Rev. Eleuterio V. ("Al") Ramos, Jr.

Summary of Cases:

Born: 03-23-40 in Los Angeles
Education: Euclid Avenue School, Los Angeles (1946-49); Santa Isabel School, Los Angeles (1949-54); Queen of Angels Seminary High School, San Fernando (1954-58); St. John's Seminary College, San Fernando and Camarillo (1958-62); St. John's Major Seminary (1962-66)
Ordained: 04-30-66
Incardinated: Los Angeles CA until 06-18-76; then Orange CA, working in Tijuana, Mexico after 09-01-85
Suspended: 04-05-91
Died: 03-24-04

   
Ordained 1966       1989

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes
05-14-66 06-14-71 St. Thomas Apostle
 Los Angeles CA 3/3 assistant, then 2/3, 2/2, 2/3. The pastor was Rev. James Pierse and the associate was Rev. Pascal F. Nocero. In 1967 Nocero left and Ramos became the number two, with Rev. Thomas O'Connell as third priest. O'Connel left in 1968. In 1969 Msgr. Lawrence O'Leary came in residence; he was assistant director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Lay Mission-Helpers Association. In 1970, Pierse was replaced as pastor by Rev. William H. Atwill. Note: A 1968 letter by pastor Pierse complains about the behavior of Ramos and a priest in residence named Rev. John Lakatta, S.V.D. (see next column). Incardinated in the Los Angeles archdicoese. The parish school was run by 5 Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and had 380 pupils in 1966-67.

Lakatta is not listed in the diocesan pages of the Directory but is indexed to the address (not the name) of St. Thomas the Apostle in the 1969 and 1970 Directory. Lakatta had worked in Accra, Ghana, for several years previous, and might have been assigned briefly to St. Ursula's in Parkville MD (Baltimore archdiocese) in late 1967 before coming to St. Thomas in LA (see the unusual double entry in the 1968 Directory without order affiliation. Lakatta seems to disappear from the Directory after his time with Ramos at St. Thomas.
06-14-71 08-01-72 St. Mariana de Paredes
 Pico Rivera CA 2/3, assistant. Pastor was Rev. John Killeen and the third priest was Rev. Leo Gomes. Incardinated in the Los Angeles archdicoese. The parish school was run by 6 Sisters of Notre Dame and had 392 pupils in 1971-72.
08-01-72 03-05-75 Resurrection Los Angeles CA 2/4 associate, then 2/3. The administrator of the parish was Msgr. Donald Montrose, who was on the Archdiocesan Advisory Board of Education. The other priests were Revs. Gregorio Raymundo and Juan S. Coronel. In 1973, Montrose became pastor, Raymundo and Coronel left, and Rev. Ruben Lopez became the third priest. Incardinated in the Los Angeles archdicoese. The parish school was run by 7 Sisters of Mary Immaculate and had 308 pupils in 1972-73.
03-05-75 07-01-78 St. Joseph's

 Placentia CA 3/3 associate, then 2/3. Pastor was Rev. George W. Conboy, and the second priest was Rev. George M. Breslin., who was the director of the National Catholic Office for Motion Pictures (until 1966 called the National Legion of Decency), an office he continued to hold after he became an Orange priest. In 1976, Conboy became pastor emeritus, Breslin became pastor, and Ramos became the number two priest. Conboy died in 1977 and Rev. Kenneth J. Krause came in residence. Incardinated in the Los Angeles archdicoese until 06-18-76, when St. Joseph's became a parish in the new Orange diocese and Ramos became incardinated there. The parish school was run by 8 Franciscan Missionary Sisters and had 601 pupils.
03-05-75 07-01-78 St. Therese's Atwood CA   This church was a mission of St. Joseph's in Placentia.
06-19-76 1978 Diocesan Tribunal Garden Grove CA Defender of the Bond and Advocate  
1977 1980 Hispanic Commission     Chairman Ramos was the first chairman. The priest who succeeded him, probably after the allegations of late 1979 and Ramos's treatment at Marsalin, was Rev. Thomas A. Clavel, Episcopal Vicar for the Hispanic Community.
07-01-78   Immaculate Heart of Mary
 Santa Ana CA 2/4 associate. Pastor was Rev. Francis Moran. Other priests were Revs. Stuart Campbell, O.P. and John J. Wehmhoefer, who was pastor emeritus. Incardinated in the Orange diocese. The parish school was run by 5 Sisters of Charity of the BVM and had 352 pupils in 1978-79.
12-18-79 04-15-80 St. Luke Institute at Marsalin
 Holliston MA President was Rev. Michael R. Peterson, MD Incardinated in the Orange diocese.
04-15-80 05-06-80 Immaculate Heart of Mary
 Santa Ana CA In residence. Priests as in the entry above: Moran, Campbell, and Wehmhoefer. Incardinated in the Orange diocese.
05-06-80 07-05-83 St. Angela Merici
 Brea CA 2/3 associate. Pastor was Msgr. Emmett McCarthy, who was a post-synodal judge on the tribunal, a consultor, and moderator of the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women. The third priest was Rev. Seamus M. Hutton, CSSE. In 1981, Hutton was replaced by Rev. John Weling. Incardinated in the Orange diocese. The parish school was run by 4 Sisters of St. Clare and had 275 pupils in 1980-81.
07-05-83 07-02-84 Our Lady of Guadalupe
 La Habra CA 5/5 associate. Two pastors emeriti are listed first in the Directory, followed by the pastor and two priests: Msgrs. David Coleman and Francis W. Roughan; Revs. Justin H. MacCarthy, Fred Bailey, and Ramos. Incardinated in the Orange diocese. The parish school was run by 4 Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange and had 525 pupils in 1983-84.
07-02-84 08-21-85 St. Anthony Claret
 Anaheim CA 2/4 pastor. The pastor emeritus is listed first: Msgr. James F. Nash. The other priests were Revs. Jose Morales and Kenneth Schmit. Incardinated in the Orange diocese. The parish school was run by 3 Sisters of Charity and had 349 students. The 1986 Directory does not index or list Ramos, and it shows that all the priests besides Nash were moved out of the parish: Ramos, Morales, and Schmit.
    Old Mission Retreat
 San Luis Rey CA    
    St. Andrew's Priory Retreat House
 Valyermo CA    
09-01-85   La Divina Providencia Colonia Libertad section of Tijuana Mexico Pastor was Rev. Pedro Lopez. Incardinated in the Orange diocese. Not listed in the 1986 Directory. Listed in the 1987-92 Directory as on duty outside the diocese with no place specified.
    Nuestra Señora de Loreto Colonia Libertad section of Tijuana Mexico   This church was a chapel of Divina Providencia and was Ramos's responsibility.
1992 1993 Polish Center Yorba Linda CA Director was Rev. Joseph A. Karp. In the 1993 Directory Ramos is listed as on inactive leave with the phone number 714-996-8161 but with no location. This is the phone number of the Polish Center in Yorba Linda (now called Pope John Paul II Polish Center. In the 1994 Directory, the inactive leave entry does not have a phone number.
      Whittier CA Residence  
03-24-04   Died       Ramos is listed as on inactive leave in the 1995-2001 Directory. In 2002-2003 he is not indexed or listed.


Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1967-2003).

• Suit Levels New Charges against Priest, By Jean Guccione, Times [Los Angeles], October 16, 2003
• Church IDs 15 Abusive Priests, By Ray F. Herndon, Los Angeles Times, Downloaded January 11, 2004
• L.A. Archdiocesan Report, Feb. 18, 2004
• Hide the Buggering Priests!, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, July 9, 2004
• Accused Priests of the Orange Diocese, Assignments as Reported in the Official Catholic Directory, Compiled by Gustavo Arellano, Posted in the OC Weekly, March 4, 2005
• L.A. Archdiocese Report Addendum, Nov. 15, 2005
• King of the County Pedophiles, by Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly, December 14, 2005.
• The Damning Documents, Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly, December 14, 2005.
• Reports Show Failure of Therapy for Priests, By Jean Guccione and William Lobdell, Los Angeles Times [California], May 25, 2005
• Gustavo Arellano on the Catholic Crisis, BishopAccountability.org
• Allegations against 3 Priests Costly for Diocese of Orange, By Chris Knap, The Orange County Register, May 17, 2005
• Second Chances, By Rachanee Srisavasdi, Andrew Galvin, Tony Saavedra, and Chris Knap
Orange County Register, May 18, 2005
• L.A. Times Database, April 20, 2006
• Abuse Victim Speaks Publicly, By Yvette Cabrera, The Orange County Register, July 24, 2007
• Diocese of Fresno Lies to OC Weekly, Spins for Brown, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, September 14, 2007
• Bad Moves: Addendum, A Paper Trail through the Orange Diocese's Darkest Episode, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, September 27, 2007
• Bad Moves, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, September 27, 2007
• Urell Tried to Heal As Well As Conceal, What the Monsignor Had to Live with, By Frank Mickadeit, Orange County Register, October 12, 2007
• New Victim of Eleuterio Ramos Comes Forward, Plans to Sue Orange Diocese, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, March 23, 2010
• Snapshots of Catholic Priests Accused of Abuse, Associated Press, April 14, 2010
• More OC Pedophile Priest Personnel Files to Be Released, This Time by the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, October 11, 2012
• Los Angeles Achdiocese to Release Personnel Files of Priests Accused of Abuse, By Christina Villacorte, LA Daily News, October 12, 2012
• LA Archdiocese Document Dump: the First-Ever Known Tijuana Victim of Pedo-Priest Eleuterio Ramos, By Gustavo Arellano, Ex Cathedra, January 23, 2013
• King of County Pedophiles, A Conversation with a Police Report on Admitted Pederast Eleuterio Ramos, By Gustavo Arellano , Orange County Weekly, February 5, 2004
• Eleuterio Ramos Makes the Op/ed Pages of the New York Times, By Gustavo Arellano, Orange County Weekly, February 7, 2013

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 Ramos's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with accusations as they are reported in the press and stated in court documents. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report. We remind our readers that in the U.S. judicial system, a person is considered innocent until proven guilty.

A Note on Nomenclature: We use the term "assignment record," instead of the more common "service record," because "service" is not an appropriate word for the activities of an abusive priest. Dioceses are often less than forthcoming about the activities of retired priests, but when we can determine those activities, we list them in these assignment records, particularly if they involve ministry. Retired priests remain under obedience to their bishop, and even the activities of laicized priests should be a concern to the diocese.

This assignment record was last updated on Feb. 26, 2013.