Accused Qld priest to appear in court

A Queensland priest charged with an historic sexual offence will appear in court in July.

Fr Michael Joseph McKeaten withdrew from his duties earlier this month after notifying church authorities he'd been charged over an alleged sexual offence believed to have occurred in the 1990s.

He was not required to appear at a hearing at Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, with the matter adjourned to July 3.

He is charged with one count of procuring a sexual act by false pretence.

A lawyer representing McKeaten declined to comment.

The priest was ordained 38 years ago and has served in parishes and schools across southeast Queensland, most recently at the Beaudesert parish, south of Brisbane.

He left after three years of service and was expected to relocate to Ipswich to oversee four parishes, the Beaudesert Times newspaper reported at the time.

Fr McKeaten had also served at Bulimba, St Stephen's Cathedral, Sunnybank, Stafford, Indooroopilly, Surfers Paradise, Booval and Annerley Ekibin parishes.

In 2012 he was appointed dean of Brisbane South Deanery and in 2014 was chairman of the committee for the Conference of the National Council of Priests.