Philadelphia Archdiocese suspends priest

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania -

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia suspended a priest this month after he allegedly told a newspaper reporter that he had fondled a teenage girl several decades ago.

Church officials said they removed Msgr. Philip J. Dowling from all public ministry on March 18, the day they were informed by The Philadelphia Inquirer that the retired pastor had confessed during an interview to having engaged in "inappropriate" touching of a girl in his parish.

"It crossed the (line)," Dowling told the newspaper. "And I'm very sorry for the inappropriate acts and touches."

The newspaper said it interviewed Dowling three times this month as part of an investigation into allegations by two women, now in their 50s.

One of the women said the abuse started when she was 8 and continued until she was 14. The other sister said Dowling began abusing her when she was 11 or 12 and continued until she was 18.

Read the article at phillyBurbs.com dated 28 Mar 2005

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