five priests under investigation for sexual abuse would be permanently removed from ministry, while three other priests had been exonerated. The 8 were among 26 priests who were suspended in early 2011 because of past accusations of sexual abuse or improper sexual behavior….
The (2011) grand jury allegations were especially shocking to many church members because they suggested that priests under investigation for abuse were still wearing the cloth years after the national church had declared a zero-tolerance policy.
When the suspensions were announced in February and March 2011, church critics called them long overdue and evidence of official failure to act.
The five defrocked priests will be under permanent supervision from now on, the archbishop said, “leading lives of prayer and penance and not allowed to wear a collar.” He added, “Minimally, it would require a process of monitoring for the rest of their lives.”
The five will not face criminal charges, said Tasha Jamerson, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, because the statute of limitations had run out by the time of the grand jury report.
Barbara Blaine, the president of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP, said Friday, “We are shocked that 14 months after a grand jury raised concerns over 37 accused priests, only eight of these cases are resolved.”
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