Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia

Beginning in 2005, members of the diocese and its hierarchy have been heavily impacted by sexual abuse scandals. Two grand jury reports, guilty pleas and convictions indicate administrative mishandling of cases and other issues.

The sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania, U.S., is a significant episode in the series of Catholic sex abuse cases in the United States, Ireland and elsewhere. The Philadelphia abuses were substantially revealed through a grand jury investigation in 2005. In early 2011, a new grand jury reported extensive new charges of abusive priests active in the archdiocese. In 2012, a guilty plea by priest Edward Avery and the related trial and conviction of Monsignor William Lynn and mistrial on charges against Rev. James J. Brennan followed from the grand jury's investigations. In 2013, Rev. Charles Engelhardt and teacher Bernard Shero were tried, convicted and sentenced to prison. Lynn was the first official to be convicted in the United States of covering up abuses by other priests in his charge and other senior church officials have been extensively criticized for their management of the issue in the archdiocese.

On March 12, 2020, a new trial date was official set for Lynn, who was released and ordered to be retried in 2016 after serving 33 months of his sentence, with jury selection to start March 16.[6] However, the ongoing coronavirus pandemic forced Lynn's retrial to be delayed until January 2021.[7][8] Following his release from prison in 2016, Lynn was ordered to remain on supervised parole until his retrial[9]

On May 5, 2020, Archdiocese of Philadelphia announced that it now expected to pay $126 million in reparations.[10] The archdiocese also said its Independent Reconciliation and Reparations Program, which was established in 2018, has received a total of 615 claims, and had settled 208 of them for $43.8 million as of April 22, 2020.[10] That averages out to about $211,000 per claim, which is in line with what other dioceses have been paying under similar programs.[10] The same day, however, the total number of money which the Archdiocese of Philadelphia expects to pay in sex abuse settlements was soon revised to $130 million by Archbishop of Philadelphia Nelson J. Perez.[11]

In 2015, it was reported that the school's director of religious education, Margie Winters, had been fired from the Waldron Mercy Academy after a parent had reported her directly to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for marrying her long-term lesbian partner in a civil ceremony in 2007. Winters had been upfront with school administrators at the time of her hiring and was advised to keep a low profile which she says she did. Many parents expressed anger and concern over the school's decision. Principal Nell Stetser justified the decision by arguing that "many of us accept life choices that contradict current Church teachings, but to continue as a Catholic school, Waldron Mercy must comply with those teachings." But she called for "an open and honest discussion about this and other divisive issues at the intersection of our society and our Church." The Archbishop of Philadelphia, Charles Chaput, called the dismissal "common sense."[12][13] On January 23, 2020, Pope Francis accepted Chaput's letter of resignation and appointed Cleveland Bishop Nelson Perez to succeed Chaput as Archbishop of Philadelphia on February 18, 2020.[14] After his installation on February 18, 2020, Nelson Perez became the first Hispanic Archbishop of Philadelphia[14]

Bishops of Philadelphia

1. Michael Francis Egan, O.F.M. (1808–1814)
2. Henry Conwell (1819-1841)
3. Francis Patrick Kenrick (1842–1851), appointed Archbishop of Baltimore
4. Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, C.Ss.R. (1852–1860)

(Ambrose Maréchal, P.S.S. was appointed in 1816; did not take effect.)

Archbishops of Philadelphia

1. James Frederick Wood (1860–1883), raised to Archbishop in 1875
2. Patrick John Ryan (1884–1911)
3. Edmond Francis Prendergast (1911–1918)
4. Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty (1918–1951)
5. Cardinal John Francis O'Hara, C.S.C. (1951–1960)
6. Cardinal John Joseph Krol (1961–1988)
7. Cardinal Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1988–2003)
8. Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali (2003–2011)
9. Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. (2011–2020)
10. Nelson J. Perez (2020–present)

• Francis Patrick Kenrick (1830-1842)
• James Frederick Wood (1857–1860)

In chronogical order.

