PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
By Jim Remsen
Inquirer Faith Life Editor
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia disclosed yesterday that two more priests have been defrocked for "sexual misconduct involving minors," raising its total to 11 in the abuse scandal.
One of the two, John J. Delli Carpini, 56, a former academic dean at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, is the highest-ranking local cleric to be ousted thus far. He is alleged to have molested an altar boy for seven years beginning in the late 1970s.
The other, Raymond O. Leneweaver, 71, was accused of repeatedly abusing two teenagers decades ago. After the church placed him on sick leave, Leneweaver walked away from the priesthood and became a teacher in two area public school districts.
The two dismissals, which come as a Philadelphia grand jury is concluding a three-year-plus investigation of clergy sex abuse, were disclosed in a brief article inside the archdiocese's weekly newspaper, the Catholic Standard and Times.
The Vatican-approved defrockings return the men to the lay state, meaning they are no longer supported or monitored by the church. Because the alleged abuse occurred decades ago, the time limit on prosecutions has expired and the men face no criminal charges or police oversight.