Ministry of former
OLC priest to be restricted

Cardinal Justin Rigali will request the Vatican’s authorization to begin a formal process restricting the ministry of the Rev. Robert L. Brennan.
In September 2005, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia removed Brennan from his assignment and instructed him to refrain from any public exercise of his priestly ministry.
Brennan is forbidden to function as a priest anywhere, celebrate Mass publicly or administer the Sacraments. He is prohibited from wearing clerical clothes or presenting himself publicly as a priest.
In spring 2006, the archdiocese received a new allegation that Brennan had sexually abused a minor in the late 1960s/early 1970s.
"We do not release the specific details of the allegation (or parish), nor do we comment on any possible allegations other than the subject of the press release," said archdiocesan spokeswoman Donna Farrell in response to an e-mailed request for more information.
Brennan, who was assigned to Our Lady of Calvary from June 1970 until November 1974, and Resurrection of Our Lord from December 1993 to June 2004, denies the allegation.
According to the archdiocese, the allegation was immediately reported to civil authorities.
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office does not have any charges pending against Brennan.
Allegations against him stem from incidences that happened prior to the expiration of the statute of limitations, according to Deputy District Attorney Charles Gallagher.
The Court of Common Pleas had dismissed a civil case presented by attorney Jay Abramowitch on behalf of one of Brennan’s more than alleged 20 victims from four parishes.
The court ruled that although Brennan apparently had committed the acts, the time period allowable to present such a suit in Pennsylvania had expired.
Abramowitch finds it ironic that the archdiocese fought so hard to have the case dismissed, yet used his case and verified information from lawsuits to remove Father Brennan, the attorney said.
The archdiocese "has made no attempt to compensate the victims or do anything else to help them get their lives back," Abramowitch said.
If so-called window legislation is passed in Pennsylvania, as it has in California and most recently in Delaware, an abuse victim would have the right to come forward and have a case heard by a jury even if it had been earlier dismissed because of the statute of limitations, according to Abramowitch.
To read the grand jury report regarding previous allegations against Brennan, go to http://bishop-accountability.org/reports/2005_09_21_Philly_GrandJury/Philly_05_28_Brennan.pdf