Irish Priests Who Have Worked in the United States and Are Accused of Sexual Misconduct The Catholic sexual abuse crises in the United States and Ireland are deeply connected. Priests who were trained in the Irish seminary system were crucial to the growth of the U.S. church. Many Irish-born priests, including one bishop, are sadly among the priests accused of abuse in the United States. Some priests who offended in Ireland were transferred to the United States, and priests accused of abuse in the United States have sometimes found shelter in Ireland. Because of the manifold connections between the two churches and the two abuse crises, the Irish government reports on abuse in the Diocese of Ferns, in residential institutions, and in the Archdiocese of Dublin, are of great significance for the situation in the United States.

This webpage, a joint effort by BishopAccountability.org and Mr. Joe Rigert, author of An Irish Tragedy (available from Amazon), continues our effort to understand the Irish-American connection that we launched with our database of abuse in U.S. residential institutions.

| Hugh Behan | Terence Burke | Patrick Callanan | Michael J. Carroll | Michael Cashman | Paul Cleary | Patrick Colleary | Donal Collins | Patrick Cotter | Sean Cronin | Manus Daly | Thomas English | Matthew Fitzgerald | Frank Flynn | John Flynn | George Foley | Robert Foley | Thomas Foudy | George Michael Gallagher | Michael Garry | Denis Ginty | Patrick Gleeson | James Grimes | Roderic M. Guerrini | Bernard Hanley | Michael Higgins | John Howlett | Michael Anthony Hunt | John Joseph Hurley | Patrick Keane | Patrick Kelly | Michael Kenny | Michael Ledwith | John Lenihan | Bernard Lynch | Patrick Lynch | Eugene MacSweeney | Paul Madden | Francis Magee | Joseph Maguire | Francis Markey | Peter McBride | William McCarthy | Edward McGrath | Paul McHugh | Edward McLoughlin | Patrick Desmond McMahon | Sean McMahon | Thomas McNamara | Patrick McNulty | Andrew Millar | Dennis Murphy | Patrick L. Nicholson | Charles O'Carroll | Anthony O'Connell | Donal P.O'Connor | James O'Connor | Patrick O'Dwyer | Oliver O'Grady | Patrick O'Keeffe | Patrick O'Leary | James O'Malley | Patrick O'Neill | Patrick Reilly | James Reilly | Andrew Ronan | Augustine Sheehan | Michael Simpson | Brendan Smyth | Patrick Walsh |

Behan, Hugh. Jefferson City, Mo., Diocese. Suspended. He was dismissed from his ministry as editor of the Catholic newspaper in the diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri, after being accused of sexually abusing a girl (in 1983) and a young woman. The church settled one of the allegations by agreeing to pay an undisclosed amount of money to the accuser. Bishop Michael McAuliffe kept him in the ministry after he received treatment, but Bishop John Gaydos suspended him later upon reviewing his case. Behan declined to talk on the record about the allegations, but said he has “repented any deviation of the path.” For a while, after dismissal from the ministry, Behan worked as a greeter at Disney World but was fired after word got out about his past. Still, in spite of it all, he retains his Irish pietism; prays, reads the bible for three hours each morning after midnight and attends mass on Sundays. (Priest Ousted in Missouri Had Been Working at Disney World, St. Louis Post–Dispatch, June 21, 2002. And interview with journalist Joe Rigert, as well as e-mail exchanges with Rigert. See “An Irish Tragedy,” by Joe Rigert, Crossland Press, May 2008.)

Burke, Terence. Pallotine order, Amarillo diocese. Laicized. The diocese of Amarillo suspended Burke from the ministry, applied to the Vatican to laicize him and reported him to authorities for possible criminal action. The reason: numerous complaints of sexual misconduct with minors in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The diocese also notified church officials in London in the belief he spends time there with family. Further, the retired bishop of Amarillo, Leory T. Matthiesen, told victims he was sorry about the pain they suffered and apologized for implying in a book he wrote that he endorsed Burke’s lifestyle. “I did not intend that,” he said, “but I now realize the grief and bitterness it inflicted on the victims and their families.” He did not elaborate. (Letters from officials of the Amarillo diocese, June 7 and 27, 2006.)

