Investigation at St. Cornelius

Posted by Rich Schwartzman on June 2, 2017

***UPDATED 9:57 a.m., June 2***

Pennsylvania State Police will only confirm that there is an investigation involving St. Cornelius Church in Chadds Ford Township but have not gone into any detail other than to say a search warrant was executed Wednesday.

Several news reports have said a package arrived at the church on Ridge Road addressed to Msgr. Gregory Parlante. Someone at the church opened the package and thought it contained illegal drugs. Police have not confirmed any drugs being found.

Parlante has been pastor at St. Cornelius for 13 years. He’s been on medical leave since March and announced in the church bulletin that he is resigning to focus on his health.

In that bulletin published last Sunday, Parlante said, “For the past few years my health has not totally recovered from my near death illness. In March I began a medical leave to address my health issues. I asked the Archbishop to accept my resignation as pastor so that I can totally devote my time to becoming well.”

Kenneth Gavin, director of communications for the Philadelphia Archdiocese, made the following statement in an email to Chadds Ford Live:

"The pastor of Saint Cornelius Parish in Chadds Ford, Msgr. Gregory Parlante, has been absent from the parish for several weeks due to health related issues and other related personal matters. In his absence, the Archdiocese assigned a temporary parochial administrator, Father James DeGrassa, to tend to pastoral and administrative duties. That arrangement was intended to be an interim one.

"During the weekend of May 20-21, it was shared with Saint Cornelius parishioners at all Masses that Msgr. Parlante's health issues precluded his ability to serve the temporal and pastoral needs of the parish community. It was also shared that Msgr. Parlante made a decision that his health issues would not permit him to return as pastor. As such, he has been on a personal leave of absence. Additionally, parishioners learned on the weekend of May 20-21 that a new pastor, Msgr. David Diamond, had been assigned and would officially join the parish on June 19th.

"In the course of normal duties, parish staff recently opened a package that was addressed to the parish and delivered to the Parish Life Center with Monsignor Parlante's name on it. It was believed to contain illegal drugs. The matter was reported to law enforcement and a search warrant was executed Wednesday morning. Both the parish and the Archdiocese are cooperating fully with law enforcement in the course of their active investigation."

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.