Assignment Record– Rev. John Patrick Feeney
|
|
| Start | Stop | Parish/Assignment | Town/Accusations | State | Position | Notes |
1952 Green Bay bishop was Stanislaus Vincent Bona (1945-1967). |
1954 | St. Joseph's | Green Bay | WI | 3/3 | St. Joseph's had a school with 456-506 boys and 458-508 girls. |
| Jan. 1954 | Kewaunee | WI | pastor | This is per news reports. | ||
| 1954 | 1955 | Patronage of St. Joseph | Sturgeon Bay | WI | 2/2 | Patronage of St. Joseph had a school with 200 boys and 198 girls. |
| 1955 | 1956 | St. Rose's | Clintonville | WI | 2/2 | St. Rose's had a school with 134 boys and 128 girls. |
| 1956 | 1958 | St. Peter's | Oshkosh
|
WI | 3/3 | St. Peter's had a grade and junior high school with 171-223 boys and 184-277 girls. |
| Sept. 1958 | 1961 | Holy Redeemer | Two Rivers • Feeney was accused of inappropriately touching an underage girl during confession in 1958. He denied the allegation. |
WI | 2/2 | Holy Redeemer had a school wtih 180-228 boys and 183-226 girls. |
| Sept. 1961 | 1963 | St. Theresa's | Appleton • A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc." |
WI | 2/3 | St. Theresa's had a school with 575-588 boys and 558-575 girls. |
| Sept. 1963 | 1965 | Immaculate Conception (St. Mary's) | Chilton • A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc." |
WI | 3/3 | Immaculate Conception had a school with 255-241 boys and 252-262 girls. |
| Sept.1963 | 1965 | St. Elizabeth's | Kloten | WI | St. Elizabeth's was a mission of Immaculate Conception in Chilton. | |
| Sept. 1965 | Clark's Mills | WI | assistant pastor | Here on a temporary assignment, per news reports. | ||
| Oct. 1965 | 1966 | SS. Edward and Isidore's | Flintville | WI | 2/2 | |
| Jan. 1966 | St. Ann's | Francis Creek/Algona | WI | Here on a temporary assignment, per news reports. | ||
| April 1966 | Holy Name | Maplewood | WI | assistant pastor | Here on a temporary assignment, per news reports. | |
| June 1966 | St. Joseph's | Wautoma | WI | assistant pastor | Here on a temporary assignment, per news reports. | |
Aug. 1966 Bona was succeeded by Aloysius John Wycislo (1968-1983). |
1969 | Holy Family | Elcho • Feeney was accused in 2002 of sodomizing a 14 year-old boy in 1969. • In a 2004 lawsuit Feeney was accused of molesting a 15 year-old boy in 1967 in southern California, where he was visiting relatives. |
WI | 1/1 | |
| Aug. 1966 | 1969 | St. Mary's | Pickerel | WI | St. Mary's was a mission of Holy Family in Elcho. | |
| June 1969 | 1973 | St. Francis Xavier's | De Pere • A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc." • In a May 2012 civil trial, Msgr. Paul Koszarek testified that he heard rumors in the early 1970s that Feeney was swimming nude and showering with young boys. Kosarek was an episcopal vicar at the time. |
WI | 1/3, 1/2 | St. Francis Xavier's had a school with 221-370 boys and 226-374 girls. It was combined with St. Mary's in 1971. |
| June 1973 | 1976 | St. Benedict's | Suamico • A Sept. 1983 report from the diocese states there had been "Widespread accusations, allegations and rumors regarding sexual improprieties on the part of Father Feeney from previous parish assignments: St. Therese, Appleton; Freedom; Suamico; De Pere; Chilton, etc." • At a 2012 civil trial, a priest testified that Feeney inappropriately touched two teenage girls at a church retreat, for which he was sent to mental health counseling in the early 1970s. |
WI | 1/1 | A 1974 letter from a doctor to Feeney stated that Feeney's controls over his sexual impulses may fail under stress. Feeney wrote to the bishop, "I was sorry to learn that you have received more complaints about me." |
| June 1973 | 1976 | St. Pius |
Little Suamico | WI | This was a mission of St. Benedict's in Suamico. | |
| June 1976 | 1979 | St. Nicholas' | Freedom • Feeney was accused in 1978 of inappropriate behavior with two brothers, ages 12 and 14. Their parents filed a complaint with the diocese and with the police in July of that year, saying Feeney "snapped" the boys' pajama bottoms and asked them questions about their penises. The parents dropped the charges when they were told by the diocese the problem would be taken care of. The boys testified at trial in 2004. The older brother said Feeney, who was visiting the family in their home, came to his bedroom, put his hand on the boy's crotch, asked if the boy knew what the priest was touching, and told him to spell "penis". Feeney is said to have also asked the boy if he had girlfriends. He then put his put his hand underneath the boy's pajama top, proceeded to rub and work his way down to the boy's pajama pants. The boy shook him off and rolled away. The priest left the room, then returned and pinched the boy's butt. In addition to similar behavior toward the younger, 12 year-old, boy in his bedroom that night, the younger brother reported that Feeney had sexually assaulted him during confesson. Feeney is said to have asked the boy if he had girlfriends, then grabbed the boy's crotch and penis. |
WI | 1/1 | St. Nicholas' had a school with 374-282 students. Bishop Wycislo told Feeney in a letter that diocesan officials decided after an investigation that Feeney could stay in Freedom if he underwent counseling. Wycislo told Feeney to "stay away from young people". |
| Jan. 1979 | Nov. 1983 | St. Mary of the Seven Dolors | Stockbridge • Complaints surfaced that Feeney inappropriately touched a minor and that he took showers with young boys at a high school. A young man accused Feeney in July 1987 of sexually assaulting him when he was a high school student in 1978 or 1979 until 1981. Feeney denied the allegations. |