Callanan, Patrick. Tucson Diocese. Accused. The Catholic diocese of Tucson announced that he was one of 26 priests in the diocese who had molested 96 children between 1950 and 2004. Callanan had served in four parishes from 1952 to 1964, but the abuse allegation was not received until 2002, 27 years after his death in 1975. (26 Priests Accused of Molesting, Tucson Citizen, Feb. 27, 2004.)

Carroll, Michael J. Los Angeles diocese. Sued. A woman alleges that he sexually abused her as a minor in 1968-71. He denied the allegation and remained in the ministry as recommended by the LA archdiocese Clergy Misconduct Oversight Board. But the case remained active. As required by California law, a therapist must attest to the merits of an allegation before a civil lawsuit can be filed. He was in therapy, and a lawsuit has been filed. (10 Priests in Lawsuits Still on Job, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7, 2004; Los Angeles Archdiocese Report Addendum, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, from Bishop Accountability.org, April 20, 2006.)

Cleary, Paul. Diocesan, San Antonio, Texas. Settled. He was accused of breaking up a marriage, taking women into his bedroom and seducing a 17-year-old girl in 1982. But he allegedly waited for sex until she was 18, when he could no longer be charged with abusing a minor. The teenager accused Cleary of deception, betrayal and abuse by a counselor, a priest. Archbishop Patrick Flores ordered Cleary to pay for her counseling, but terminated the requirement while Cleary still owed money. An insurance company excluded Cleary from future coverage because of his sexual misconduct. (“Letter from Attorney Debra Talley to Flores, Sept. 9, 1993; Letter from Flores to woman claiming abuse by Cleary, Feb. 2, 1994; Letter from woman to Flores asking to help pay for counseling, Jan. 21, 1994; Letter from Flores to Marriage and Family Institute of San Antonio, July 5, 1994; Letters from Catholic Mutual Group Insurance to archdiocese, Sept.24, 1993, and March 3, 1994.)

Colleary, Patrick. Arizona diocese. Accused. He fled to Ireland in 2003 before he was indicted by a grand jury on charges he sexually abused a 10-year-old boy in 1978 at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Tempe, Ariz. He also had been accused of molesting another boy and of being sexually involved with two women, one of whom said he raped her and fathered her child. Bishop Thomas O’Brien allegedly covered up sexual misconduct of Colleary and other priests while vicar general of the diocese. Ireland refused to extradite him to the U.S. (Sins of a Father, Phoenix New Times, May 2, 2002; Bishop O’Brien Target of New Suit, Arizona Republic, May 13, 2003; Accused Priest Battles Extradition, Arizona Republic, July 24, 2005; Irish Judge Denies Extradition for Accused Priest, AZCentral.com, July 28, 2005.)

Collins, Donal. Florida and treatment center in Hartford archdiocese. Convicted in 1998 of sexually abusing several boys at St. Peter's College seminary and sentenced to four years in prison. Worked in a parish in Florida in 1991-93. Perhaps laicized in 2004. (Ferns Report pp. 71-76 and 124-31; Pope defrocks two Irish priests convicted of sex abuse, by Shawn Pogatchnik, Associated Press, Dec. 17, 2004; Joe Rigert, An Irish Tragedy, 2008, pp. 83-84.)

Cronin, Sean. Archdiocese, Los Angeles. Sued. He allegedly molested two children between 1972 and 1980 in parishes in Panorama City and Santa Monica, Calif. He was sued; denied any abuse. (10 Priests in Lawsuit Still on Job. Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7, 2004; Los Angeles Archdiocese Report Addendum, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, from Bishop Accountability.org, April 20, 2006.)

Daly, Manus. Diocesan, Jefferson City, Mo. Suspended. He returned to Ireland after being removed from a parish because of a complaint in 1996 by Christopher Dixon that Daly sexually abused him in the 1970s when he was a teenager at the St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Hannibal, Missouri. He was dismissed by Bishop John Gaydos in March 2002. (Ex-seminarian’s Charges Lead to Removal of Priest, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, 2002; Former Seminarians Want Alma Mater Investigated, National Catholic Reporter, April 14, 2004.)

