PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
John P. Martin, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: Monday, April 8, 2013
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has permanently removed three more parish priests from public ministry over allegations of sexual abuse or misconduct around minors, including one whose accuser killed himself in 2009, allegedly after church officials first declared his claim unsubstantiated.
That priest, the Rev. Joseph J. Gallagher, has been deemed “unsuitable for ministry due to violations” of church standards, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia said Sunday. A second priest, the Rev. Mark Gaspar, was removed for the same reason, officials said. As it has in other cases, the archdiocese did not identify the violations or release details about the accusers or their claims.
A third priest, Msgr. Richard T. Powers, 77, was permanently removed over substantiated allegations that he abused a 17-year-old girl during an overseas trip 40 years ago.
Each of the priests had been on administrative leave, along with two dozen others suspended after a 2011 grand jury report that accused the archdiocese of failing to act on credible allegations of child sex abuse or misconduct by priests. In the last year, Chaput has restored eight of the suspended clerics to ministry and declared seven others unfit to continue to serve publicly as priests. …
Marci Hamilton, attorney for the Neill family, said the announcement was good news.
“That is exactly what they should have done,” Hamilton said. “But, it should have been done long ago.”
She said the archdiocese dragged its feet in the case and gave the benefit of the doubt to the priests. She said it should have removed all the priests named by victims.
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