Rev. Louis J. Rios, A.A.—Assignment Record

Summary of Case: Accused in 2/26/04 suit of forcing a 16-year-old girl to have intercourse, and when she got pregnant, offering her money from the NY parish collection and urging her to get an abortion. Rios knew the girl from catechism class, offered her GED tutoring, and then used a confidence about her violent father to begin the abuse and coerce her silence. Another priest promised to help her but didn’t. Rios also worked in the dioceses of Worcester MA, San Juan PR, and perhaps Boston MA.

Ordained: 1966?
Incardinated: Diocese of Worcester 1966-67; Archdiocese of New York 1967-69; Diocese of Worcester 1969-70; Archdiocese of New York 1970-79; Archdiocese of San Juan, Puerto Rico 1978-80; Archdiocese of New York 1980-82; Archdiocese of Boston 1982-84.

     

Start Stop Parish Town State Position Notes

1966

Bishop was Bernard J. Flanagan

 1967 Assumption Prep Worcester MA 25/25. Headmaster was Rev. Edgar Bourque AA. High school with 396 students.

1967

Bishop was Cardinal Francis J. Spellman 1939-67

Then bishop was Cardinal Terence J. Cooke 1967-83

 

 1969 Assumptionist Provincial House New York,
Manhattan 		NY 7/7, then 7/9, in residence. Address was 329 W. 108th St.
1969 1970 Assumption Prep Worcester MA 21/23.  
1970 1973 St. Theresa's New York,
Manhattan		   2/5. Priests were Revs. Donald J. Johnston, Rios, Matthew Cheng STB, Jesus Guerra OP, Peter K. Meehan. In 1971 Meehan left. In 1972, Cheng and Guerra were replaced by Revs. Patrick D. Hennessy and John Sen SDB. Address is 16-18 Rutgers St., on the Lower East Side. No parish school.
1973 1978 Our Lady of Esperanza (Spanish)

New York,
Manhattan

• Accused in 2004 of abusing a girl here 1973-76. See complaint and article.

 NY

Priests were Revs. Francisco T. Dominguez AA, Rios, Josu Arana, and Anton Topliski AA, with 1 lay brother.

In the 1978 Directory, Rios, Arana, and Topliski are all gone. Revs. Irwin Gagnon AA and John Charles Mencier (in res.) are the new priests.

Address is 624 W. 156th St., in Washington Heights. No parish school.

Indexed here in the 1978 Directory but not listed. Instead, listed in the entry for the Assumptionist Provincial House as "on leave of absence." For the first time, he is called Luis Rios.
1977 1980 Assumptionist Provincial House New York,
Manhattan 		  Listed here as on leave. Perhaps lived here in late 1977 or early 1978 between Our Lady of Esperanza and Nuestra Signora del Carmen. Address was 329 W. 108th St. Not indexed here in the 1978 Directory, but listed here as on leave. Indexed and listed here in the 1979 Directory as on leave, but double-indexed and listed as assigned in Puerto Rico (see next entry), not as an Assumptionist. In the 1979 Directory, one index entry lists Rios as a NY priest; the other calls him an SJN priest. Both call him Luis.

1978

Bishop was Cardinal Luis Aponte Martinez

 1980 Nuestra Senora del Carmen San Juan PR 2/3. Priests were Revs. Pacifica Apoitia and Luis J. Rios, with Juan Campos in residence.

No parish school.

Double indexed and listed in 1979-1980 Directory. See previous entry.
1980 1982 Assumptionist Provincial House New York,
Manhattan 		  Provincial superior Edgar A. Bourque AA. Address was 329 W. 108th St. Indexed here but listed as on leave, not necessarily residing here. Called Luis Rios AA.

1982

Bishops were Cardinal Humberto S. Medeiros 1970-83 and

Cardinal Bernard F. Law 1984-2002

 

 1984 Assumptionist Provincial House Milton MA Provincial superior was Rev. Joseph G. Loiselle. Indexed here but listed as on leave, not necessarily residing here. Called Luis Rios AA.
1984 1992         Not indexed in 1985-1992 Directory.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1966-92); Complaint, New York Supreme Court (February 26, 2004); 15 Sue Archdiocese in Decades-Old Cases, by Stephanie Saul, Newsday (February 28, 2004).

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 Rios's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegation against him as it is reported in a filed court document and the media. 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 8/15/07.