PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Archbishop Chaput makes final decisions in six more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced today that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., has made final decisions in six additional cases of the priests who were placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Through a rigorous investigative process involving over 20 experts in child abuse four of the priests have been found suitable for ministry and two have been found not suitable for ministry.
In the cases of those found unsuitable for ministry none were due to a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor and five were due to a substantiated violation of the Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries. The priests found unsuitable for ministry will have no public ministry in the Archdiocese. They do have the right to appeal the decision to the Holy See. For those found to have a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor, if they do not appeal, or if their appeal is unsuccessful, they could be laicized (removed from the clerical state) or live a life of prayer and penance.
Archbishop Chaput said, “In making these decisions I relied on the counsel of numerous experts in two separate bodies-the Multi-Disciplinary Team and the Archdiocesan Review Board. They come from various professional disciplines and have dedicated their lives to child protection, to the investigation of sexual offenders and to support for victims of sexual violence. I’m grateful for their tireless efforts. The experience of these doctors, police officers, former prosecutors, victims’ advocates and others in dealing with the broad societal problem of sexual abuse was crucial to our work.”
Prior to conducting an investigation, each case was submitted to the appropriate local district attorney’s office. After receiving clearance, that investigation was conducted by the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) led by veteran child abuse prosecutor Gina Maisto Smith. The results of the investigations were provided to the Archdiocesan Review Board (ARB), which provided a recommendation to the Archbishop, who made the final decision.
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