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1 800 686 9921Ordained: 1931
Status: Accused
Died: 10/19/1998
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father William Edward Francis Allen was publicly named as credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor by the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts in 2021—with one known allegation dating to 1943. Allen left the Diocese of Springfield in 1954 and by 1955 had relocated to a parish in Cottonport, Louisiana, where he became director of Don Bosco Boys’ Home. By 1968 he was in Shreveport, and the 1979 Official Catholic Directory listed him as on duty outside the diocese in Miami Beach, Florida.
Ordained: 1923
Status: Accused
Died: 5/19/1968
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Auger’s name appears on the Diocese of Springfield’s Report of Findings of Credibility of Allegations of Sexual Abuse of a Minor, published in June 2021 following a diocesan review. He is listed under the category of deceased clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Springfield for whom criminal or canonical proceedings were not completed, as allegations were received only after his death. Because he had no opportunity to respond, there was no formal determination of guilt. Rather, the diocese determined that there was reasonable cause to believe the reported sexual abuse occurred. The reported conduct falls within the timeframe of 1965 to 1967.
Ordained: 1930
Status: Accused
Died: 9/16/1970
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Authier’s name surfaced publicly in May 2019, when it was reported that a man — then 67 years old — had alleged he was sexually abused as a boy around 1960 by Authier, along with Bishop Christopher J. Weldon and Father Clarence Forand. The Diocesan Review Board had previously reviewed these allegations and, in September 2018, notified Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski that it found the survivor’s account compelling and credible. Authier’s name was added to the diocese’s public list of credibly accused clergy on June 2, 2021.
Ordained: 1943
Status: Settled
Died: 3/12/1982
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
At least one claim of sexual abuse dating to the 1940s was made against Father Beauregard, alleging that he harmed a child under his pastoral care. That claim was among those included in a $4.5 million settlement reached in November 2008, through which the Diocese resolved sexual abuse claims brought by 59 plaintiffs.
Ordained: 1945
Status: Sued
Died: 12/3/1985
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In 2005 — years after his death — allegations of sexual abuse were brought against Berthiaume in a civil lawsuit filed in Hampden County Superior Court. The plaintiff claimed to have been abused by Berthiaume and several other clergy members affiliated with the Dioceses of Springfield and Worcester. According to the plaintiff’s attorney, his client passed two polygraph examinations. The Diocese of Springfield stated that nothing in its records supports the allegations. The Diocese of Worcester, which investigated related claims against its own clergy, similarly concluded that those claims lacked credibility. Berthiaume died on December 3, 1985, and no criminal charges were filed against him during his lifetime.
Ordained: 1966
Status: Settled
Died: 4/20/2023
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Albert Rene Blanchard was ordained in 1966 and served in the Diocese of Springfield until leaving active ministry in 1977. In 1993, a woman came forward and reported that she had sought counseling from Blanchard in 1971 when she was only 15 years old. He was 30 at the time. What should have been a therapeutic relationship instead became, according to the survivor’s account, a pattern of sexual abuse that lasted four years — a claim the Diocese later found credible. A settlement was reached following that finding.
Ordained: 1969
Status: Accused
Died: 2/17/2011
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father J. Victor Carrier served in the Diocese of Springfield from 1969 until 2009 and was assigned to St. Rose de Lima Parish in Chicopee, Massachusetts, from 1978 to 1985. In October 2023, the Diocese of Springfield added a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Father Carrier to its publicly disclosed clergy list. According to the Diocese, the alleged misconduct occurred between 1981 and 1982 while Carrier was assigned to St. Rose de Lima Parish. The allegations describe conduct that occurred while the survivor was under Father Carrier’s pastoral care.
Ordained: 1952
Status: Settled
Died: 4/28/2001
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Donald A. Desilets was a priest of the Diocese of Springfield who faced allegations of sexual abuse of minors. In the early 1990s, the Diocesan Misconduct Commission disciplined Desilets and barred him from public ministry after he allegedly molested two boys at Precious Blood Church in Holyoke. The Diocese of Springfield has included Desilets on its list of credibly accused clergy, most recently in its expanded June 2021 disclosure.
