PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By David O’Reilly, Dan Hardy, Alfred Lubrano and Bonnie Cook
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
In parishes around the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, both joy and uncertainty greeted the news Friday that three priests among the more than two dozen accused of wrongful behavior with children would soon be returning to ministry, while five would not.
“Yay!” shouted 17-year-old Emily Ferry when she learned that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput had reinstated the Rev. Michael Chapman, former pastor of Ascension of Our Lord parish in Kensington.
“I’m excited,” she said. “He was a fine, nice guy.”
“I’m happy he’s back,” said her brother, Hugh, 21. Both had been altar servers at Ascension.
The accusations against Chapman and others have not been made public, and Chaput did not indicate Friday if he would be reassigning the returning priests to the parishes where they served most recently. Priests also have the option of going to new parishes, he said.
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