Archdiocese

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday announced that it had found two more priests unsuitable for ministry following claims that they had sexually abused a minor. The Archdiocese said it had substantiated the claim against Msgr. George J. Mazzotta, who most recently served at Stella Maris Parish in Philadelphia and Saint Madeline Parish in Ridley Park. Msgr. Hugh P. Campbell, who was retired but most recently served at Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish in West Chester, told the Archdiocese himself in December that he had sexually abused a minor, according to a brief release from the Archdiocese.

The charges against Msgr. William J. Lynn are narrow: that the former Archdiocese of Philadelphia official endangered children by letting two priests live or work in parishes despite signs they might abuse minors. But the case prosecutors finished presenting Thursday stretched beyond those confines. Day after day in Courtroom 304 of the city's Criminal Justice Center, the church itself seemed to be on trial. Over eight weeks, jurors saw a parade of witnesses and close to 2,000 documents, some decades old, that detailed what bishops, pastors priests, and church officials knew and did about Philadelphia-area priests suspected of abusing children.

So many parents and alumni of St. Denis Catholic School in Havertown supported merging with friendly CYO rival Annunciation B.V.M., the marriage should have gone off without a hitch. Instead, parishioners hoping to embrace the past and future in a name were told the regional school would honor the late Cardinal John Foley. The decision was, in their pastor's words, "nonnegotiable. " Children voted on a mascot, only to have their choices (Cardinals, Falcons, or Phoenixes)

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will merge a dozen parishes into five by July 1, resulting in seven closures in neighborhoods dense with Roman Catholic churches. The targeted congregations, whose pastors announced their fates during Masses on Sunday, are in Manayunk and Germantown in the city and Coatesville in Chester County. The moves constitute only the first round in a process that Chaput had earlier warned the area's 1.5 million Catholics would be "painful.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced yesterday that a 39-year-old priest has been removed from his duties at two parishes amid an allegation that, while attending seminary, he sexually abused a child. The news follows Friday's announcement that the Rev. Geraldo Pinero had stepped down as pastor of Incarnation of Our Lord Parish in Olney after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents produced a search warrant at the parish rectory. Yesterday, the Archdiocese said the Rev. William G. Ayres, pastor of St. Michael parish in North Philadelphia, had recently been accused of abusing a minor in the mid-1990s while Ayres was attending St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Overbrook.

The solemn liturgical season of Lent began in sobering fashion Wednesday for area Catholics as they began to learn the names of 21 priests suspended this week amid allegations of sexual abuse or other improper behavior with minors. The priests, placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, included four monsignors, and men with as many as 62 years in ministry or as few as seven. In a move of nationally unprecedented scope and swiftness, the archdiocese announced Tuesday that it had suspended the priests in response to last month's Philadelphia grand jury report, which questioned why they were still in ministry despite the accusations.

Sacred Heart is a tightly knit Catholic parish in Swedesburg, a working-class town across the Schuylkill from Norristown. Ethnic roots run deep at the century-old church. It's the kind of place that still offers a monthly Mass in Polish, where parishioners linger on Sunday mornings to chat after the final hymn. That's when Bernard Gutkowski, president of the parish men's group, typically gets the question: What do you hear about Father Andy ? His reply rarely changes.

Because of declining revenue, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to close its popular Camp Newman and revamp its youth programs as part of a broad restructuring, officials said yesterday. In all, next year's administrative budget would be cut by about 20 percent, they said. Catherine Rossi, spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said recent declines in the securities market had caused a shortfall in archdiocesan revenue. As a result, she said, the administration has asked most departments to cut their budgets about 20 percent for fiscal 2003-04.

