Chaput says Philadelphia school closings concern parishioners most

Vouchers could "help us help poor kids," he said.

It was his first conversation with the board since he was installed as head of the 1.5 million-member archdiocese Sept. 8.

Though he is still learning the geography of his new archdiocese - he groped momentarily to remember the name of Independence Mall - he said he was struck by how passionately local Catholics identify with their parishes and schools. He said he had not encountered that in Denver, where he was archbishop for 14 years.

He added that he was eager to meet with Mayor Nutter to discuss how city schools and the archdiocese might "cooperate [on education] in ways that respect the separation of church and state."

Questioned at some length about the local clergy sex-abuse scandal, the 67-year-old archbishop said it was taking longer than he expected for a special archdiocesan team to investigate allegations against 27 priests accused of inappropriate behavior with minors.

His predecessor, Cardinal Justin Rigali, placed most of those priests on administrative leave in March after a grand jury accused the archdiocese of failing to investigate allegations against three dozen priests.

Chaput said he did not know when he would begin to decide which priests to restore to ministry. "I will do my best to resolve it as soon as I can," but he said he had not decided whether to inform parishioners of the charges against accused priests.

He raised the issue of statutes of limitation and said he was wary of efforts to expand the right of sex-abuse victims to sue for assaults committed decades ago.

Statutes restricting the time in which lawsuits can be filed "are a good idea or we wouldn't have them," he said.