SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) – The University of Notre Dame has dismissed a plagiarism complaint lodged against a well-known liberal theologian by a conservative Roman Catholic group.

The accusations against the Rev. Richard McBrien were found to be “unsubstantiated and not meriting further investigation,” John Cavadini, chairman of Notre Dame’s theology department, wrote in a letter to McBrien that was obtained by the National Catholic Reporter.

McBrien confirmed he had been cleared in an e-mail to The Associated Press. He declined further comment. Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown said the university does not comment on such matters and declined to say whether an investigation took place.

The Cardinal Newman Society alleged in January that an article McBrien wrote for several Catholic newspapers closely resembled the “structure, arguments, ideas and general theme” of one written a month earlier by Boston Globe columnist Eileen McNamara.

McBrien denied the allegations.

The National Catholic Reporter said in its Feb. 24 issue that Cavadini reviewed the charges and spoke with McBrien and found some unattributed material but concluded its use was unintentional. In his letter, Cavadini said the charges were lodged by “a militant right-wing Catholic interest group lobbying for the most stringent standards of orthodoxy.”

McBrien sent a letter of apology to the Globe and to McNamara, the newsweekly reported.

Patrick J. Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, on Thursday called the Notre Dame investigation a “whitewash.”

“Because the argument that it was unintentional doesn’t matter,” he said. “Intent doesn’t matter. Either it’s plagiarism or it’s not.”