Ordained: 1968
Status: Settled
Died: 3/15/2021
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Michael H. Devlin was a Catholic priest ordained in 1968 who served in the Diocese of Springfield in western Massachusetts. In October 2004, he was placed on administrative leave pending a Review Board investigation into allegations that he had sexually abused a minor while serving as a parochial vicar at St. Thomas the Apostle in West Springfield and at All Souls in Springfield. Bishop Timothy McDonnell publicly announced Devlin’s permanent removal from ministry in December 2004.
Ordained: 1953
Status: Settled
Died: 7/26/1991
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Frederick George Dion was ordained in 1953 and served as a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts until his death in 1991. Allegations against him include claims that he sexually abused a minor in 1957. At least one claim connected to his conduct was included in a 2008 settlement between the Diocese of Springfield and 59 survivors.
Ordained: 1935
Status: Sued
Died: 2/22/1965
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Despite these positions of trust, Doheny is the subject of serious sexual abuse allegations. A civil lawsuit filed in March 2005 alleged that he sexually abused a boy over a four-year period beginning when the child was approximately 10 years old. The same suit included sexual abuse allegations against multiple other clergy and bishops from the Springfield and Worcester dioceses. Doheny died in 1965, and the claims were pursued through the civil system.
Ordained: 1958
Status: Accused
Died: 2/16/1971
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father John Paul Donahue was ordained in 1958 and served in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, where he held multiple parish assignments until 1962. The Diocese of Springfield publicly identified him as credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor, with multiple credible allegations tied to the period 1961–1962.
Order: CP
Ordained: 1954
Status: Accused
Died: 10/17/2001
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In June 2021, the Diocese of Springfield publicly included Father Jude Dowling on its list of clergy against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors were made. The reported incidents span two separate periods — from 1969 to 1975 and 1980 to 1985. The diocese’s inclusion of Father Jude Dowling reflects a finding of credibility that originated with the Congregation of the Passion of St. Paul of the Cross Province and was subsequently verified by the Diocese of Springfield. As the diocese has noted, a credible allegation represents reasonable cause to believe the abuse occurred; it is not a definitive finding of guilt.
Order: MS
Ordained: 1944
Status: Settled
Died: 5/13/1974
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
During his ministry, he was assigned to parishes including Holy Trinity in Westfield and St. Bartholomew in Bondsville. Decades after his death, multiple survivors came forward alleging that Dranka sexually abused minors while serving in the diocese between the mid-1960s and 1968.
Ordained: 1961
Status: Settled
Died: 12/16/2003
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Donald V. Dube was a Roman Catholic priest ordained in 1961 who served in numerous parishes throughout the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts for more than three decades. Allegations later surfaced that Father Donald V. Dube sexually abused minors while serving in the diocese, leading to his removal from parish ministry in 1994 and, in 2002, the imposition of further restrictions prohibiting him from performing any priestly duties, in accordance with zero-tolerance guidelines adopted by U.S. bishops.
Ordained: 1933
Status: Accused
Died: 5/20/1983
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
According to the Diocese of Springfield’s June 2021 report on clergy with credible allegations of sexual abuse, Father Dufresne has been publicly named as credibly accused of the sexual abuse of a minor, with the reported conduct alleged to have occurred in 1955. Father Dufresne was included in the category of deceased clergy for whom allegations were reported posthumously. The diocese noted that no formal determination of guilt was made in these cases, as the priest was not alive to respond to the allegations.
Ordained: 1959
Status: Settled
Died: 12/30/2016
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In 2004, credible allegations emerged that Dupre had sexually abused minors during the years he served as a parish priest. The Diocese of Springfield has acknowledged those allegations, and Dupre appears on the diocese’s official list of clergy with credible findings of sexual abuse of a minor, with more than one credible allegation noted. A Hampden County grand jury indicted Dupre on charges of child rape in September 2004, but prosecutors subsequently dropped the charges after determining that the statute of limitations had expired. Dupre died on December 30, 2016.
Ordained: 1930
Status: Accused
Died: 11/10/1974
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In June 2021, the Diocese of Springfield publicly included Father Egan on its updated list of clergy against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor had been made, noting more than one allegation and identifying the timeframe of reported conduct as 1954 to 1955. Father Egan died in 1974, long before these disclosures were made. His inclusion on the list reflects the Diocese’s acknowledgment that allegations received posthumously were determined to be credible under its internal review standard.
Ordained: 1974
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father David M. Farland served as a priest in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, from his ordination in 1974 until his permanent removal from public ministry in 2002. According to the Diocese, an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor — with the reported conduct occurring between 1984 and 1988 — was received in the early 1990s. Rather than disclosing the allegation publicly, diocesan officials handled the matter through internal processes. According to a diocesan spokesman, Farland’s superiors removed him from any ministry involving access to minors following the allegation. By 1994, Farland was on medical leave. His last recorded assignments were at St. Michael’s Cathedral and Mercy Hospital in Springfield.
Ordained: 1945
Status: Settled
Died: 5/9/2005
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
The allegations involving Father Joseph Clarence W. Forand reveal a deeply troubling pattern within the Diocese of Springfield—trusted priests using their roles to abuse children under the guise of faith. Survivors have described incidents of sexual abuse occurring over several years, often with no intervention from church officials.
Ordained: 1951
Status: Sued
Died: 11/22/1964
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Oscar A. Gatineau was a priest ordained for the Diocese of Worcester who served in Massachusetts parishes until his death in November 1964. In March 2005, a civil lawsuit filed on behalf of an incarcerated plaintiff alleged that Gatineau sexually abused a boy for approximately one year. The suit further claimed that Gatineau witnessed the plaintiff being abused by another priest without intervening to protect the child.
Order: SCJ
Status: Sued
Died: 5/8/2010
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Brother Lawrence Gauthier was a member of the Priests of the Sacred Heart (SCJ), a Wisconsin-based religious order. He served as a caretaker at Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary in Lenox, Massachusetts, a facility that operated within the geographic boundaries of the Diocese of Springfield. Allegations against him surfaced through civil litigation filed in March 2002. In that lawsuit, a man reported that Gauthier sexually abused him repeatedly between 1969 and 1972, beginning when he was nine years old and continuing until he was twelve.
Ordained: 1958
Status: Settled
Died: 7/15/1995
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Daniel L. Gill served parishes across the Diocese of Springfield from 1958 to 1995 and has been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors during that time. Allegations include abuse that one survivor says began on the day of her First Communion and continued for years. Despite an early warning brought to the attention of church officials in 1977, Gill was transferred to another parish rather than removed from ministry. If you experienced abuse by Father Gill, know that speaking up — even decades later — may lead to acknowledgment and the opportunity to seek justice.
Ordained: 1967
Status: Settled
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Alfred C. Graves faced multiple credible claims of sexual abuse spanning more than three decades. One claim was included in the August 2004 settlement in which the Diocese of Springfield resolved allegations brought by 45 survivors against 18 priests, paying approximately $7.5 million total. Graves had been removed from all priestly duties by the Diocese by the 1990s, and in July 2002, Bishop Dupre imposed further restrictions under the zero-tolerance guidelines adopted by U.S. bishops, barring him from any priestly functions. The Diocese found the allegations against him credible.
Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused
Died: 9/11/2013
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Timothy Joseph Hallahan was publicly named as credibly accused by the Diocese of Springfield when it released its official list of accused clergy on June 2, 2021. According to the Diocese’s findings, Hallahan allegedly sexually abused a minor during the years 1967 to 1968. He died in 2013 — approximately eight years before the Diocese publicly identified him as credibly accused.
Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused
Died: 11/2/2015
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Earl Albert Victor Hebert served in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts for decades, with assignments spanning from 1953 through 2003. He died on November 2, 2015, at the age of 92. Following his death, allegations emerged that he had sexually abused a child in 1972, at a time when he was assigned to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in Holyoke.
Order: OFM Conv
Ordained: 1964
Status: Accused
Died: 2/27/2016
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Placid Kaczorek served in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, from 1970 to 2001, with assignments at St. Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby, St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Chicopee, and St. Stanislaus Bishop and Martyr Basilica in Chicopee. He is credibly accused of sexually abusing minors between 1973 and 1981. Kaczorek died in 2016.
Ordained: 1957
Status: Accused
Died: 1/20/2013
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Maurice P. Karam served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, including an assignment at St. Anthony’s Catholic Church (Maronite Rite) in Springfield. He has been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor between 1967 and 1968 while serving at that parish — a period during which he held a position of spiritual authority within the Maronite Catholic community.
