Priest scandal hits hospitals; As pedophilia reports grow, church officials suspend at least six hospital chaplains in an effort to address alleged sexual abuse.

The pedophilia scandal engulfing the Roman Catholic Church has reached the healthcare provider community, where a growing number of hospital chaplains now stand accused of having sexually abused children.

Since March, church officials have suspended at least six chaplains who were working in hospitals, most of them in the Midwest, as part of a self-described effort to address ``directly and openly'' prior instances of alleged sexual abuse (See chart below). Three of the chaplains were working in Roman Catholic hospitals.

Although none of the chaplains has been accused of abuse in the hospital setting, one priest was working in Milwaukee hospitals as recently as last month, despite a 12-year-old settlement agreement barring him from such assignments. Over the past three months, dioceses in California, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio, among other states, have suspended dozens of priests, and those working in hospitals resigned or retired within days or even hours of their names appearing on publicly released suspension lists.

In all six hospital chaplain cases, the alleged incidents occurred several years ago, and at deadline no new criminal charges had been filed in connection with those cases.

Some hospital administrators knew their chaplains had faced earlier allegations of sexual abuse but said church officials had indicated the priests did not pose a threat to patients. No hospital contacted by Modern Healthcare reported any complaints of abuse by chaplains during the priests' tenures at the hospitals.

The Rev. Joseph Brodnick worked at 295-bed St. Joseph's Hospital in Elmira, N.Y., until he resigned last month when the Cleveland Archdiocese placed him on administrative leave in connection with allegations that he abused a teenage girl in the 1970s. Brodnick's departure was part of the church's recent push to publicize and investigate such accusations.

``I can characterize his time here as an employee …