English, Thomas. Archdiocese, Los Angeles. Sued. He was sued in 2003 for having abused a minor in 1969-70 in a parish in Pomona. The Los Angeles archdiocese says the allegations were unfounded, but the lawsuit remained active, which means a therapist concluded they were credible. (This finding by a therapist is required before a lawsuit can be filed.) English is deceased. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005, from Bishop-Accountability.org; Los Angeles Times Database, April 20, 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

Flynn, Frank. Diocese, Palm Beach. Suspended. While a priest in Florida’s Palm Beach diocese, over a period of 15 years, from 1982 to 1997, Frank Flynn allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse with at least three women, and grabbed, hugged and kissed five others. He also was accused of molesting a 12-year-old girl. Police said they found no evidence Flynn had abused the girl; her attorney said police had no reason to probe deeply because the statute of limitations had expired. Flynn finally was removed from the ministry after one of the women threatened to file a lawsuit claiming he had seduced her while her husband was dying of cancer. At that time, in 1997, Flynn returned to Ireland. (“Priest Accused of Molesting Teen Girl, Groping Women,” Palm Beach Post, April 19, 2002; “No Abuse Evidence on Priest, Police say,” Palm Beach Post, Sept. 26, 2002; also see Doe vs. O’Connell cited in the Fitzgerald summary above.)

Flynn, John. Diocese, San Antonio. Suspended. He quit a San Antonio, Texas, parish in 1997 after admitting he molested a teenage girl in the 1970s. After he went into therapy, Bishop Edmond Carmody, a friend, then allowed him to serve in a Longview, Texas, parish despite his earlier admission of abuse. Carmody’s successor, however, asked him to step down in 2002 when two women in his parish told the bishop they felt uncomfortable around Flynn. (Special Reports: Catholic Bishops and Sex Abuse, Dallas Morning News, Feb.18, 2004; Sex Allegations Factor in Monsignor’s Resignation, Longview News-Journal, May 21, 2002; Catholic Priest Forcibly Retired Just Before 50th Anniversary, Associated Press, May 22, 2002.)

Foley, George. Sacred Heart order; Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. The Los Angeles archdiocese wrote, in a list of abusing priests, that Foley got in trouble over “women and wine.” But it was more than that. According to the church, a woman alleged he sexually abused her as a minor in 1971-74 while he was staying with her and having sexual relations with her mother. In her lawsuit against the church, Folia Lynn Giorgi claimed that he inflicted almost every kind of sexual act on her, that his superiors were aware that he was living at Giorgi’s home, and that many of his colleagues in the priesthood knew he was living at her home and visited him there. Suddenly, the lawsuit said, Foley’s Sacred Heart congregation transferred him to England. (Giorgi vs. Doe et al, State Superior Court in Los Angeles County, Sept. 18, 2006; Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, April 20, 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

Foley, Robert. Orange diocese. Lawsuit settled. He admitted molesting an eight-year-old boy on a camping trip in 1983. Soon after, he fled to England, at the urging of then-chancellor Michael Driscoll, to avoid prosecution. Driscoll apologized later after his role was exposed in the Dallas Morning News. Foley has been removed from ministry. (Special Reports, Dallas Morning News, Feb. 18, 2004; Hide the Buggering Priests, Orange County Weekly, July 9-15, 2004.)

Foudy, Thomas. Miami diocese. Sued. An “emotionally troubled” woman alleges that Foudy seduced her when she sought counseling in November 1995, resulting in a year-long affair. Foudy was prompted to take a leave of absence, though his attorney said they did not engage in sexual relations. It was revealed later that the woman, Alinka Pawlowska Sullivan, had written a novel that described the delicious sin of seducing a priest and was working on a movie, “The Passionate Priest.” The lawsuit was settled, not dismissed; no details were given. (Priest Accused in Sex Case Reinstated to Parish, by April Witt, Miami Herald, March 5, 1997; “Priests Alleged Seduction Headed for Trial—and Maybe the Big Screen,” CNN, March 10, 1997; “Judge Rules Lawsuit Against Priest May Continue,” Catholic World News, May 14, 1997; “Clergy Crimes,” April-August 1997; Sex Lawsuit Against Pastor Settled, Miami Herald, Jan. 24, 1998.)