Order: CP
Ordained: 1960
Status: Settled
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Vernon Kelly, also known as John Kelly, has been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor during his association with the Diocese of Springfield. He served as Vocations Director for the Passionists, visiting their monastery at Our Mother of Sorrows in West Springfield between 1961 and 1964. The Diocese of Springfield’s 2021 Report of Findings determined that an allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Father Kelly, with reported conduct occurring in 1965, met the standard of credibility. At least one claim against him was also included in a Diocese of Springfield settlement with 59 plaintiffs in November 2008. Father Kelly was laicized in 1967, ending his formal ministry within the Church.
Order: OFM Conv
Ordained: 1946
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father John Earl Kelty was a Conventual Franciscan priest who served within the Diocese of Springfield, including an assignment at San Damiano Friary in Holyoke from 1981 to 1982. He has been accused of sexually abusing a minor during the 1980s. Kelty died in 1993, nearly three decades before these allegations became public.
Ordained: 1959
Status: Settled
Died: 11/2/2018
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Edward Michael Kennedy was placed on leave in 1991 and sent for treatment at a church-run psychiatric center following allegations that he had sexually abused young boys. In 1994, the Diocese paid $20,000 to settle a sexual abuse lawsuit against him.
Ordained: 1985
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Richard L. Kirouac was publicly identified by the Diocese of Springfield on June 2, 2021, as a priest against whom credible allegations of sexual abuse of a minor had been made. According to diocesan records, the reported abuse occurred between 1998 and 2000. Kirouac served at Sts. Patrick and Raphael Parish in Williamstown from 2001 to 2003, when he was removed from public ministry. He was incardinated in the Saint Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy (Ukrainian Rite), not the Diocese of Springfield itself, but he exercised public ministry within its boundaries.
Ordained: 1923
Status: Accused
Died: 5/19/1974
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father John R. Klekotka served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts throughout his priestly career, including during the 1960s and early 1970s. In June 2021, the Diocese publicly named him on its list of credibly accused clergy. The allegation against him states that he sexually abused a minor between 1963 and 1970. Father Klekotka died in 1974 — forty-seven years before the diocese publicly identified him as accused.
Order: MS
Ordained: 1975
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In June 2021, the Diocese of Springfield included L’Arche’s name on its public list of clergy with credible allegations of sexually abusing a minor, with the Diocese’s credibility finding placing the reported abuse between 1976 and 1981. In 1997, the Diocese of Springfield had previously removed L’Arche’s faculties — revoking his authorization to minister within the diocese.
Ordained: 1953
Status: Accused
Died: 6/10/2011
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Gerard A. Lafleur was ordained in 1953 and served in parish ministry within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts for nearly six decades. Over the course of his ministry, he held pastoral assignments across the Diocese, during which an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor arose. The reported conduct dates to 1974, during the period of his active ministry.
Ordained: 1970
Status: Settled
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Francis Patrick Lavelle was ordained in 1970 and served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Multiple credible allegations of the sexual abuse of minors were made against him across different points in his ministry. In July 2002, two men filed civil suits alleging abuse during their teenage years — one describing abuse that occurred in 1972, and another reporting abuse in 1980, during a period when Lavelle was serving as secretary to the Bishop. Four brothers filed suit in December 2003 alleging abuse by Lavelle and four other priests during a period spanning 1967 to 1983.
Ordained: 1936
Status: Settled
Died: 10/9/1991
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In January 2005, a civil lawsuit filed in Hampden Superior Court alleged that Monsignor Leary sexually abused a boy over a period of five years, beginning when the child was in the fourth grade. According to the allegations, the abuse occurred while the boy served as an altar boy at St. Michael’s Cathedral and at cemeteries following graveside services.
Order: CP
Ordained: 1933
Status: Accused
Died: 10/9/1996
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
On June 2, 2021, the Diocese of Springfield publicly named Father Loiselle on its list of credibly accused clergy. The Diocese reported multiple credible allegations of the sexual abuse of minors, with the reported abuse said to have occurred in 1988. Father Loiselle died in October 1996.
Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused
Died: 8/12/2002
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Ronald P. Lussier was ordained in 1952 and served for decades within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. In November 2024, the Diocese of Springfield announced that he had been added to its list of clergy credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, with the alleged abuse occurring between 1975 and 1978.
