Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

3 Philadelphia Priests Defrocked
AP ^ | April 7, 2006

Posted on 04/07/2006 6:36:09 PM PDT by NYer

Three more priests accused of sexually abusing children have been defrocked, bringing to 17 the number of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese who have been defrocked since the clergy abuse scandal broke four years ago.

The Vatican defrocked Edward V. Avery, Stanley M. Gana and James E. McGuire over credible allegations of abuse, the archdiocese announced in a notice Thursday inside its weekly newspaper, the Catholic Standard & Times.

None of the 17 priests faces criminal charges because of Pennsylvania's statute of limitations for prosecuting sex crimes. Avery, Gana and McGuire were named in a grand jury report released in September that identified 63 archdiocesan priests as abusers.

"This does nothing to address the broader issue that they broke the law and they escaped prosecution because the statute of limitations is so short," said John Salveson, a leader of the national advocacy group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests and Other Clergy.

Avery, Gana and McGuire were stripped of their ministries in 2002 and 2003. They could not be located for comment.

According to the grand jury report, McGuire was found to have molested at least three boys, starting from when he was a seminarian in 1966. Avery allegedly abused a 12-year-old boy in the late 1970s. Gana, at one time a chaplain for the Boy Scouts of America, allegedly had so many victims that the grand jury could characterize the number only as "countless."

An archdiocese spokeswoman declined to comment.


TOPICS: Activism; Catholic; Current Events; General Discusssion; Moral Issues; Religion & Culture
KEYWORDS: catholic; defrock; dismissal; pa; philadelphia; vatican
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-25 last
To: ninenot
Very true, most of the abusers were homosexuals, not heterosexuals, not pedophiles.

There were some who were heterosexuals and pedophiles, but the vast majority of offenders were homosexuals.

21 posted on 04/08/2006 3:48:04 PM PDT by Robertsll
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: ninenot

"According to the John Jay Commission, the ratio was about 6:1 (male to female victims)"

That's interesting. Looks more like 99 to 1 to me.


22 posted on 04/08/2006 11:08:11 PM PDT by dsc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: NYer

I can guarantee you that there is no statute of limitation on the damage that has been done to these people.

My wife who was abused as a child still carries the emotional and physical scares to this day.

There should not be any limitation of time in bring charges against those who abuse children! And their sentence should not no less than a hard 40 years to begin with before they even come up for the chance of parole.


23 posted on 04/09/2006 12:29:59 AM PDT by John 6.66=Mark of the Beast?
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dsc

Go here:

http://dad29.blogspot.com/2006/04/john-jays-priest-abuse-figures-in.html

The blogspot also has embedded links to the graph-source.


24 posted on 04/09/2006 6:08:46 AM PDT by ninenot (Minister of Membership, Tomas Torquemada Gentlemen's Club)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 22 | View Replies]

To: ninenot

I don't doubt that the John Jay College report was as you stated.


25 posted on 04/09/2006 9:28:03 AM PDT by dsc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-25 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Religion
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson