PHILADELPHIA (PA)
Philadelphia Inquirer
He had sex with a minor, according to a 1994 document. He will be suspended, a source said.
By John P. Martin
Inquirer Staff Writer
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia plans to suspend a priest nearly two decades after church leaders learned he had sex with a girl, 17, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Msgr. Richard T. Powers, 76, who had served in parishes across the region and was most recently assigned to Epiphany of Our Lord in South Philadelphia, will be placed on administrative leave pending a review, said the source, who asked not to be identified discussing a personnel issue.
Powers’ suspension comes after his name emerged on a newly disclosed 1994 internal church memo that listed 35 area priests suspected or accused of abusing children.
Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua allegedly ordered that memo shredded, but a copy was discovered in a safe in the archdiocese’s Center City offices in 2006 and turned over last month to Philadelphia prosecutors.
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