Gallagher, George Michael. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. Two women accuse Gallagher of sexual abuse between 1953 and 1962. No details. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Feb.17, 2004; Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, April 20, 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

Ginty, Denis. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. A woman said Ginty molested her as a child between 1978 and 1980 at Nativity Parish and School in El Monte, Calif. Three other accusations of sexual abuse were made over a period of many years. He was born in England and ordained in Ireland. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org)

Gleeson, Patrick. Santa Rosa, Calif., diocese. Settled. Greg Sloan, a contractor, says Gleeson molested him dozens of times, when he was an altar boy, in a Calistoga, Calif., rectory between 1968 and 1972. Gleeson died in 1991; Sloan filed the lawsuit in 2002, alleging that diocese officials did nothing to stop the abuse. One other accusation was made against Gleeson. A settlement for more than $7 million, involving Gleeson and two other priests, was reached in June 2005. (Abuse Lawsuit Names Dead Priest, Press Democrat, Nov. 15, 2002; Plaintiff in Abuse Case Speaks Out, Press Democrat, Jan. 13, 2005; Diocese Settles Suits for $7.3 million, Press Democrat, June 30, 2005.)

Grimes, James. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. Three accusations of abuse by Grimes were reported at All Saints Catholic Church in 1958-1959. He retired and returned to Ireland in 1974 in ill health; died in 1978. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org; Report to journalist Joe Rigert from KBLA.com, law firm in Los Angeles.)

Guerrini, Roderic M. Jesuit, archdiocese of Los Angeles. Accused. A woman reported to police that she had been touched inappropriately and kissed by Guerrini when she was a teenager, while working in the rector at an Oxnard parish in 1977-1978. Her two sisters made similar complaints. Guerrini denied the allegations. (Details on 11 Priests Missing in’04 Report, Los Angeles Times, April 20, 2006; Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005.)

Hanley, Bernard. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. A mother reports to the church in 2002 that her daughter and son were sexually abused by Hanley in 1965. He stepped down from his ministry and returned to Ireland pending a church investigation. (LA Priest in Sex Abuse Charge, Irish Voice, Nov. 9, 2005; Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005.)

Higgins, Michael. San Diego diocese. Laicized. The late Bishop Leo Maher suspended Higgins in 1982 on grounds that he solicited sex from a boy in confession. His successor, Bishop Robert Brom, then acted to get the Vatican to dismiss him from the priesthood, which it did in 1999. Higgins denied the allegation and appealed his laicization to Pope John Paul II, noting that Bishop Brom himself had been accused of sexual misconduct. Brom said an investigation—not made public—had disproved the allegations against him. (Lawyer: Be Fair to Priests, Riverside, Calif., Press Enterprise, July 30, 2004; Letter from Michael Higgins to Pope John Paul 11, April 22, 1998.)

Howlett, John. Pallottine order, in Fort Worth diocese. He was accused of sexually abusing at least five girls, two in the mid-1980s. At one point, church officials gave a woman money for counseling with the expressed expectation that she would not sue. The Pallottine order also gave money for counseling. Finally, he was banned from the active ministry and lives with members of his Pallottine order in Ireland. He is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with the public to ensure he has no adverse effect on the general public health or safety. (Officials Spent Thousands, Hoped Woman Wouldn't Sue, Star-Telegram, Nov. 29, 2006; BishopAccountability.org Assignment Record.)

Hunt, Michael Anthony. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. He was accused of sexually abusing a girl in 1957-58. He died in 1984. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005.)

Hurley, John Joseph. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. He was accused of sexual abuse in 1949. He died in 1992. A civil suit was filed in December 2003. (Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org)

Keane, Patrick. New Orleans diocese. Sued. He admitted the sexual abuse of a teenage boy in the early 1980s and was removed from his ministry. Later he served as a missionary in Ecuador and Peru. (Molestation Case Haunts Church, Victim, by Bruce Nolan, Times-Picayune, Dec. 5, 1999; Review is Seen as a Step Toward Healing, New Orleans Times-Picayune, May 18, 2002; and correspondence with Bruce Nolan, author of the article; Carlow College, 1793-1993, Carlovian Press, Carlow, Ireland.)