• John Joseph McCort (1912–1920), appointed Coadjutor Bishop and later Bishop of Altoona
• Michael Joseph Crane (1921–1928)
• Gerald Patrick O'Hara (1929–1935), appointed Bishop of Savannah and later Apostolic Nuncio and Titular Archbishop
• Hugh L. Lamb (1935–1951), appointed Bishop of Greensburg
• J. Carroll McCormick (1947–1960), appointed Bishop of Scranton
• Joseph Mark McShea (1952–1961), appointed Bishop of Allentown
• Cletus Joseph Benjamin (1960–1961)
• Francis James Furey (1960–1963), appointed Coadjutor Archbishop and later Archbishop of San Antonio
• Gerald Vincent McDevitt (1962–1980)
• John Joseph Graham (1963–1988)
• Thomas Jerome Welsh (1970–1974), appointed Bishop of Arlington and later Bishop of Allentown
• Martin Nicholas Lohmuller (1970–1994)
• Edward Thomas Hughes (1976–1986), appointed Bishop of Metuchen
• Francis B. Schulte (1981–1985), appointed Bishop of Wheeling-Charleston and later Archbishop of New Orleans
• Louis A. DeSimone (1981–1997)
• Edward Peter Cullen (1994–1997), appointed Bishop of Allentown
• Joseph Francis Martino (1996–2003), appointed Bishop of Scranton
• Robert P. Maginnis (1996–2010)
• Michael Francis Burbidge (2002–2006), appointed Bishop of Raleigh and later Bishop of Arlington
• Joseph R. Cistone (2004–2009), appointed Bishop of Saginaw
• Joseph P. McFadden (2004–2010), appointed Bishop of Harrisburg
• Daniel E. Thomas (2006–2014), appointed Bishop of Toledo
• Timothy C. Senior (2009–present)
• John J. McIntyre (2010–present)
• Michael J. Fitzgerald (2010–present)
• Edward Michael Deliman (2016–present)

Note: Year range in parentheses indicates the time of service as a priest of the (Arch)diocese of Philadelphia, prior to appointment to the episcopacy. Living members of this list are shown, in alphabetical order, first, followed by those who are deceased, in alphabetical order.

The first Catholic school established in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was at St. Mary Parish in Philadelphia during the late eighteenth century. During the nineteenth century, Bishop Kenrick encouraged the establishment of Catholic schools. Subsequently, St. John Neumann (1851–1860) made the establishment of parish elementary schools a priority and by 1860 there were seventeen parish elementary schools in Philadelphia. Between 1900 and 1930, Catholic elementary schools increased to 124 schools in Philadelphia and 78 schools in the four suburban counties. Between 1945 and 1965, 62 new Catholic elementary schools were established.

In 2012, about 25% of the students in Philadelphia Catholic elementary schools were not Catholic.[18] In 2010 South Philadelphia Catholic elementary schools had 2,572 students, a decline by 27% from the 2006 figure.[17]

With the foundation of Archbishop Ryan School for Children with Deafness in 1912, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia school system began serving families of children with special needs. St. Katherine Day School and Our Lady of Confidence School, serving students with mental retardation, were opened in 1953 and 1954 respectively, after parent petitions to John Cardinal O'Hara. St. Lucy Day School for Children with Visual Impairment followed in 1955. Queen of the Universe Day Center was added in 1980 to serve students with mental retardation in Bucks County. These five schools are supported by the Catholic Charities Appeal.

Leadership within the Archdiocese of Philadelphia envisioned a continued comprehensive education for secondary students.

The first free Catholic high school in the United States was the "Roman Catholic High School of Philadelphia", founded for the education of boys in 1890. (It is often referred to as "Roman Catholic", occasionally as "Catholic High", and most commonly as "Roman".) The "Catholic Girls High School" was founded in 1912. Mary McMichan, one of the school's founders, requested in her last will that the school be renamed in honor of her brother. The school became "John W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School" after her death. Both schools are still in existence.

Between 1916 and 1927 West Catholic Boys and Girls and Northeast Catholic were opened. Despite the economic hardships of the 1930s and 1940s, seven more diocesan high schools were founded. During a 22-year growth period from 1945 to 1967, fifteen high schools were opened.

• St. Charles Borromeo Seminary
• Redemptois Mater Archdiocesan Missionary Seminary

Note: Each Roman Catholic college and university within the archdiocese is affiliated with a religious institute, rather than the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.

• Alvernia University - Philadelphia Center (branch campus), Cheltenham Township (Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis)
• Cabrini University, Radnor Township (Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)
• Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia (Sisters of Saint Joseph)
• Gwynedd Mercy University, Lower Gwynedd Township (Sisters of Mercy)
• Holy Family University, Philadelphia (Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth)
• Immaculata University, East Whiteland Township (Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)
• La Salle University, Philadelphia (Christian Brothers)
• Neumann University, Aston Township (Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia)
• Rosemont College, Lower Merion Township (Society of the Holy Child Jesus)
• Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia (Jesuits)
• Villanova University, Radnor Township (Augustinians)