By Andy Metzger
Wicked Local Somerville
August 30, 2011
http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/features/x1638733239/Boston-Archdiocese-15-accused-priests-had-worked-in-Somerville-parishes#axzz1WbDCjKvh
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| Four of the 15 priests who have faced accusations of sexual abuse worked for a time at Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish, on Spring Hill, according to the Boston Archdiocese. Read more: Boston Archdiocese: 15 accused priests had worked in Somerville parishes - Somerville, Massachusetts 02144 - Somerville Journal http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/archive/x1638733239/Boston-Archdiocese-15-accused-priests-had-worked-in-Somerville-parishes#ixzz1Wc7xm1bz |
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| Six of the 15 priests who have faced accusations of sexual abuse worked for a time at Saint Benedict Parish, in East Somerville, according to the Boston Archdiocese. Read more: Boston Archdiocese: 15 accused priests had worked in Somerville parishes - Somerville, Massachusetts 02144 - Somerville Journal http://www.wickedlocal.com/somerville/archive/x1638733239/Boston-Archdiocese-15-accused-priests-had-worked-in-Somerville-parishes#ixzz1Wc83Nn4I |
Somerville — Of the 157 priests accused of sexual abuse that the Boston Archdiocese publicized last week, 15 spent at least some time in Somerville parishes. Saint Benedict Parish in East Somerville and Saint Catherine of Genoa on Spring Hill had more accused priests than any other Somerville parish. The list of names provided by the archdiocese are of priests who have been accused, not proven guilty. The following is a summary of accused priests who spent time in Somerville. A full list of accused priests in the local archdiocese is available at www.bostoncatholic.org/Offices-And-Services.
Frederick L. Barr, born in 1950, was assistant at Saint Clement Parish from May 1976 to June 1981, before moving on to other positions, including pastor, in Quincy, Cambridge and Watertown.
Accusations: According to our sister paper the Watertown Tab, Barr was placed on administrative leave in 2009 over allegations that he "sexually abused a child." Based on the story and the timeline provided by the church, the alleged abuse occurred while he was parochial vicar at Saint Luke's in Belmont.
Status: Case in progress, on administrative leave.
William L. Butler, born in 1934, served as an assistant at Saint Benedict Parish from February 1961 to February 1962, before moving on to posts in Malden and Revere, where he was most recently a pastor.
Accusations: According to the Pulitzer-winning Boston Globe Spotlight Team, Butler was accused in 2002 of molesting a 13-year-old boy in 1966, when he was stationed at Saint Thomas Aquinas Parish, in Jamaica Plain, as an assistant. The Globe article portrayed Butler as forthcoming, willing to take a lie-detector test and to look for photos of the accuser at Butler's Canadian home, where the assault allegedly happened.
Status: Case in progress, on administrative leave.
William J. Cummings, born in 1941, was associate pastor at Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish from December 1979 to June 1983, and died in 1994 after reportedly telling his congregation at Saint John the Evangelist, in Cambridge, that he had HIV.
Accusations: According to the Boston Globe, a 2002 lawsuit accused Cummings of raping a then –15-year-old boy during a youth group trip from Our Lady of Help of Christians in Newton to New York City, in December 1982.
Status: Died before completion of investigation.
Thomas M. Curran, born in 1945, was a technical assistant at Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish from July 1974 to June 1979 and was associate pastor at Saint Catherine's from July 1979 to September 1979 before moving on to become a chaplain at Metropolitan State Hospital and the Concord prison.
Accusations: In 2002, Curran had to step down from his parish in Hudson because of accusations that he had raped an inmate who himself was serving time for raping a boy, according to a Boston Globe story. Curran was outspoken about his innocence and was acquitted in 2007.
Status: Case in progress, on administrative leave.
John J. Dewire, born in 1921, was assistant at Saint Benedict Parish from December 1948 to October 1949, and served at 11 other parishes after that, including the East Middlesex Juvenile Court as a chaplain, before retiring in 1991. He died in 1994.
Accusations: Dewire was one of 40 priests named in a 2003 lawsuit filed by 70 alleged victims of sexual abuse, according to a Boston Globe story. The lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mitchell Garabedian, announced earlier this year that he had won a settlement in the case of Dewire and 116 other accused priests.
Status: Died before completion of investigation.
