On Tuesday, Philadelphia Cardinal Justin Rigali placed 21 priests on leave whom a grand jury named as suspected child molesters. The city district attorney's office last month charged five people with raping boys in the 1990s or endangering children by covering up the crimes.
Those priests are:
Philip Barr
John Bowe
George Cadwallader
Paul Castellani
Michael Chapman
Msgr. John Close
Msgr. Francis Feret
Mark Fernandes
Msgr. Michael Flood
Mark Gaspar
Joseph Glatts
Steven Harris
Daniel Hoy
Msgr. Joseph Logrip
Andrew McCormick
Zachary Navit
Leonard Peterson
Robert Povish
John Reardon
Thomas Rooney
Peter Talocci
Earlier in the day, Rigali called on the faithful to pray for healing in the church and of sexual abuse victims.
Rigali spoke to hundreds of Roman Catholics attending a lunchtime Mass at the city's basilica on Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the Lenten season of penance.
Meanwhile, sex abuse victims and other protestors gathered outside the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul for a silent protest as parishioners arrived for Ash Wednesday services.
The protestors included Father Robert Hoatson of New Jersey, who is suing two archdiocese for his experiences.
"I'm also a survivor of clergy sexual abuse myself and, when I began to help victims, my bishop put me on administrative leave and is punishing me for speaking out about this," said Father Hoatson.
"It's so important that Catholic masses understand the damage that this is causing," said protestor Annette Nestle of Upper Deerfield, New Jersey.
Some of the faithful coming to get their ashes on Wednesday were also learning for the first time the names of those suspended.
"It's a shame. It's a bad name on the Catholics," said Delores Phillips of Northeast Philadelphia. "But there's a lot of good ones out there."
"It's something that should have never have happened, especially to little kids. Anybody, really," said Mary DiSilvestro of Northeast Philadelphia. "Horrible."