Kelly, Patrick. Jesuit, Los Angeles archdiocese. Convicted; sued. He fled to Ireland and pleaded no contest there to charges of fondling a young girl; promised to return to Los Angeles but did not. He received three years of probation while in Ireland. The archdiocese said he faced four accusations of sex abuse in 1991. (Sex Abuse Allegations Against Los Angeles Archdiocese Priests, by Glenn F. Bunting, Ralph Frammolino, and Richard Winton, LA Times, Aug. 18, 2002; Church in Crisis, National Catholic Reporter, Aug. 30, 2002; Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

Kenny, Michael. San Antonio diocese. Settled. He admitted being sexually involved with 10 women in the 1980s and 1990s; had sexual intercourse with six of them, and fathered two children. One of the women, Julia Villegas Phelps, claimed in a lawsuit that he forced himself sexually on her in front of her two small sons when she was not fully conscious because of pain medication. Kenny admitted the sexual encounter but testified that children were asleep in another room. The church paid off the mother of his first child. (An Irish Tragedy, by Joe Rigert, Crossland Press, 2008, pp. 37-38, 44, 133-34.)

Ledwith, Michael. (Comiskey alerted US church authorities about Wexford cleric, by Anne Marie O'Connor, Gorey Guardian, June 6, 2002; Ferns report, pp. 101-103 and 174-83.)

Lynch, Bernard. Society of African Missions, in the New York archdiocese. Accused. A judge found him not guilty of fondling a student at a Bronx high school in 1987, after the alleged victim gave conflicting accounts of what happened. A gay priest, Lynch had been a leader of the gay and lesbian organization, Dignity. After the trial he returned to London, where he worked for an ecumenical AIDS counseling group. (Priest, Marist Brother Accused of Sex with Boys, by Jeffrey K. Parker, United Press International, May 13, 1988; Witness Reports Fondling by Priest, by Ellis Henican, Newsday, April 20, 1989; Gay NY Priest’s Road to a Lonely Exile in London, Newsday, Feb. 16, 1993.)

Lynch, Patrick. Diocese of Dallas. Settled. The diocese did not suspend Lynch from his ministry until 1997, long after it knew in the 1960s that he was accused of sexual misconduct involving a grade school boy. By the late 1990s, the diocese had compensated two accusers and knew of others in four parishes. Despite all of Lynch’s alleged sexual misconduct over the years, Bishop Charles Grahmann wrote a letter commending him when he moved back to Ireland in the mid-1990s. After the Dallas Morning News exposed Lynch’s sexual history, however, Grahmann suspended him. (Man Alleges Abuse, Says Church Could Have Prevented It, by Brooks Egerton, Dallas Morning News, July 10, 1997; Catholic Officials Revoke Powers of Parish Founder, by Brooks Egerton, Dallas Morning News, July 12, 1997; Shadow of Abuse Lingers, Dallas Morning News, Jan. 19, 2004)

MacSweeney, Eugene. Los Angeles archdiocese. Sued. A lawsuit in 2003 contained one abuse allegation, involving a boy in 1958-59. He died in 1975. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org)

Magee, Francis. Trenton, N.J., diocese. Accused. Magee was arrested while vacationing in Ireland in 2003 upon being accused of sexually abusing a child in the late 1960s. Magee was a seminary student at the time. The charges were dropped when the alleged victim committed suicide. Magee also was accused in Trenton in 2004 of inappropriately touching two young men, ages 18 and 19. (Prosecutor Received 2 Complaints on Priest Cleric Accused in Abuse of Child, Asbury Park Press, Jan. 8, 2004; Priest Asks to Return to Church, Asbury Park Press, Dec. 21, 2004.)

McBride, Peter. Diocese, New Jersey. Convicted. Sued. After pleading guilty to fondling the breasts of two women, he was ordered to receive two years of counseling and pay a $250 fine. During trial, the women said they had lost their faith as a result of the incidents. Charges that he molested a 14-year-old girl were dismissed on grounds he was denied a right to a lawyer and his statements were coerced. He denied the allegation. (Clergy Crimes, April 1997)

McGrath, Edward. Salesian order, Connecticut. Accused. St. Thomas More School in Montville, CT, concluded after a five-month investigation that there was merit to allegations that McGrath sexually molested students at the school. The SNAP organization also said it knew of more than one victim. McGrath died in 1998. (Group Calls for More Information on Accused Priest, The Day, New London, Connecticut, Aug. 7, 2004.)

McHugh, Paul. Diocese, Springfield-Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Accused. A former altar boy told then-Bishop Bernard Law that McHugh had been molesting him in 1982 when he was 12 years old. But he said Law told him to keep quiet about it if he wanted to fulfill his desire to go to seminary to be a priest. In a deposition, Law said he did not recall hearing the complaint or saying making such an accusation would keep from being accepted in the seminary. (Altar Boy: Law Told Me to Stay Quiet on Abuse, Boston Herald, Oct. 31, 2002.)

