PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Archbishop Chaput makes final decisions in seven 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 seven more cases of priests placed on administrative leave following the February 2011 Grand Jury Report. Priests on administrative leave are not permitted to exercise their public ministry, administer any of the Sacraments, wear clerical attire, or present themselves publicly as priests.
Archbishop Chaput has decided that two of the priests are suitable for ministry. He has also decided that one of the priests is unsuitable for ministry due to a substantiated allegation of sexual abuse of a minor and that four of the priests are unsuitable for ministry due to substantiated violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behaviors and Boundaries. Additional information regarding these decisions is available in the attached background documents and at http://archphila.org/HHHIC/hhhic.php.
Those 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 any priest 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.
Announcements were made at the parishes where these priests last served when they were placed on administrative leave in March of 2011. Follow up announcements were made at those parishes this weekend regarding the final decisions in their cases. Counselors were made available for parishioners.
All cases were first reported to the appropriate local district attorney’s office so that law enforcement could investigate the matter and review it for possible criminal charges. Upon declination of criminal charges by the district attorney, the Archdiocesan Office of Investigations began a canonical investigation in each case. The results of this process were submitted to the Archdiocesan Professional Responsibility Review Board (APRRB). The APRRB is comprised of twelve men and women, both Catholic and non-Catholic, with extensive professional backgrounds in the investigation and treatment of child sexual abuse. It functions as a confidential advisory committee to the Archbishop, which assesses allegations of sexual abuse as well as allegations of violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries. This body provided a recommendation as to suitability for ministry to the Archbishop, who made the final decisions.
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