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	Philly Priests Form Association Amid Abuse Crisis By Maryclaire Dale San Antonio Express-News August 19, 2011 http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Philly-priests-form-association-amid-abuse-crisis-2123346.php Roman Catholic priests in the conservative Philadelphia archdiocese have formed an independent association amid "a vacuum of information" about the latest clergy-abuse scandal, the Rev. Christopher Walsh confirmed Friday. Walsh, one of the organizers of the Association of Philadelphia Priests, said the group was created for priests to learn more about how the archdiocese is handling the problem. The association is still finalizing its bylaws. A grand jury in February charged three priests and a teacher with rape and a monsignor with endangering children by reassigning priests. Prosecutors found that 37 suspected abusers remained on duty. The archdiocese later suspended about two dozen of them. The grand jury report stunned priests across the five-county archdiocese, which has about 500 active priests. "How could this be happening again? The guys, they were at a loss," Walsh told The Associated Press. The priests had endured a blistering 2005 grand jury report that said 63 Philadelphia priests had been credibly accused of sex assaults over several decades. And U.S. bishops had by 2002 ordered dioceses to take a zero-tolerance approach to abuse complaints. The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported Friday on the Association of Philadelphia Priests. Walsh, who serves as pastor of St. Raymond of Penafort, said that over several meetings this spring, concerned priests decided to form the new group. About 100 priests have attended each of three meetings held at various parishes. And two archdiocesan officials have turned out, including the Rev. Daniel Sullivan, the vicar for clergy. None of them intend to challenge incoming Archbishop Charles Chaput on priest celibacy, the ordination of women, or other hot-button issues, Walsh said. "They are, like most Philadelphia priests are, very orthodox men who love the church," Walsh said. "We're not looking to be adversarial. We're part of the church. We respect and look forward to working with Archbishop Chaput." Walsh said priests in the diocese are struggling, along with the laity and non-Catholics in the region, to understand how the sex-abuse problem was allowed to fester. They also want to protect the rights of the suspended priests whose cases are now under review. "Speaking for some of the (priests) who have been removed, they don't know what's next or how long it will take," Walsh said. "In the criminal process, it's pretty clear. ... With the case of these guys, it's really nebulous. Many of them feel very uninformed." Priests in other dioceses have long formed independent organizations, and many dioceses contribute $30 per priest annually to the National Federation of Priest Councils, a Chicago-based group that serves as a liaison between priests and the dioceses they serve. But priests in the famously insular Philadelphia archdiocese have never joined the 43-year-old group, according to the Rev. Richard Vega, the federation president. "Their bishops never wanted them to belong. We were seen as too radical," Vega added. The Philadelphia archdiocese said in a letter this week to its priests that it hopes to resolve the fate of the suspended priests within the next few months. A spokeswoman did not immediately return a call for comment Friday. The next challenge may be how to reintegrate an exonerated priest back into church life. "The mere fact that you've accused him has already tainted him," Vega said. Other dioceses have had to address the problem on a case-by-case basis, but Philadelphia has at least two dozen cases pending simultaneously. "The hard part is rehabilitating and exonerating (someone) and welcoming them back," Vega said. "It will be interesting to see what Philadelphia does."
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