Rev. James M. Burns-Assignment

Assignment Record– Rev. James M. Burns

Summary of Case: Burns was accused "several times" of child sexual abuse, sent for therapy, then reassigned in 1990. He was removed from duty and "retired" in 1993 after another allegation. Included in the July 2007 settlement against the Los Angeles archdiocese because Burns abused a boy from AZ on trips to CA. Pleaded guilty in 2004 and received two 1.5 yr sentences, to be served concurrently. Released after less than a year for good behavior. Also accused of abuse of a girl. He may have abused more than twelve children, mostly Latino boys. He died in August 2010.

Ordained: 1962
Died: August 6, 2010

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1962 Gallup bishop was Bernard Theodore Espelage, O.F.M. (1940-1969).	1963	Our Lady of Guadalupe	Flagstaff	AZ	3/3	Parish had a school with 250 students.
1963	1964	Nativity of B.V.M.	Flagstaff	AZ	2/2	Parish had a school with 192 students.
1964	1965	Our Lady of Guadalupe	Holbrook	AZ	2/2
1965	1966	St. Francis Cabrini	Camp Verde	AZ	1/1
1965	1966		Black Canyon	AZ		This was a station of St. Francis Cabrini in Camp Verde.
1965	1966		Lake Montezuma	AZ		This was a station of St. Francis Cabrini in Camp Verde.
1966	1968	St. Lawrence	Humbolt	AZ	1/1 Administrator
1966	1968		Mayer	AZ		This was a mission of St. Lawrrence in Humbolt.
1966	1968		Black Canyon	AZ		This was a mission of St. Lawrrence in Humbolt.
1968 Jerome Joseph Hastrich replaced Espelage as bishop (1969-1990).	1974	St. Peter's	Springerville	AZ	1/1, 1/2
1968	1971	Sacred Heart	Quemado	AZ		This was a mission of St. Peter's in Springerville.
1971	1974	St. Helena	Alpine	AZ		This was a mission of St. Peter's in Springerville.
1968	1974	Priests' Relief Society			Assistant Director/Vice President
1968	1969	Vocations			Assistant Director
1969	1981	Family Life
1970 1981	1974 1983	Episcopal Vicar: Lower Arizona
1983	1990	Episcopal Vicar: Navajo Vicariate
1980	1982	Personnel Board			Chairman
1978	1994	Priests' Retirement Fund
1974	1980	Our Lady of the Angels/St. Mary of the Angels	Pinetop	AZ	1/2, 1/1	This parish is referred to both Our Lady of the Angels and St. Mary of the Angels in the Directories.
1980	1982	Immaculate Heart of Mary	Page	AZ	1/1
1980	1982		Lee's Ferry	AZ		This was a station of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Page.
1980	1982		Vermillion Cliffs	AZ		This was a station of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Page.
1980	1982		Kaibeto	AZ		This was a station of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Page.
1982	1990	St. Joseph's	Winslow • Named in a 2004 criminal complaint as perpetrator of sexual abuse against an altar boy who had lost his father, between Jan. 1, 1983 and Dec. 31, 1984. Burns was also accused of molesting the boy on trips to California. Burns admitted to abusing the boy. (Gallup Independent May 12, 2004)	AZ		Burns underwent treatment for sexually abusive behavior but was put back in ministry in 1990. (Associated Press, carried in The Arizona Republic [Arizona] September 19, 2004)
1982	1990		Leupp	AZ		This was a station of St. Joseph's in Winslow.
1982	1990		Dilcon	AZ		This was a station of St. Joseph's in Winslow.
1982	1990		Seba Dalkai	AZ		This was a station of St. Joseph's in Winslow.
11/01/90		St. Mary's	Bloomfield	NM		Per the Gallup Diocese's website 2/28/15
12/90 Donald Edmond Pelotte, S.S.S. replaced Hastrich as bishop (1990-2008).	6/93	St. Rose's	Blanco	NM	1/1, 1/2
		Our Lady of Guadalupe	Los Martinez	NM		This was a mission of St. Rose in Blanco NM.
1993	2002		• Burns' priestly faculties were removed in June of 1993, due to allegations of sexual abuse (Gallup Independent May 20, 2003). One of the accusers was woman who claimed Burns sexually abused her when she age four. (Gallup Independent June 8, 2004)			Burns had a Wickenburg AZ P.O. Box. Heis not indexed in the Directories after 2002. Burns pleaded guilty to sexual conduct with a minor in 2004 and was sentenced to a year and a half in prison. (Associated Press, carried in The Arizona Republic [Arizona] September 19, 2004) He was released after less than a year for good behavior. (Independent July 23, 2007) A newspaper that researched Burns stated that he may have abused more than a dozen children. (Gallup Independent August 2, 2005) His victims were mostly young Latino males . This information is per the newspaper's interviews with the Gallup diocese and with Burns' victims. (Independent July 21, 2007)
2002	2010			AZ		Burns died August 6, 2010 in Arizona.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1963-2002).

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 & 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.