21 US priests suspended in abuse case

Twenty-one Roman Catholic priests have been suspended by the Philadelphia archdiocese after they were named as child molestation suspects.

The priests have been removed from ministry while their cases are reviewed, Cardinal Justin Rigali said. Their names were not being released.

The move follows a grand jury report last month.

“These have been difficult weeks since the release of the grand jury report,” Rigali said in a statement. “Difficult most of all for victims of sexual abuse but also for all Catholics and for everyone in our community.”

The two-year grand jury investigation into priest abuse in the Archdiocese resulted in charges against two priests, a former priest and a Catholic school teacher who are accused of raping young boys.

And in an unprecedented move in the US, a former high-ranking church official was accused of transferring problem priests to new parishes without warning anyone of prior sex-abuse complaints.

The grand jury said as many as 37 priests remained in active ministry despite credible allegations of sexual abuse.