Philly Archbishop Chaput puts Bucks County priest Louis Kolenkiewicz on leave amid new probe

Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Chaput has put the Rev. Louis J. Kolenkiewicz on administrative leave “in response to concerns regarding his suitability for ministry.”

In a statement on its website , the archdiocese said the “concerns do not involve allegations of illegal or inappropriate contact with a minor, but constitute alleged violations of The Standards of Ministerial Behavior and Boundarie s” involving young people.

Kolenkiewicz had been ministering in Bucks County at Saint Bede the Venerable Parish in Holland most recently but the case in question regards allegations from 2005 that were “fully reviewed by law enforcement then and again in 2011,” the archdiocese statement said.

“Additional information concerning these same allegations has been received by the Archdiocese, requiring that the matter be reviewed again,” and the priest has been put on leave “in an abundance of caution.”

“Oftentimes, the priests who are reinstated tend to be very politically connected both inside and outside the church,” David Clohessy, the director of SNAP, a national advocacy group for victims of clergy sex abuse, told The Philadelphia Inquirer .

“It’s crucial that every single person with information or suspicions come forward, “he said. “Only vigilance protects kids.”

The Inquirer notes: “In 2011, a Philadelphia grand jury found that 37 active priests in the archdiocese were accused or suspected of inappropriate behavior with children. …No criminal charges were brought against Kolenkiewicz after reviews of the allegations by law enforcement in 2005 and 2011. He was reinstated to ministry in June 2014 based on a recommendation by an archdiocesan advisory committee on child sexual abuse.”