Leo V. Dwyer, born 1904, served as an assistant at Saint Clement Parish mid-career from July to November 1958 before ending his career at a church in Hull in 1978. He died in 1989.
Accusations: In 1993, an accuser claimed Dwyer had repeatedly sexually abused him at Saint Mary of Assumption, in Hull, in the late 1960s, according to a Boston Globe story.
Status: Died before completion of investigation.
Frederick L. Guthrie, born 1936, served as assistant atSaint Benedict Parish, from March 1968 to May 1968, later taking other positions throughout the state and in Washington D.C. before going on health leave in 2001.
Accusations: According to news reports, in 2004 Guthrie pleaded guilty to attempting to solicit a minor over the Internet in the early 2000s.
Status: Guthrie was laicized, or cast out of the clergy, in 2010.
Anthony J. Laurano, born 1924, was assistant at Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish from February 1956 to February 1957, then took five other posts before becoming pastor of Saint Mary in Salem. He was the pastor of Saint Mary in Plymouth for eight years before retiring in 1995. He died in 2007.
Accusations: In 2005, Laurano was indicted on two counts of child rape and he faced additional charges in 2006, according to an archdiocese press release.
Status: Laurano was laicized in 2007 just before dying.
James T. McKeon, born in 1901, was assistant at Patronage of Saint Joseph, mid-career right after a health leave. He ended his career as pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Jamaica Plain from 1960 to 1965, when he died.
Accusations: In 2002, a Boston Herald story quoted a 61-year-old Somerville woman accusing McKeon of abusing her when McKeon was an assistant at Saint Anthony Parish in Allston, right after his stint in Somerville.
Status: Died before completion of investigation.
John E. McLaughlin, born 1936, ended his career as pastor of Saint Benedict Parish, serving there from July 1985 to May 2004, when he was placed on administrative leave.
Accusations: McLaughlin was accused of rubbing the crotch of a man who sought counseling in June 2002, according to Somerville Journal archives. That alleged incident happened after the Globe's investigation into abuse in the church. The congregation rallied behind McLaughlin after he left in 2004.
Status: Case in progress, on administrative leave.
Paul J. Moriarty, born 1922, was assistant at Saint Benedict Parish from July 1951 to March 1953, before becoming a chaplain at Cambridge Hospital and other posts at other institutions. He never became a pastor and died in 1982.
Accusations: Moriarty received one anonymous accusation in 1992, in his personnel file, according to a Boston Globe article.
Status: Died before completion of investigation.
Steven W. Poitras, born in 1966, was parochial vicar at Saint Ann Parish from January 1996 to June 2001, following a nine-month health leave. He was placed on administrative leave from Saint Michael Parish, in Hudson, in November 2006.
Accusations: Poitras was placed on leave following accusations that he had sexually abused a child in 1994, when he was a parochial vicar at Saint Michael Parish in North Andover, shortly before his stop in Somerville.
Status: Case in progress, on administrative leave.
Patrick J. Tague, born in 1937, was an assistant at Saint Benedict Parish from September 1965 to October 1965 in the midst of a six year career in the clergy. He took a leave of absence in 1969.
Accusations: After leaving the cloth, Tague became a staffer at Hyde Park House, where he allegedly told boys at the facility that they would receive shorter sentences if they performed sex acts on him, according to a Boston Globe article. Tague was also convicted of stealing from the group-home, according to the article.
Status: Tague was dismissed in 2006.
Joseph P. Veneto, born 1918, was assistant at Saint Ann Parish from September 1963 to January 1970, and went from there to become pastor at churches in Malden and Revere. He died in 1998.
Accusations: Veneto was one of the 116 priests whom plaintiff's lawyer Mitchell Garabedian identified earlier this year as having settled charges of sexual abuse.
Status: Died before completion of investigation.
Robert A. Ward, born in 1946, was parochial vicar at Saint Catherine of Genoa Parish from June 1996 to June 1999, and then ended his career in the priesthood in 2002.
Accusations: According to the Globe's Spotlight Team, church higher-ups knew as early as 1995 that Ward abused cocaine. In 1999, he admitted to "extensive" downloading of child pornography, according to the Globe article. A man also accused Ward of molesting him in the late 1970s when he was an associate pastor at Our Lady of Presentation Parish in Brighton.
Status: Ward was laicized in 2004.
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