By Matthew Gambino • Posted April 10, 2015

The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office announced Friday, April 10, that it will not retry Father Andrew McCormick on charges that he sexually assaulted a boy in 1997. Two previous trials of the case ended in hung juries.

The Philadelphia priest, 58, has been on administrative leave since 2011. He was ordained in 1982 and is a former pastor of Sacred Heart Parish in Swedesburg.

 

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Father McCormick was arrested in July 2012 for the alleged assault of a 10-year-old boy, now 27, in the rectory of St. John Cantius Parish in Philadelphia’s Bridesburg section.

Archdiocesan spokesman Ken Gavin said Father McCormick will remain on leave, meaning he may not celebrate the sacraments publicly, wear priest garb or present himself publicly as a priest.

Gavin said now that there will be no third trial of the case, Father McCormick’s “canonical process” – an investigation under church law – may now begin, which will determine his future status as a priest.