McLoughlin, Edward. Diocese, St. Petersburg, Florida. Sued. McLoughlin was in Ireland when accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy in Florida for more than two years, starting in 1992. He never returned to face charges. McLoughlin had left the country when confronted about the abuse complaints. Bishop John Nevins was blamed for failing to protect the boy from the abuse. (Sex Abuse Program Expanded, News-Express, Fort Myers, Fla., Oct. 26, 2003; A. B. vs. John Nevins, Edward McLoughlin et al, in Circuit Court, Charlotte County, Florida, Case No. 97-487-CA, March 24, 1997.)

McMahon, Patrick Desmond. Diocese, Seattle. Settled. The Vatican barred him from the ministry after he was accused of sexually abusing five children, four girls and one boy. He abused them in the 1960s and 1970s. (Diocese Names Barred Priests, Seattle Times, Aug. 22, 2004.)

McMahon, Sean. Diocese, Albany, N. Y. Removed. The diocese removed him from the ministry after he was accused of sexually abusing a minor in the 1970s. He had served in the diocese for 40 years before he was ousted in 2003. (Diocese Removes Priests Accused of Sexual Abuse, Albany Times Union, April 14, 2003.)

McNamara, Thomas. Diocese, St. Augustine, Florida. Accused. The diocese disclosed that he inappropriately touched three adolescents in the 1960s. Later, McNamara returned to Ireland, where he molested several teenage boys in the 1970s and 1980s, according to Ireland Bishop Willie Walsh. Walsh said the St. Augustine diocese didn’t tell him about the abuses in Florida until the summer of 2004, long after he returned to Ireland. He died in 1997. A spokeswoman for the Florida diocese said the diocese was not aware of the alleged abuses until the summer of 2004, when the victims complained, and then informed the bishop in Ireland. (Diocese Studies 2 Jacksonville Abuse Cases, Florida Times-Union, Dec. 1, 2004; Abusive Priest Left Sex Trail in Ireland, Florida Times-Union, Dec. 4, 2004; Diocese Settles Old Abuse Case, Florida Times-Union, Dec. 9, 2004.)

McNulty, Patrick. Society of Mary order, archdiocese of San Antonio. Sued. Cynthia Anne Tejada sued in 2004 claiming that McNulty sexually abused her for three years in the 1970s, starting when she was 12. The Society of Mary paid her for therapy as well as medical and educational expenses for two years, a spokesman said. (Archdiocese Is Sued Over Alleged Abuse, San Antonio Express-News, Aug. 17, 2004.)

Murphy, Dennis. Diocese, Richmond, Va. Suspended. The diocese placed Murphy on administrative leave while it investigated complaints of questionable behavior with teenagers. The diocese also notified authorities. He had been chaplain at Yale University. (Conduct of Priest Investigated, Richmond Times Dispatch, April 9, 2004.)

Nicholson, Patrick L. Chaplain, Air Force Academy. Removed. He was dismissed at the Air Force Academy after a female officer accused him of having a long-term sexual relationship with her, beginning when she was a cadet. Another woman said he repeatedly tried to molest her in the 1970s, when she was age 15, while he was a priest in Alabama, before he joined the Air Force. (Accusations Against Priests in the Military, Associated Press, Oct. 8, 2003; Sex Abuse Scandal Widens in Military, Arizona Republic, Oct. 12, 2003; Most Allegations Came Lately, Mobil Register, Feb. 17, 2004.)

O’Carroll, Charles. Archdiocese, Los Angeles. Sued. He was accused of sexually abusing a girl in the 1950s. (Archdiocesan Report, Feb. 17, 2004; (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

O’Connell, Anthony. Bishop, Palm Beach, Fla. Accused; resigned. He resigned after admitting he had sexually abused two young men at a seminary in Missouri, where he was a faculty member and then rector. Further inquiry found that, starting in the 1960s, he had been sexually involved with nine young men, both as a priest at the seminary and as bishop in Knoxville, Tenn. (Ex-seminarian's charges lead to removal of priest, by Dawn Fallik, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, March 8, 2002; An Irish Tragedy, by Joe Rigert, Crossland Press, 2008.)