Ordained: 1965
Status: Settled
Died: 7/15/2009
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Ronald Raoul Malboeuf was ordained in 1965 and served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1988, he was removed from ministry after a North Adams man alleged that Father Malboeuf had sexually abused him over a period of approximately five years, beginning when the victim was 10 years old.
Ordained: 1983
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Deacon James A. Martone was ordained as a permanent deacon in 1983 and served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 2004, he was placed on leave following allegations that he sexually abused a child beginning in 1991 and continuing for several years. At the time, he was also serving as a business manager for a third parish and was placed on leave from that position pending the outcome of the investigation.
Ordained: 1951
Status: Settled
Died: 6/8/2003
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Thomas James McCarthy was ordained in 1951 and served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. The Diocese has determined that an allegation of child sexual abuse against Father McCarthy — covering the period from 1954 to 1957, when he was assigned to Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in Springfield — is credible.
Ordained: 1950
Status: Accused
Died: 10/7/2000
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father McKenna died on October 7, 2000. In fall 2018, a woman reported to the Diocese of Springfield that McKenna had sexually abused her over approximately 18 months at St. Francis Church in South Lee, beginning when she was a high school sophomore in the early 1970s. She alleged that McKenna regularly served her alcohol in the parish rectory before initiating sexual contact she felt unable to resist. She also reported the alleged abuse to the Berkshire District Attorney’s Office and to state police.
Ordained: 1948
Status: Settled
Died: 3/10/1990
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father John Davitt McNamara was ordained in 1948 and served in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. Allegations state that he sexually abused a minor between 1980 and 1981 during his ministry. At least one claim involving Father McNamara was included in a 2008 settlement with 59 plaintiffs that addressed allegations against multiple clergy members in the Diocese of Springfield.
Ordained: 1969
Status: Settled
Died: 6/1/2017
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Richard Francis Meehan was ordained in 1969 and served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1994, following a determination that credible accusations of sexual misconduct had been made against him, he was removed from parish ministry by the Diocese. Despite that removal, he was subsequently assigned to an administrative archival role within the Diocese, organizing diocesan records — a position he held until 2002, when he was removed from all diocesan work following the adoption of new national standards for the handling of clergy abuse.
Ordained: 1962
Status: Settled
Died: 8/6/2010
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Reports from more than one person that Father Menge engaged in the sexual abuse of a minor led to his addition to the Diocese of Springfield’s list of credibly accused clergy on September 1, 2021 — the first priest added to that list after the Diocese expanded its policy in 2021 to include clergy who died before a survivor came forward. According to the Diocese’s entry, the alleged abuse occurred between 1962 and 1970, a period during which Father Menge served at multiple parishes across the Diocese.
Ordained: 1955
Status: Settled
Died: 4/25/1987
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Thomas Joseph O’Connor served in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, until his death on April 25, 1987, at age 56. After his passing, multiple allegations of sexual abuse of minors came forward against him.
Ordained: 1930
Status: Settled
Died: 1/13/1985
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Thomas F. O’Malley served in the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, and was publicly identified as a sexual abuser for the first time in connection with a civil settlement in 2004. One survivor settled claims against O’Malley as part of a $7.5 million settlement reached in August 2004, which involved allegations against 18 priests made by 45 claimants. That settlement was among the most significant accountability actions taken against the Diocese of Springfield and underscored the widespread and long-concealed nature of misconduct within the institution.
Ordained: 1971
Status: Accused
Died: 7/27/1989
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Joseph P. Quinlan served in multiple parishes across the Diocese of Springfield, including assignments in Palmer, Springfield, and East Longmeadow, as well as at Cathedral High School in Springfield. In November 2021, his name was publicly added to the Diocese’s official list of credibly accused clergy, following an allegation that he sexually abused a minor in 1974. Cases like this one illustrate how abuse within parish and school environments often goes unacknowledged for decades, creating significant barriers for survivors seeking recognition of the harm they experienced.
Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused
Died: 6/17/1991
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father John Paul Richard served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, including assignments at Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur Parish in North Adams and North Adams State College in North Adams, where he worked through the late 1970s. On June 2, 2021, the diocese publicly named Richard on its list of credibly accused clergy, based on an allegation that he had sexually abused a minor between 1978 and 1980. This acknowledgment came forty-one to forty-three years after the abuse allegedly occurred, and thirty years after Richard’s death.
