4 Royersford, Spring City Priests On 'Credibly Accused' List

ROYERSFORD, PA — Four priests with connections to the Royersford area are part of a comprehensive list of Catholic clergy who have been "credibly accused" of sexual abuse.

The searchable database — which includes hundreds of priests accused from the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, as well as dioceses in Scranton, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and more — comes on the heels of a grand jury report that revealed hundreds of "predator" priests across the state.

The list, put together by Patch partner ProPublica, includes dozens of other priests who served in neighboring municipalities.

Here's the list of clergy who have worked in Royersford and Spring City and have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. All of them are have either passed away or been defrocked.

Richard G. Jones

Jones worked as a priest from 1963 until 1993, when he left active ministry. However, he was never defrocked, and passed away in 2016 at his home in Florida.

He served a five year "leave of absence" from the church from 1988 to 1993, prior to leaving the ministry.

From June 1963 until Sept. 1968, he was the assistant pastor at St. Joseph in Spring City.

Leonard A. Furmanski

Furmanski served from 1959 until 2003, when he too embarked on a two-year leave of absence. He was never removed from the priesthood, and was marked as "life of prayer and penance" at Darby's Villa Saint Joseph from 2005 until his death in 2009.

From May 1959 until May 1960, Furmanski was the assistant pastor at St. Joseph in Spring City.

Michael F. Conroy

Conroy was the permanent deacon at Sacred Heart in Royersford from June 1994 until Aug. 2001.

He was put on a "leave of absence" from 2001 until 2007, when he was laicized (removed from the priesthood).

Edward M. DePaoli

DePaoli worked around Montgomery and Bucks counties as a priest from 1970 until 1992, at which point he was put on administrative leave for 12 years until 2004.

That stretch included a three year period from 1985 until 1988 where his priestly faculties were temporarily suspended. However, he returned to the priesthood for another four years after that. He lived in Royersford from Jan. 1988 until July 1991.

In 2004, he was finally laicized.

>>Full List Released Of PA Catholic Clergy Accused Of Sex Assault

The Pennsylvania grand jury investigation, which prompted ProPublica's project, was described by the Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" into priest sex abuse by an individual state. The investigation revealed many priests admitted to their actions and were allowed to continue in the ministry for years despite having confessed to molesting children.

>>300 PA Priests Sexually Abused 1,000 Children: Grand Jury

In one case, after a priest confessed to anal and oral rape of at least 15 boys, a bishop who later met with him commended him as "a person of candor and sincerity."

Another priest who was "grooming his middle school students for oral sex," was accused by several victims before he was removed 15 years later, the grand jury found.

The Pennsylvania grand jury report was pivotal in spurring dioceses around the country to release lists of abusers associated with their churches, ProPublica said.