The Archdiocese has announced the appointment of seven new members to serve on the Archdiocesan Review Board, the consultative panel which advises the Archbishop of Philadelphia throughout the process of assessing allegations of sexual abuse of minors, evaluating clerics’ suitability for ministry, and the continual review of Archdiocesan policies and procedures related to these matters.
Archbishop Chaput said, “These individuals, Catholic and non-Catholic, possess a broad range of professional competencies that are essential to conducting a review process that is equally thorough and just to all who may be involved. Non-clerical external advisers such as these are crucial to the process as they provide a high level of expertise coupled with objective advice. I am grateful to all of them for their willingness to serve on the Archdiocesan Review Board and look forward to the unique perspective that each will bring to the table.”
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The new appointees include:
Michael Boyle, retired Lieutenant, Philadelphia Police Department Child Abuse Unit, and current Program Director at Philadelphia Sexual Assault Response Center.
Charles Ehrlich, Judge-elect of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, former Assistant Chief of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Family Violence and Sexual Assault Unit, current member of the Philadelphia Children’s Alliance Board of Directors and Associate at the law firm Marshall, Dennehey Warner, Coleman, & Goggin.
Arnold Gordon, a retired prosecutor who served as First Assistant District Attorney with 40 years of experience working in various units of the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Janet Shaw Lemoine, a former project coordinator with the Pennsylvania District Attorneys Institute, where her responsibilities included training victim witness coordinators from D.A.’s offices and community-based victim assistance programs throughout the Commonwealth.
Richmond Parsons, a law enforcement veteran of over 20 years currently serving as Deputy Chief of Offender Services in the Montgomery County Adult Probation and Parole Department.
Laura Rogers, a former prosecutor, served as the Deputy Director of the Criminal Division of the Navy’s Judge Advocate General, which was preceded by her work as Director of the SMART Office at the U.S. Department of Justice implementing the Adam Walsh Child Protection Safety Act.
Robert Spinelli, a Partner at the law firm Kelley, Jasons, McGowan, Spinelli, Hanna, & Reber, LLP, a former prosecutor with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office who specializes in cases involving companies defending mass tort litigation.
The review board now consists of 11 total members, each of whom is appointed to serve a four-year or five-year term, which is renewable. The remaining members include Ana Maria Catanzaro (Associate Professor and Chair of Graduate Nursing Programs, Holy Family University), David Ingle (licensed clinical psychologist), Msgr. Thomas Owens (Pastor, St. Alphonsus Parish), and Anne Shenberger (Executive Director of Court Appointed Special Advocates/Youth Advocates, Inc.).
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The Diocese leadership needs to appoint many more women to very prominient/critical positions to protect our children. Find the common sense and plain courage to just do it for the many, very capable, bold, caring, faith abiding women waiting for a Diocese challenge. SO CHANGE THE WEIGHTING ON THE ABUSE PANEL TO MOSTLY WOMEN AND MAKE A CLEAR STATEMENT TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX. Just imagine if Penn State Athletics had trippled the number of women athletic administrators over men in those very senior high positions(some Asst football coaches as females, Head AD in men and women sports as females, etc,) very likely would have stopped the deep systemic, in-bread, old boys net work that tolerated/allowed a nut like Asst Football Coach Sanduski to go undetected systemically all those years as a fierce child sex predator – the women would not have stood bye, no way since rumors would have eventually turned to action and Sanduski would have been thrown out 30-40 years ago before serious irreparable harm was done to children and even team members sexually. People always know about closet behaviors and women would act first in a forthright manner – so don’t be naive’since you are dealing ever harshly with tragically ruined lives of the Holy Innocents.