Rev. Joseph J. Seminatore

Summary of Case Included on the diocese's list 6/21/19 of clergy with substantiated allegations against them of child sexual abuse. Permanently removed from ministry.: Placed on leave in 2002 from Parmadale Family Services home after man came forward to allege sexual abuse when he lived at the home as a child. The Home offered treatment to children with emotional problems. Seminatore denied charges even though two additional accusers came forward. All three men filed suit in July 2002. In Aug. 2002 Seminatore filed a countersuit alleging conspiracy. Plaintiffs' case was dismissed due to statute of limitations; dismissal upheld by Appeals Court in 2006. Seminatore's claim was also dismissed on appeal. 

Seminatore's name was included on the diocese's list 6/21/19 of clergy with substantiated allegations against them of child sexual abuse. It notes that he was permanently removed from ministry.


Ordained
: 1969

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1969

Cleveland bishop was Clarence George Issenmann (1966-1974)

1970 St. Gregory the Great Cleveland OH

3/3

 

Parish had a school with 883 students.

1970

James Aloysius Hickey followed Issenmann as bishop (1974-1980)

1973 Holy Family Stow OH 3/3 Parish had a school with 894-732 students.
1973 1976 St. Francis de Sales Akron OH 3/3 Parish had a school with 388-342 students.
1976 1979         Seminatore is not indexed in the 1977-1979 Directories.

1979

Anthony Michael Pilla replaced Hickey (1980-2006)

2002 Children's Village of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Anthony's Home for Boys/Parmadale Family Services

Cleveland

• Three men accused Seminatore in a 2002 lawsuit of having sexually abused them as children in the mid 1980s, when they were residents of this treatment center. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
July 12, 2002)

OH

Chaplain

The name of this center for abused, neglected, and emotionally disturbed children was changed in 1989 to Parmadale Family Services.
 2002

Pilla was replaced as bishop by Richard Gerard Lennon
(2006- )

 2015  Administrative Leave       Seminatore was suspended from ministry in April 2002, due to allegations of sexual abuse of boys at Parmadale. Seminatore filed a lawsuit against his accusers in August 2002 (Plain Dealer, August 20, 2002.) Both the accusers and Seminatore's claims were dismissed.
 2015  2019 Retired       Seminatore's name was included on the diocese's list June 21, 2019 of clergy with substantiated allegations against them of child sexual abuse. It notes that he was permanently removed from ministry.


Source
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1970-2019)


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 Seminatore'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 January 28,2021.