PHILADELPHIA (PA)
PhillyBurbs
Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput says five priests – including three with Bucks County ties – have been found not suitable for ministry due to substantiated allegations of sexual abuse or boundary violations.
Chaput says three priests will be returned to ministry – including one from Bucks County – and another died during the investigation.
Chaput says 17 other cases have been investigated, but the findings are not being announced Friday.
The three priests with local ties who were found unsuitable for ministry by the archdiocese include:
* The Rev. George Cadwallader, for alleged violation of “The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries.” He had served at Queen of the Universe parish in Middletown before his assignment to St. Vincent De Paul in Northampton.
* The Rev. John Reardon, for alleged sexual abuse of a minor. He was assigned to St. Joseph the Worker in Falls and was a former pastor at St. John at the Cross in Abington.
* The Rev. Thomas Rooney, for alleged violation of “The Standards and Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries.” He graduated from Conwell Egan High School in 1968 and celebrated his first Mass at Our Lady of Grace in Penndel in 1991.
Among those found suitable for ministry was the Rev. Michael Chapman, who was raised in Levittown. The alleged violation of “The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundaries” lodged against him was found unsubstantiated.
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