• Charged with the systematic sexual abuse of two brothers who were altar boys, Leu pled guilty and was sentenced to prison (see Honsell, Ruling, pp. 1-2).
Rev. James Elmer Leu
Summary of Case: Pleaded guilty to systematic sexual abuse
(1985-89) of two brothers at St. Mary's parish in Lone Tree, where Leu was pastor.
The boys were altar boys and minors. Leu was sentenced to 2 years in prison,
and since his release is allowed to say private Mass and is living "a life
of prayer and penance," according to the diocese. Ordained in 1971, Leu
worked at 4 other parishes, including Sacred Heart in Newton when accused priest
Francis Bass was pastor.
Born: 9/15/45
Birthplace: Muscatine IA
Ordained: 5/29/71 by Bishop Gerald F. O'Keefe at Sacred Heart
Cathedral, Davenport IA
Seminary: St. Ambrose Seminary, Davenport IA (1967); Mt. St.
Bernard Seminary, Dubuque IA; University of Iowa Summer School (Teaching Certificate
[St. Ambrose College], 1969; St. John's School of Divinity, Collegeville MN
(Master of Divinity, 1971)
Incardinated: Davenport IA
Died: 2/4/13
| Start | Stop | Parish | Town | State | Position | Comment |
| 6/15/71 | 7/29/71 | Holy Family | Davenport | IA | Temporary Associate Pastor | |
| 7/29/71 | 7/26/77 | Holy Family | Davenport | IA | Associate Pastor, 3/3. Pastor was Robert J. Welch; other priests (all 2/3) were Rev. George Hoenig, Rev. Thomas J. Gehlsen, and Michael J. Spiekermeier | Enrollment in the parish school trended down from 660 to 453. |
| 7/26/77 | 10/3/78 | Sacred Heart | Newton | IA | Temporary Associate Pastor 2/2. Francis E. Bass was pastor until 1/31/78, then Leu was temporary administrator for two weeks (see next entry), then Rev. Joseph B. Denning came in as pastor. Denning was the 3rd of the diocese's 7 synodal judges. | Also at the parish was a religious education center called the McCann Center. |
| 1/31/78 | 2/14/78 | Sacred Heart | Newton | IA | Temporary Administrator (Vicar Ecomone) | |
| 10/3/78 | 11/10/85 | Our Lady of Victory | Davenport | IA | Associate Pastor 2/2, 2/3, 2/2. Pastor was Kenneth C. Martin, then Rev. William O. Meyer, who became Davenport dean during this time. The other priest was Rev. Gregory A. Steckel. | John F. Kennedy, the parish school, had enrollments trend up from 185 to 232. |
| 3/10/85 | 11/30/88 | St. Mary's | Lone Tree • Charged with the systematic sexual abuse of two brothers who were altar boys, Leu pled guilty and was sentenced to prison (see Honsell, Ruling, pp. 1-2). |
IA | Pastor, 1/1. | |
| 8/1/88 | 11/30/88 | St. Mary's | Nichols | IA | Pastor, 1/1. | Mission attended from St. Mary's in Lone Tree. Before and after this brief arrangement, the church in Nichols was attended by Rev. Stephen P. Ebel from St. Joseph's in Columbus Junction. |
| 1988 | 1989 | Kahl Home for the Aged and
Infirm
|
Davenport | IA | Chaplain. Sr. M.T. Kathleen, supr. and admin. | Capacity of 141 with 3 priests in residence. |
| 1989 | 2004 | Absent on Leave | So listed in the Official Catholic Directory for these years. | |||
| 2004 | Organist at a Catholic church in Iowa City. | |||||
| 2013 | Died 2/4/13. |
Source: Clergy
Record of Rev. James Elmer Leu, supplemented and corrected from the Official
Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy and Sons, 1983-2003). Judge August
F. Honsell, Ruling
on Defendant's Motion for Summary Judgment (filed 10/26/92). Bishop Gerald
O'Keefe, Deposition (filed 8/25/92) {1}
{2}
{3}
{4}
{5}
{6}
{7}.
Msgr. Monsignor Michael J. Morrissey, Deposition (filed 8/25/92) {1}
{2}
{3}.
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 Leu's career history as it is represented in
the Official Catholic Directory and in other sources with the allegation
against Leu that resulted in his guilty plea and conviction on abuse charges.
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 01/30/18.