Two priests ousted in the 1980s by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown after allegations of sexually abusing children later got jobs in other dioceses.

Bishop James Malone, who died in 2000, barred the Revs. Robert M. Burns and John Hammer from working in the Youngstown diocese after the allegations emerged, said Monsignor John Zuraw of the diocese.

Burns later went to work in the Archdiocese of Boston, where he had undergone treatment. Burns, who is no longer a priest, later served a prison term for molesting a boy in Salem, N.H.

Hammer, pastor of two parishes in the Saginaw, Mich., diocese, told parishioners last weekend that he had engaged in sexual misconduct as a young priest in the Youngstown diocese.

Chancellor Nancy Yuhaz of the Youngstown diocese said Burns was accused of sexual abuse of a child at St. Rose Church in Girard and Hammer was accused of molesting a boy at St. Louis Church in Louisville.

Hammer, who also worked at St. Aloysius Church in East Liverpool, was removed in 1985 after allegations of abuse. He underwent treatment and, in 1990, he transferred to Saginaw.

Hammer, in a statement to his parishioners in Michigan, said that after being caught in 1985 he participated in an intensive five-year program toward recovery.

"I hit rock bottom. Then-Bishop James Malone was very supportive of me because of my treatment and recovery," Hammer said, "but out of respect for those who had been affected by my behavior five years earlier, he felt I should make a new start in another diocese, and offered to help."

Hammer, 49, now serves as pastor of two parishes: Church of St. Mary in Alma, Mich., and Mount St. Joseph Church in nearby St. Louis.

A 33-year-old Bexley, Ohio, resident has said Hammer abused him between 1980 and 1983 while Hammer was an assistant pastor at St. Louis Church. The man said he was about 12 when he was first molested.

Criminal charges cannot be pursued because the statute of limitations has run out, Stark County Prosecutor Robert Horowitz said.

The victim said he wanted Hammer dismissed from the priesthood and said he might sue. Yuhaz said relatives asked at the time that civil authorities not be told about the allegations against Hammer.

Cathy Haven, spokeswoman for the Saginaw diocese, said Hammer will remain as pastor while his status is reviewed. The Saginaw bishop said he would consult with parishioners before deciding Hammer's status.

Monsignor Robert Siffrin of the Youngstown diocese said Burns, while still a priest, was sent to the Boston area for treatment and counseling. After he completed treatment, he was allowed to stay in Boston on a leave of absence.

In the late 1980s, Burns was accused of molesting at least five boys at a parish in Boston where he was vicar and altar boy instructor.

Burns "was not released from here to be a parish priest," Siffrin said. "He was never given the option to be reassigned as a priest. It happened because of mistakes in Boston."

In 1996, Burns was sent to prison after pleading guilty to two counts of molesting a boy in his Salem, N.H., apartment. According to the Boston Globe, Burns has been released from prison, and his whereabouts are unknown.

Boston has been a focus of the priest sexual abuse scandal in which dozens of priests of 47,000 nationally have been suspended. Now-defrocked priest John Geoghan was convicted in Boston of fondling a boy at a swimming pool and has been accused of molesting dozens of others.

Horowitz said the diocese has cooperated with his office in turning over documents related to any sex abuse cases in Stark County. Horowitz said the diocese assured him that no incidents had been reported since 1994, when the diocese established its current policy on abuse by priests.

That policy requires that an allegation be immediately reported to civil and church authorities, that the accused be immediately removed from duties and that the victim receive immediate therapeutic assistance and spiritual support.

The Youngstown diocese has about 262,000 Catholics in Ashtabula, Columbiana, Mahoning, Portage, Stark and Trumbull counties.