Several times during the first week of a landmark criminal trial involving sex abuse and cover-ups by priests, a top official at the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was described as a glorified human resources manager. As secretary for clergy, Msgr. William J. Lynn oversaw priests' arrivals, departures, successes, struggles, and sins. His attorney, Thomas Bergstrom, called the high-ranking position "awful" and "ugly. " Assistant District Attorney Jacqueline Coelho compared Lynn to a police officer in Internal Affairs assigned to spy on fellow cops.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput plans to meet Wednesday with hundreds of Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests, stirring hopes that he may announce the fates of nearly two dozen clergy suspended last year over child sex-abuse or misconduct allegations. The e-mail invitation sent to priests Monday did not disclose the purpose of the afternoon gathering at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Delaware County. Archdiocesan officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday announced that it had found two more priests unsuitable for ministry over claims that each had sexually abused a minor. The archdiocese said it had substantiated a claim against Msgr. George J. Mazzotta, who most recently served at Stella Maris Parish in Philadelphia and St. Madeline Parish in Ridley Park. Msgr. Hugh P. Campbell, who is retired but most recently served at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in West Chester, told the archdiocese himself in December that he had sexually abused a minor, according to a brief news release from the archdiocese.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia on Sunday announced that it had found two more priests unsuitable for ministry following claims that they had sexually abused a minor. The Archdiocese said it had substantiated the claim against Msgr. George J. Mazzotta, who most recently served at Stella Maris Parish in Philadelphia and Saint Madeline Parish in Ridley Park. Msgr. Hugh P. Campbell, who was retired but most recently served at Saint Maximilian Kolbe Parish in West Chester, told the Archdiocese himself in December that he had sexually abused a minor, according to a brief release from the Archdiocese.

The charges against Msgr. William J. Lynn are narrow: that the former Archdiocese of Philadelphia official endangered children by letting two priests live or work in parishes despite signs they might abuse minors. But the case prosecutors finished presenting Thursday stretched beyond those confines. Day after day in Courtroom 304 of the city's Criminal Justice Center, the church itself seemed to be on trial. Over eight weeks, jurors saw a parade of witnesses and close to 2,000 documents, some decades old, that detailed what bishops, pastors priests, and church officials knew and did about Philadelphia-area priests suspected of abusing children.

A few months after she started as operations director for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's clergy office in 2005, Louise Sullivan was given a task: Straighten up the file room. The exhaustive grand-jury investigation into alleged sex abuse by priests was over, and the 10th-floor room at the archdiocese's 17th Street headquarters was a mess. Cardboard boxes, files, and papers cluttered the floor. Atop one corner cabinet, Sullivan noticed a small, locked combination safe.

In parishes around the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, joy and uncertainty greeted the news Friday that three priests among the more than two dozen accused of wrongful behavior with children would soon be returning to ministry, while five would not. "Yay!" 17-year-old Emily Ferry shouted when she learned that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput had reinstated the Rev. Michael Chapman, former pastor of Ascension of Our Lord parish in Kensington. "I'm excited," she said. "He was a fine, nice guy. " "I'm happy he's back," said her brother, Hugh, 21. Both had been altar servers at Ascension.

In parishes around the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, both joy and uncertainty greeted the news Friday that three priests among the more than two dozen accused of wrongful behavior with children would soon be returning to ministry, while five would not. "Yay!" shouted 17-year-old Emily Ferry when she learned that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput had reinstated the Rev. Michael Chapman, former pastor of Ascension of Our Lord parish in Kensington. "I'm excited," she said. "He was a fine, nice guy. " "I'm happy he's back," said her brother, Hugh, 21. Both had been altar servers at Ascension.

A former Port Richmond pastor is among the Catholic priests who will be permanently removed from ministry over child-sex abuse allegations, according to a lawyer for a man who said the cleric raped him. Archdiocese of Philadelphia officials notified the accuser on Thursday that Msgr. Francis J. Feret won't be reinstated, attorney Daniel Monahan said. Feret, 75, spent more than a decade as pastor of St. Adalbert in the city's Port Richmond section, and twice as long as a teacher and administrator at Cardinal Dougherty High School.

Signaling an end to an investigation that stretched past a year, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput on Friday will announce the fates of parish priests suspended over allegations that they sexually abused or acted inappropriately around minors. At least a dozen of the 27 affected priests are scheduled to learn the outcome of their cases in private meetings with Chaput on Thursday and Friday, according to a source familiar with the process but not authorized to publicly discuss it. Insiders predict that only a few of those priests will be cleared of wrongdoing and restored to ministry, the source said.

Archbishop Charles J. Chaput plans to meet Wednesday with hundreds of Archdiocese of Philadelphia priests, stirring hopes that he may announce the fates of nearly two dozen clergy suspended last year over child sex-abuse or misconduct allegations. The e-mail invitation sent to priests Monday did not disclose the purpose of the afternoon gathering at Cardinal O'Hara High School in Springfield, Delaware County. Archdiocesan officials did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.