WI | 1/1 | St. Mary's had a school with 152-92 students. Wycislo transferred Feeney to this parish, warning "if there is any repetition of past problems" and "in the event a trial were to eventuate because of recent allegations against you, you will immediately be suspended and deprived of the faculties of this diocese." Two mothers from St. Nicholas' in Freedom went to law enforcement officials in 1979 when they learned that Feeney was transferred to St. Mary's rather than being removed from ministry, as church officials had promised. A 2002 complaint stated that the prosecutor at the time persuaded them not to press charges, telling them it would be too traumatizing for the boys. In Oct. 1983 Wycislo told Feeney he could no longer work in the Green Bay diocese, and that he had three months to find a job in another diocese. Wycislo said he would write a letter of support. The bishop wrote further that If Feeney didn't find a job in three months, he would have to go to treatment or face prosecution. |
Late 1983 San Diego bishop was Leo Thomas Maher (1969-1990). |
San Diego | CA | This assignment is per news reports. Feeney served for a short time at an unspecified San Diego parish. |
|||
1984 Reno bishop was Norman Francis McFarland (1976-1986). |
1986? | On Duty Outside the Diocese/St. Francis de Sales | Las Vegas • Feeney is alleged in a January 2008 lawsuit to have molested a 13 year-old boy, who was a St. Francis de Sales school student, in 1984 and 1985. His accuser said Feeney would take him and his friends to football games and that after a game, at the boy's home, Feeney sat next to the boy on a couch, put his arm around the boy, and asked if their t.v. had the Playboy channel. Feeney is said to have then put one hand under the boy's shirt, and the other on the boy's genitals under his pants. |
NV | pastor | St. Francis de Sales had a school with 263 students. In the 1986 Directory Feeney is indexed but is not listed at St. Francis de Sales in the Reno diocesan pages. St. Francis' school principal, Msgr. LaVoy, heard that the boy who said Feeney molested him at home in front of the t.v. told his friends Feeney was gay. LaVoy is said to have called the boy into his office, where the boy told LaVoy what Feeney had done to him. LaVoy's response is said to have been that the boy should be "ashamed of himself". He met with the boy's father to determine if the boy- who LaVoy said caused trouble- would be allowed to stay at St. Francis. The boy was allowed to stay. |
| 1984 | 1986 | Christ of the Desert | Amargosa Valley | NV | This was a mission of St. Francis de Sales in Las Vegas. | |
| 1984 | 1986 | Juvenile Detention Centers | NV | |||
| 1984 | 1986 | Prison | Indian Springs | NV | chaplain | Feeney was accused in 1986 of smuggling drug paraphernalia and women's underwear into the prison in exchange for sexual favors from prisoners. Feeney claimed he was set up. |
1986 Green Bay bishop was Adam Joseph Maida (1983-1990). |
1990 | Absent on Sick Leave | Green Bay bishop Maida removed Feeney from ministry in 1986. A Jan. 1987 report by the St. Bernardine Clinic in MD determined that Feeney had a diagnosable sexual disorder that was not treatable. He spent much of 1989 in treatment at the Servants of the Paraclete in Jemez Springs, NM. |
|||
1990 Maida was succeeded by Robert Joseph Banks (1990-2003). Los Angeles archbishop was Roger Michael Mahony (1985-2011). |
2002 | Retired | Los Angeles | CA | Address given is 3333 W. 2nd St., Los Angeles. Feeney was arrested in Sept. 2002 at his L.A. home and charged with sexually assaulting a 12 year-old boy during confession in the 1970s in Wisconsin, as well as the attempted sexual assaults of the same boy and his 14 year-old brother. |
|
2002 David Allen Zubik replaced Banks (2003-2007). |
2004 | Retired | Green Bay | WI | Address given is a Green Bay P.O. Box. Feeney was found guilty in Feb. 2004 of sexually assaulting the two brothers in 1978. There were at least 10 other Feeney accusers which the trial's prosecutor stated may be just a fraction of Feeney victims. They were unable to pursue prosecution due to the statute of limitations. The brothers were able to press charges because of a loophole in the statute. |
|
| 2004 | Nov. 2011 | Prison | WI | inmate | Feeney was sentenced in 2004 to 15 years in prison. An appeal to the Wisconsin Supreme Court was denied in 2006. He was defrocked by the Vatican in 2005. The brothers whose case resulted in Feeney's conviction filed a civil lawsuit in 2008 against the Green Bay diocese, alleging the diocese covered up years of abuse by Feeney and lied to parishioners about what they knew about Feeney's history of sexually abusing children. The suit contended that the diocese knew about Feeney's abusive behavior in the early 1960s. |
|
| Nov. 2011 | Halfway House | Appleton | WI | Feeney was released from prison in Nov. 2011 to an Appleton, Wisconsin halfway house. He was to be on parole for the remainder of his sentence, and is a registered sex offender. | ||
| MO | Feeney was known in May 2012 to be living in Missouri. In May 2012 the Green Bay diocese was found liable in a civil lawsuit of concealing Feeney's history of child sexual abuse. The diocese challenged the ruling and was granted a new trial, scheduled for May 2013. Another civil case to went to trial in Oct. 2012 in Las Vegas. The plaintiff, who accused Feeney of molesting him in 1984 when he was a 13 year-old St. Francis De Sales student in Las Vegas,was awarded $500,000. The Las Vegas archdiocese appealed the ruling; hearing Jan. 2015. The ruling was reversed in May 2015 by the Nevada Supreme Court. |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1953-2005) • Diocese Moved Priests When Allegations Arose, By Steve Wideman, Post-Crescent, May 31, 2002
|
|