Assignment Record – Rev. H. Cornell Bradley, s.j.

Summary of Case: A Maryland Province Jesuit ordained in 1969, Bradley was first removed from ministry in 1993 after accusations surfaced that he had engaged in "sexual misconduct" with three people, including two 15 year-old boys and a woman. He was sent to treatment and returned to ministry in 1995. In 2006 Bradley was again accused, this time of sexual misconduct with an adult male during the early 1980s. As a result of this and four other credible allegations involving minors and adults over the course of three decades, he was again removed from ministry. Subsequently five more people came forward, several with reports that Bradley had engaged in sexual misconduct with minors in the 1960s and '70s at Gonzaga College High School, where he spent much of his career pre and post-ordination. Others complained that he had made inappropriate sexual comments involving a student and staff member at St. Joseph's University, where he worked in the late 1990s and until his removal in 2006. In addition to his time in Washington DC, Bradley's career took him to India, Chile, Baltimore MD, Pennsylvania and North Carolina. In 2007 Bradley was said to be living under supervision in a Jesuit community on the East Coast.

Ordained: 1969

1962

Washington D.C. archbishop was Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle (1947-1973).

Washington

• Bradley was accused in 2007 of sexual misconduct with minors during this time at Gonzaga.

1970

O'Boyle was succeeded by William Wakefield Baum (1973-1980).

6/6, 7/7, 8/8

In residence.

Washington

• Bradley was accused in 2006 of sexual misconduct involving a minor at Gonzaga High in 1973. Bradlety's superiors said he was "unable to deny it".

Washington

• Bradley was was accused in 1993 of the improper sexual contact of two 15 year-old boys at Gonzaga during this time period.

1979

Baltimore archbishop was William Donald Borders (1974-1989).

Baltimore

• Bradley was removed from ministry in January 2006 after being credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a man in Baltimore in the early 1980s.

1989

Charlotte bishop was John Francis Donoghue (1984-1993).

1993

Donogue was replaced by William George Curlin (1994-2002).

Charlotte

• Bradley was the subject of an accusation in 1993 which was deemed "credible" and "substantiated", of a long term, abusive sexual relationship with an adult woman.

1995

Philadelphia archbishop was Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1987-2003).

Philadelphia

• Bradley was accused in 2007 of having made inappropriate sexual comments involving a student and a staff member at St. Joseph's.

2006

Altoona-Johnstown bishop was Joseph Victor Adamec (1987-2011).

Bradley is not indexed beyond the 2007 Directory.

Bradley was removed from active ministry by the Jesuits in January 2006, after an investigation confimed that he engaged in sexual misconduct with a man in Baltimore in th early 1980s.

He was said in 2007 to be living under supervision in a Jesuit Community on the Eastern Seaboard.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1970-2007)

• H. Cornell Bradley. S.J., sscm.org via zoominfo.com
• Former St. Joe's Priest Is Focus of Sex Allegations, The Rev. H. Cornell Bradley, Who Quit Last Year, Is Accused of Misconduct, By Michael Matza, Philadelphia Inquirer, January 31, 2007
• Ex-St. Joe's Priest Accused of Sexual Misconduct, KYW, January 31, 2007
• Former Gonzaga Teacher Accused of Misconduct, WJLA [Washington], February 5, 2007
• Gonzaga Priest Accused of Sexual Misconduct with Minors, Church Searches for Potential Victims, NBC 4 [Washington DC], February 5, 2007
• Jesuits Seek to Contact Those Priest Might Have Abused, By Liz Kay, Baltimore Sun, February 7, 2007
• Jesuits Seek Sex Abuse Victims of Former Priest, By Ron Cassie, Baltimore Sun, February 8, 2007
• Update: Ex-Gonzaga Priest Removed from Ministry Faces 5 More Sexual Misconduct Complaints, By Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post [Maryland], March 18, 2007
• Jesuit Ousted 13 Years after Sex Allegations, By Ron Cassie, The Examiner, April 13, 2007

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 Bradley'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 April 29, 2013.