UNITED STATES
Beliefnet
By Jeff Diamant
Religion News Service
Amid all the disturbing tales of priests being charged with sexually abusing minors, stories about Nicholas Cudemo stand out.
A grand jury report on clergy sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, released last month, revealed Cudemo had been accused of abusing 16 minors, raping an 11-year-old and helping her get an abortion. He was laicized -- formally dismissed from the clergy -- in June after four decades as a priest in eastern Pennsylvania.
Despite that Vatican action, which was publicized, Cudemo presided in July at a baptism at Christ the King Church in Haddonfield, N.J., where the resident priest did not know his status.