Six NYC priests asked to quit after allegations

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Six priests from the Archdiocese of New York have been asked to leave their assignments because of sexual misconduct allegations from their past, a statement from the archdiocese said Sunday.

The names of the priests were not released because not all of the allegations were substantiated, the statement said.

"The priests in question have been informed that they are not to present themselves as priests or exercise their priestly ministry publicly, at least until the matter is further clarified or resolved," it read.

The announcement came less than a week after the archdiocese said it had given the Manhattan district attorney a list of cases involving priests accused of sexual misconduct with minors.

The archdiocese said in a statement then that the list resulted from "a comprehensive review of the personnel files for priests of the Archdiocese of New York covering the last 35 to 40 years."

The information included "the date and location of the alleged activity and the outcome of any legal proceedings that may have been taken, along with the status of the accused, if it is known."

Last month, New York's Cardinal Edward Egan said future abuse allegations against priests would be forwarded to civil authorities when there was reasonable cause to believe them and if the alleged victims did not oppose the reporting, but he stopped short of saying he would turn over information on past cases.

Joseph Zwilling, an archdiocesan spokesman, said the decision to hand over the older information "was the right thing to do."

The information was given to District Attorney Robert Morgenthau because the files are located in his district. Morgenthau will forward relevant information to district attorneys in other jurisdictions within the archdiocese, Zwilling said.

New York's statute of limitations for bringing charges in child-molestation cases is five years from the time the incident was first reported to authorities, or five years from the alleged victim's 18th birthday.

The scandal emerged in Boston in January with the disclosure that former priest John J. Geoghan had been moved from parish to parish after being accused of sexual abuse. Since then, the Boston Archdiocese has provided prosecutors with the names of about 80 priests accused of molesting children over the past 40 years.

Since January, dozens of priests out of more than 47,000 nationwide have been suspended or forced to resign.