Parishioners vent anger at clergy over abuse At forums in Yardley and Plymouth Meeting, Roman Catholics denounced church leaders for cover-ups of priests' actions.

Anger ran high at two extraordinary forums last night as dozens of Catholic parishioners denounced archdiocesan clergymen over disclosures of priest abuse and official cover-ups.

At St. Ignatius of Antioch in Yardley, parishioners expressed outrage, disappointment and dismay about the sex-abuse scandal, saying that church leaders, including their current pastor, had failed to protect children from abusive priests.

And in Plymouth Meeting, a succession of laypeople took the floor at a Voice of the Faithful speak-out to offer a host of demands and proposals: For Cardinal Justin Rigali to sell his mansion. For parish contributions to be suspended. For sex abusers and their church "enablers" to be excommunicated.

Kathleen Zawacki, a retired FBI agent, one of the more than 350 people who packed St. Ignatius' auditorium for a meeting called by Msgr. Samuel Shoemaker, asked: "How many children did you put in peril? How many children could you have protected?"

Another parishioner, Maryann Gruda, said: "If you couldn't stand up and be a leader, I can't see you as our leader."

The gathering was marked by applause and jeers but also by prayer and calls for forgiveness. While some openly questioned Shoemaker's leadership, others voiced strong support for him, saying he was a good priest who deserved their forgiveness.

"He's not divine, and neither is anyone else in this room," Barbara Durning said.

Shoemaker, who was chancellor for Cardinals John Krol and Anthony J. Bevilacqua, said he supervised priests in the mid-1980s and spent two days testifying before the grand jury that last month issued a scathing report documenting sex abuse by priests in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

While the report indicated that Shoemaker had raised concerns that the church was not acting forcefully enough with abusers, in 1984 he appointed a known abuser, the Rev. David Sicoli, as associate director of the CCD youth program for the entire Philadelphia area. The grand jury report noted that at the time, Sicoli's file "clearly showed that he used the Church's youth groups to reward, groom and manipulate his targeted boys."

Shoemaker apologized. "I want you to know how sorry I am that this awful tragedy of sexual abuse occurred. I am sincerely sorry for anything I have done or didn't do that might have contributed to this situation," the pastor said.