PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Patch
By James Boyle
A former Levittown pastor at St. Michael the Archangel, Rev. Msgr. John Close, is one of four priests cleared of sexual abuse and misconduct charges today by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. An internal investigation by the archdiocese ruled the claims unsubstantiated and cleared the priests for public ministry.
Rev. Paul Castellani, Rev. Steven Harris and Rev. Leonard Peterson have also been restored to public ministry. Rev. Msgr. Close served as pastor for St. Michael the Archangel from 1994 to 1996.
Rev. Msgr. Close and 25 other priests were placed on administrative leave by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia following an explosive February 2011 grand jury report that accused Catholic parishes throughout the Delaware Valley of covering up years of sexual abuses against minors.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.