Washington, March 09: 21 priests have been put on administrative leave in the US city of Philadelphia due to allegations that they sexually abused minors or behaved improperly with them.
The Archdiocese of Philadelphia said on Tuesday that it was responding to a report by a Philadelphia grand jury that found that 37 local priests accused or suspected of misbehavior with children.
“I know that for many people, their trust in the church has been shaken,” Cardinal Justin Rigali said in a statement.
“I pray that the efforts of the archdiocese to address these cases of concern and to re-evaluate our way of handling allegations will help rebuild that trust in truth and justice,” he went on to say.
Church officials said on Wednesday that they would inform the parishes and other “affected communities” where the priests worked.
Last month, the archdiocese placed on leave three priests who the grand jury said had been allowed to remain in active ministry despite credible allegations of child sexual abuse.
The Catholic Church in the US and European states has been plagued with hundreds of cases of priests sexually abusing children, which senior church officials either dismissed or attempted to hush up.
——–Agencies