Suspended Priests Have Bucks Ties, Philly Burbs, March 11, 2011

Suspended Priests Have Bucks Ties

Philly Burbs
March 11, 2011

http://www.phillyburbs.com/news/local/the_intelligencer_news/suspended-priests-have-bucks-ties/article_f19ec8a6-6b99-5c29-bd83-f752b2634074.html

Rev. George Cadwallader of St. Vincent De Paul (Richboro), Rev. Mark Fernandes of Saint Agnes (Sellersville), Rev. John Bowe of St. Joseph's (Warrington), Rev. Msgr. Joseph L. Logrip of Saint Mary's Manor (Lansdale) and Rev. Zachary W. Navit of Our Lady of Guadalupe Rectory (Doylestown)

At least 10 of the 21 suspended priests lived or worked in Bucks and Montgomery counties.

In a 2005 speech from the floor of the U.S. Capitol building, Bucks County Congressman Mike Fitzpatrick called the Rev. Joseph Logrip a "spiritual man who conveys his spirituality in a very gentle, unassuming way."

Fitzpatrick, R-8, had asked his longtime friend and mentor, the former pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Bristol Township, to lead the prayer of invocation for Congress.

Yet after learning that Logrip had been suspended by the church this week, Fitzpatrick had nothing to say.

The congressman declined comment Thursday on Logrip and 20 other Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests who were placed on administrative leave pending an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse or other improper behavior.

At least nine more of the suspended priests also have or had connections to Bucks and Montgomery counties.

The Rev. George Cadwallader served at Queen of the Universe parish in Middletown before his most recent assignment to St. Vincent De Paul in Northampton. The Rev. Mark Fernandes is a parochial vicar at St. Agnes in Sellersville, and the Rev. John Bowe holds a similar post at St. Joseph in Warrington. The Rev. Zachary Navit is a part-time parochial vicar at Our Lady of Guadalupe in Buckingham. The Rev. John Reardon is assigned to St. Joseph the Worker in Falls and was a former pastor at St. John at the Cross in Abington. The Rev. Andrew McCormick was stationed at St. Bede the Venerable in Northampton between 2000 and 2004, and the Rev. Peter Talocci served as parochial vicar at St. Frances Cabrini in Bristol Township from 1984 to 1990. The Rev. Thomas Rooney graduated from Conwell Egan High School in 1968 and celebrated his first Mass at Our Lady of Grace in Penndel in 1991. The Rev. Michael Chapman was raised in Levittown.

Of the 21 priests, only Logrip's name appears in either of two reports from two different Philadelphia grand juries charged with looking into the abuse allegation. The first report was released in 2005 and the other last month. The Philadelphia District Attorney's Office is still investigating alleged sex abuse by priests.

The 432-page, 2005 report said Logrip, then pastor at Immaculate Conception, sought the removal of an abusive priest as head of the parish's Catholic youth organization in 1996. According to the 2005 grand jury, the abusive priest had a history of misconduct with young boys.

The February grand jury report noted that at least 37 priests "subject to substantial evidence of abuse" were kept in positions that exposed them to children. Three priests and a former Catholic school teacher were charged with raping boys and other sexual offenses, and a high-ranking priest was accused of moving problem priests to new parishes without disclosing past sex abuse complaints against them.

Two of those arrested also had Bucks connections. The Rev. James Brennan was a parochial vicar at St. Andrew Parish in Newtown Township and layman Bernard Shero taught at several Catholic schools.

The other priests suspended this week by the archdiocese are the Rev. Philip Barr of St. Edmond's Parish in Philadelphia, the

Rev. Paul Castellani of St. Philomena's in Lansdowne, the Rev. John Ciose of St. Katharine of Siena in Wayne, Msgr. Francis Feret of St. Adalbert's in Philadelphia, Msgr. J. Michael Flood of St. Luke the Evangelist in Glenside, the Rev. Mark S. Gaspar of Our Lady of Charity in Brookhaven, the Rev. Joseph M. Glatts of Saints Simon and Jude rectory in West Chester, the Rev. Steven J. Harris of St. Isaac Jogues in Wayne, the Rev. Daniel J. Hoy, retired, of Our Lady of the Assumption in Strafford, the Rev. Leonard N. Peterson of St. Maria Goretti in Hatfield Township, and the Rev. Robert W. Povish of St. Eleanor Rectory in Collegeville.

James McGinnis can be reached at 215-949-3248 or jmcginnis@phillyburbs.com For instant news updates, follow Jim at twitter.com/james_mcginnis