Assignment Record– Rev. James H. Lane

Summary of Case: Rev. James H. Lane's name was included on a list Boston attorney Mitchell Garabedian released on April 11, 2012 of clerics accused in cases that he had settled in the previous year. A claimant said Lane molested him when he was a 10-year-old altar boy 1966-1967 at St. Paul's in Dorchester, and again when the boy was 15 years-old, during an overnight trip. Lane died in 2007.


Ordained: 1962
Incardinated: Boston archdiocese
Retired: 2001
Died: July 28, 2007

   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1962

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

1969 St. Paul's

Dorchester

• In a lawsuit settled in 2011 or 2012, Lane was accused of molesting a 10-year-old St. Paul's altar boy in 1966-1967. His accuser said Lane would ask him (the boy) boy to touch his (Lane's) genitals over his clothes. Further, he said Lane molested him when he was 15-years-old during an overnight trip. He said he had managed to avoid Lane for years before that.

MA 3/3  
1972   Boston Police Dept. Boston MA Chaplain This and all of Lane's chaplaincy assignments are per his obituary.
    Roxbury Juvenile Court Boston MA Chaplain  
    Boston Juvenile Court Boston MA Chaplain  
    Boston Police Patrolman's Association Boston MA Chaplain  
    Boston Police Emerald Society Boston MA Chaplain  
    South Boston Irish American Society Boston MA Chaplain  
    Retired Boston Police Officer's Association Boston MA Chaplain  
    Cops for Kids with Cancer Boston MA Board of Directors This is per Lane's obituary.
1980   Boston City Council Boston MA Chaplain  

1969

Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983), followed by Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002).

1997 St. Brendan's Dorchester MA

3/3, 2/3, 2/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1/1

Lane was pastor 1982-1997. John Geoghan was an assistant priest at St. Brendan's 1981-1984.

St. Brendan's had a school with 137-346 students.

Geoghan was at St. Brendan's 1981-1984. He was accused of raping and molesting at least 150 children. Lane gave evidence to archdiocesan officials in 1984 that Geoghan abused children at the parish. Geoghan was convicted in 2002 of the molestation of a 10-year-old boy.

1997 2001 St. Augustine's Boston MA 2/2 St. Augustine's had a school with 249 students.

2001

Law was replaced by Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap.
(2003-).

2005 Senior Priests/Retired/St. Monica's Boston MA 2/2  
2005 2007 Senior Priests/Retired Boston MA   Lane died July 28, 2007.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1963-2008)

• Obituaries, Boston Globe, August 1, 2007
• Obituary, Boston Herald, July 31, 2007
• Obituary: Father James Lane, Longtime Boston Police Chaplain Dies, By Father Robert M. O'Grady, Boston Pilot, August 3, 2007
• James H. Lane - Boston, MA - Specific Veteran Memorials on Waymarking.com, Waymarking.com, NoDate
• New Garabedian List, Bishopaccountability.org, April 11, 2012
• Settlements Reached in Clergy Sex Abuse Cases, By Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe, April 11, 2012
• Mass. Attorney Releases 6 Accused Clerics' Names, By Jay Lindsay, Coshocton Tribune, April 11, 2012
• Boston Archdiocese Reaches Settlements in Sex Abuse Cases, NECN, April 11, 2012
• Sex Abuse Claim against Former Brockton Priest Settled, Patriot Ledger, April 11, 2012
• Rev. Lane Named in Settlement with Man Claiming Sexual Abuse, By Tom Mulvoy and Bill Forry, Dorchester Reporter,
April 12, 2012
• Coming Together for Prayer and Support, St. Brendan Parish, April 19, 2012
• ‘I Address You with a Heavy Heart’, By Reverend John J. Connolly, Dorchester Reporter, April 19, 2012
• Parish Defends Late Priest Accused of Abuse, By Lisa Wangsness, Boston Globe, April 20, 2012
• James H. Lane Assignment Record, Archdiocese of Boston

 



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 Lane'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 October 6, 2015.