dancer at an adult establishment outside Birmingham, despite being under the legal age requirement for such employment. She described growing up in foster care after being removed from her mother's custody due to severe neglect, leaving her without reliable adult support during her formative years.
Jones stated that Sullivan, who initially presented himself as a medical doctor, was a regular patron at the establishment and soon offered to "help change [her] life." She wrote that he proposed "to form an ongoing relationship that would include financial support in exchange for private companionship."
The relationship allegedly involved Sullivan taking her shopping, dining, drinking, and to hotel rooms in at least six different Alabama cities, with sexual activity beginning when she was 17 and continuing for several years.
Church Response and Aftermath
While the church investigation found no link between the allegations and any diocesan, parish, or school funds, Sullivan asked Pope Leo XIV to "be dispensed from all the obligations" of the priesthood. The pontiff granted this request on Monday, according to Bishop Raica's statement.
Jones explained that she decided to come forward because Sullivan continued working closely with families and children as the popular pastor of Our Lady of Sorrows church in Homewood, Alabama. She expressed concern that "others may be vulnerable to the same type of manipulation and exploitation" that she described enduring.
Sullivan had been ordained as a priest in 1993 and was appointed as one of the Birmingham diocese's vicars general in 2020, placing him in a high-ranking administrative position within the church.
The case highlights ongoing concerns about clergy conduct, particularly given that people younger than 18 are classified as minors under policies US Catholic bishops adopted in the early 2000s amid the church's worldwide clergy molestation scandal.
