[At this point, Cardinal Justin Rigali suspended the priests. I’m sure there will be more answers to your questions as the week goes on.]
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One day after suspending 21 priests, the leader of Philadelphia’s Roman Catholic Church on Wednesday again apologized to victims of abuse and pledged to improve reform efforts.
“Once again we renew our commitment to make every effort possible to prevent these evil acts and protect children from harm,” Cardinal Justin Rigali said.
Nearly 1,000 people packed the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul for Wednesday’s Mass. From his opening prayer, Rigali struck the theme of repentance, and asked Catholics to pray not only for the abuse victims but for “faithful priests who have suffered” because of the scandal.
He also said the abuse should not be tolerated.
“Whoever harms a child must remember the words of Jesus: It would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea,” the cardinal said.
http://articles.philly.com/2011-03-09/news/28672837_1_survivors-network-priests-abuse-victims
Statements on the archdiocese homepage indicate that 21 priests stand accused of offenses ranging from sexual abuse to “boundary issues with minors.”
I wonder if the boundaries were established by the archdiocese, and what those boundaries are. Explicit sexual discusssions, discussion of healthy sexual relationships?
If they want to categorize any discussion whatever of sex as an offense, there are a few thousand middle and high school public school teachers who need to be brought up on charges.