Rev. Joseph F. Brodnick

Summary of Case: Brodnick was accused of sexual abuse of a teenage girl in Cleveland OH in the mid-1970s. He was suspended from ministry in April 2002, when the diocese of Cleveland received a supoena from the District Attorney and released Brodnick's name to prosecutors. Brodnick had worked in the Rochester diocese since 1997. Rochester diocesan officials knew of the allegation against him when he was hired. Broderick's name was included on the Cleveland diocese's list in 2019 of those against whom there were substantiated allegations. It notes that he was permanently removed from ministry.    

Ordained
: 1969

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1971?

Cleveland bishop was Clarence George Issenmann (1966-1974)

1974 St. Justin Martyr Eastlake OH

3/3 ,2/2, 4/4

 

Parish had a school with 529-503 students.

Brodnick is not indexed in the 1970 or 1971 Directories.

1974

James Aloysius Hickey replaced Issenmann as bishop (1974-1980)

1980 St. Wenceslas

Maple Heights

Accused of sexual abuse of a teenage girl in the mid- 1970s. (Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 9, 2002)

OH 2/3, 2/4 Parish had a school with 596-547 students.

1980

Anthony Michael Pilla was Hickey's successor (1980-2006)

1985 Holy Cross Euclid OH 3/4 Parish had a school with 420-403 students.
1983 1990 Diocesan Tribunal Judge        
1985 1988 St. Ann's Cleveland Heights OH 2/3, 2/4 Parish had a school with 369-348 students.
1988 1990 St. Matthias Parma OH

1/1

 

 
1990 1993 St. Martha's Akron OH

2/2, 3/3

In residence.

Parish had a school with 282-295 students.
1993 1997 Absent on Leave        

1997

Rochester bishop was Matthew Harvey Clark (1979-)

2002 St. Joseph's Hospital Elmira NY Chaplain Rochester diocesan officials knew of the accusation against Brodnick when they allowed him to work in their diocese. Cleveland diocesan officials knew as well. (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
April 11, 2002)
1997 2002 Elmira Correctional Facility, Center and Camp Monterey Elmira NY    
1998 2002 St. Mary's Elmira NY

2/2

In residence.

Parish had a school with 305-240 students, and a CCD program with 241-184 students.
2002 2019 Administrative Leave      

Suspended from ministry in April 2002 due to the allegation of sexual abuse of a teenage girl in the mid-1970s.(Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
April 11, 2002)

Brodnick's name was included in 2019 on the Cleveland diocese's list of those with substantiated allegations. It noted that he was permanently removed from ministry. 


Source
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1972-2009).

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Brodnick's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on April 2, 2021.