Ordained: 1926
Status: Accused
Died: 3/4/1983
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Ferdinand Roy was ordained in 1926 and served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. He was assigned to St. Aloysius Parish in Indian Orchard, where he allegedly sexually abused a minor between 1965 and 1968. The alleged abuse spanned a period of approximately three years, suggesting a pattern of conduct over multiple years rather than an isolated incident. Father Ferdinand Roy died in 1983. Decades after his death, the Diocese of Springfield publicly named him as an accused priest on its official list, which was released on June 2, 2021.
Ordained: 1927
Status: Settled
Died: 1/15/1967
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father John J. Scanlon served within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. He died in 1967. At least one claim naming Father John J. Scanlon for sexual abuse was included in the Diocese of Springfield’s settlement of $4.5 million, reached in November 2008 with 59 plaintiffs.
Ordained: 1952
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Charles Joseph Sgueglia was removed from ministry in 2002. He died in 2005. In August 2011, the Diocese of Springfield publicly named Sgueglia as credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. He was also included on the diocese’s updated list of credibly accused clergy published on June 2, 2021.
Order: MS
Ordained: 1963
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Donald D. Simonds was a priest of the Missionaries of La Salette religious order who was ordained in 1963 and later served within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts. According to the Diocese, he was assigned to Holy Trinity Parish in Westfield from 1980 to 1983 and again from 1984 to 1997. In 2002, he was removed from ministry following reports of sexual misconduct involving minors.
Ordained: 1965
Status: Accused
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In 2011, the Diocese of Springfield publicly identified Father Sullivan as credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor, with the reported timeframe of conduct dating to 1993. Following an administrative review process that found support for the allegation, he was ordered in 2005 to live a life of prayer and penance, permanently removing him from all public ministry. He was removed from public ministry in 2002 and died in 2014. In March 2022, the Diocese announced that its Review Board had deemed credible an additional allegation that Father Sullivan sexually abused a minor, with that conduct dating to 1994.
Order: FSSJ
Ordained: 2024
Status: Sued
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Sister Mary Jane Vidnansky was a religious sister and member of the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph who taught at Mater Dolorosa School in Holyoke, Massachusetts, a school operated by the order rather than by the Diocese of Springfield. In December 2004, a civil lawsuit filed in Hampden Superior Court alleged that Vidnansky had sexually abused a minor student over a two-year period between approximately 1974 and 1976.
Ordained: 1949
Status: Sued
Died: 9/16/1970
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father James T. Walsh was a Roman Catholic priest assigned to the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts. He died in 1970. In March 2005, a civil lawsuit was filed in Hampden Superior Court alleging that Father Walsh had sexually abused a then-approximately-15-year-old boy, with the alleged abuse occurring once at Mercy Hospital in Springfield. The lawsuit named Father Walsh alongside six other deceased clergymen — including two bishops and five additional priests — as well as the Dioceses of Springfield and Worcester.
Ordained: 1977
Status: Settled
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
Father Ronald E. Wamsher served as a priest within the Diocese of Springfield, Massachusetts, where he held a position on the diocesan tribunal handling marriage annulments. Allegations of clergy sexual abuse against him emerged after four brothers filed suit against the diocese in 2003, claiming they had been abused by five priests between 1967 and 1983. Three of the four brothers alleged abuse by Father Wamsher specifically. Father Wamsher denied all allegations.
Ordained: 1950
Status: Settled
Died: 6/17/1986
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In February 2004, a survivor filed a claim with the diocese alleging that Father Welch had sexually abused him multiple times when he was between the ages of 12 and 15, during the period when Father Welch was assigned to St. Mary’s Parish in Northampton. Father Welch died in 1986. The diocese acknowledged that a complaint had been filed and issued a statement describing Father Welch as a highly respected priest with no other complaints.
Ordained: 1925
Status: Accused
Died: 12/31/1969
Diocese: Diocese of Springfield MA
In June 2021, the Diocese of Springfield publicly released its expanded Report of Findings of Credibility of Allegations of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. Father Welch was included among deceased clergy for whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor had been determined by the Diocese’s review process.
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