In April 2011, Rev. Cory Mayer allegedly asked multiple teenage girls sexually explicit questions during the Sacrament of Reconciliation at Bishop Verot Catholic High School and allegedly withheld absolution unless those questions were answered. The teacher who reported the conduct to the Florida Department of Children and Families was fired the following day. An independent appeals examiner later found the teacher’s account to be the more credible one. The Diocese of Venice took no disciplinary action against Fr. Mayer, and no investigation was publicly disclosed — despite a written request to do so from Rev. Thomas Doyle, a canon lawyer and nationally recognized expert in clergy misconduct.

Fr. Mayer has now been appointed Parish Administrator of Saint Ann Catholic Church in Naples — a parish with an active school serving over 500 children.

We, the undersigned members of the Saint Ann Parish and school community, call on the Diocese of Venice to immediately remove Fr. Mayer from this appointment and to publicly disclose what review, if any, was conducted before placing him in a role with regular access to children.