A priest of the Diocese of Allentown has been removed from his assignment at a parish in Berks County after the priest acknowledged an inappropriate relationship with a woman that began when the woman was 18 years old.

Bishop John O. Barres announced this to the parish at the 5:30 p.m. Mass on Saturday evening.The Rev. Cletus Onyegbule, 44, has been assistant pastor at St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Sinking Spring since March 2009.In keeping with the diocesan policy, diocesan officials reported the matter to the appropriate authorities and are cooperating with those authorities. The Rev. Onyegbule will be going to a treatment facility outside the diocese. He is not permitted to function publicly as a priest.The Rev. Onyegbule was ordained in 2002. He served at St. Ambrose Church in Schuylkill Haven and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Bethlehem Township before his assignment to Sinking Spring.