Archbishop Charles Chaput met May 2 with most of the priests of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia at Cardinal O’Hara High School in Springfield to discuss his decisions regarding archdiocesan priests placed on administrative leave.
Their status has remained in limbo for more than a year as investigations into clerical misconduct followed the January 2011 Philadelphia grand jury report on priest sexual abuse.
Priests on administrative leave do not have faculties, or permission, to function publicly as priests.
Archbishop Chaput has made resolution of the cases a high priority since his installation in September 2011.
“Justice requires a resolution of these men’s circumstances,” he wrote in a March 8 column on CatholicPhilly.com. “Our ability to act on these cases has been limited by a number of stubborn legal and practical factors. But some of these cases are very near conclusion.
“Our attorneys are committed to cooperating fully with law enforcement. In that spirit, I’ve asked them to inform the court that, unless otherwise prohibited, we intend to begin announcing the resolution of these administrative leave cases in the coming weeks,” he said at the time.
Details of the May 2 meeting were not made public. More information will be posted on CatholicPhilly.com after today’s news conference at the Archdiocesan Pastoral Center in Philadelphia.
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