O’Connor, Donal P. Archdiocese, Los Angeles. Sued. He agreed to retire after a woman claimed that he engaged in inappropriate behavior toward her in 1961 when she was 12. The woman sued, and two other complains against him were received. (Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report of Feb. 17, 2004; Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005.)

O’Connor, James. Diocese, Austin, Texas. Sued. A man filed suit in December 2003 accusing O’Connor of sexually abusing him in 1969-1971 at a church in Waco, Texas. (Diocese Releases Abuse Report But Won’t Name Accused Priests, Austin-American Statesman, Jan. 6, 2004.)

O’Dwyer, Patrick. Archdiocese, Los Angeles. Sued. He was accused of sexually abusing a boy in 1959; a lawsuit was filed. He died in 1971. (Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

O’Leary, Patrick. Archdiocese of Chicago. Accused. The archdiocese removed him as associate pastor of a Chicago church because, in the 1990s, he had engaged in “a pattern of inappropriate behavior” that showed him as a risk of sexual misconduct to children. No details were given. A native of Ireland, he was ordained in Spain. (Flock Seeks Answers After Priest Ousted, Chicago Tribune, Sept. 5, 1993.)

O’Neill, Patrick. Diocese, Seattle, Wash. A woman, Gwen Caggiano, accused O’Neill of molesting her for three years in the 1960s, when she was a child, at a church in Tacoma, Wash. But she withdrew her lawsuit against him, she said, because a church counterclaim against her would have cost a lot of money. He is retired. (More Dioceses Settling Sex-Abuse Suits, Seattle Times, Sept. 21, 2003.)

Reilly, James. Diocese, Fort Worth. Sued. Eleven men sued the diocese, claiming that Reilly had sexually abused them when they were young. The church agreed to pay them more than $1 million to settle their claims. One of the victims, 11 when molested in the 1970s, said he tried to commit suicide three times because he felt angry and alone, believing that he was the only one to have been abused. Reilly remained in the ministry for an additional five years after the complaints were filed, until his death. (Files on Accused Priests Sought in Fort Worth, Star-Telegram, June 26, 2005; 11 Ask to Remove Priest's Name, by Darren Barbee, Star-Telegram, Nov. 23, 2006; Details About the Accused Priests, Dallas Morning News, Nov. 29, 2006.)

Reilly, Patrick. Archdiocese, Los Angeles. Sued. He was one of 10 priests who remained in the ministry despite lawsuits accusing them of molesting children. The archdiocese said an oversight board found no credible evidence to support the allegation that Reilly, who was retired, had sexually abused a boy in the 1980s. California law, however, requires an independent therapist to attest to the merits of an allegation before a suit can be filed, and in this case, a suit was filed. (10 Priests in Lawsuits Still on Job, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 7, 2004; Retired Priest Named in Lawsuit, Burbank Leader, Feb. 7, 2004; Los Angeles Archdiocesan Report, Addendum of the Report to the People of God, Nov. 15, 2005; Los Angeles Times Database, May 2006, from Bishop-Accountability.org.)

Ronan, Andrew. Servite order, served in Ireland, Chicago and Portland, Ore. Ronan admitted sexually abusing young men in Ireland, then was exported to the United States, where he continued his predatory activity in the 1960s in Chicago and Portland, Ore. In a major case, the U.S. judiciary has kept alive a lawsuit seeking to make the Vatican pay restitution for the abuses of its priests. Ronan was laicized in 1966 and died in 1992. (Suit Blames Catholic Hierarchy, by Mark Larabee, The Oregonian, April 4, 2002; An Irish Tragedy, By Joe Rigert, Crossland Press, May 2008.)

Sheehan, Augustine. Diocese of Rockville Center. Suspended. Former nun Anne Tucker said that Sheehan raped her while taking her home from an Irish party in 1965. Tucker kept it a secret for 40 years until the Catholic sex-abuse scandal made her feel that people would believe her. After receiving her complaint in 2002, the diocese suspended Sheehan from the ministry. (Woman Comes Forward, Newsday, May 19, 2004.)

Walsh, Patrick. Legionaries of Christ order, served in New Hampshire. Accused. Walsh was accused of abusing a high-school student at Center Harbor in New Hampshire, in 1992-1993. He denied it. (Documents from report of New Hampshire attorney general, March 3, 2003.)