Rev. Peter J. Kihm – Assignment History

Rev. Peter J. Kihm – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Peter Kihm was ordained in 1981 for the Archdiocese of New York. He assisted in parishes in Brooklyn, Fishkill, Ossining and Nyak then, beginning in 1999, was lead priest in Poughkeepsie, Rhinebeck and Rhinecliff. From 1987-1992 he was an Our Lady of Lourdes High School faculty member in Poughkeepsie.

In January 2015 the archdiocese suspended Kihm, saying they had had "concerns" for several months after receiving an allegation that the priest had "committed acts of sexual abuse" against a male minor approximately 30 years previously. The allegation was found to be credible by both the archdiocese and law enforcement. At least one other person subsequently came forward alleging the same. Kihm could not be prosecuted due to New York's statute of limitations.

The archdiocese announced in March 2016 that Kihm had requested and was granted laicization, and that he had moved away from New York state.

Ordained: 1981
Laicized: 2016

Start	Stop	Parish & Other Assignments	Town & Allegation	State	Position	Notes
1981 Archdiocese of New York Archbishop was Terence James Cooke (1968-1983), followed by John Joseph O'Connor (1984-2000).	1984	St. Mary Star of the Sea	New York	NY	2/2	St. Mary Star of the Sea had a school with 252-220 students.
1984	1987	St. Mary's	Fishkill • In January 2015 the archdiocese announced that it had received a credible allegation that Kihm "committed acts of sexual abuse of a minor" male about 30 years previously. • In March 2016 the archdiocese stated that "more than one" person had come forward with allegations of abuse by Kihm 30 years previously.	NY	2/2	St. Mary's had a school with 245 students. Kihm denied the allegations.
1987	1992	Our Lady of Lourdes High School	Poughkeepsie	NY	faculty member	Our Lady of Lourdes High School had 640-450 students.
1992	1993					Kihm is not indexed in the 1993 Directory, nor is he listed in the New York pages as at his previous or next assignments.
1993	1996	St. Ann's	Ossining	NY	2/2, 2/3	St. Ann's had a school with 350-359 students, and a CCD program with 360 students.
1996	1999	St. Ann's	Nyak	NY	3/4, 2/4	St. Ann's had a school with 70-99 students, and a CCD program with 184-204 students.
1999 O'Connor was succeeded as New York archbishop by Edward Michael Egan (2000-2009).	2007	St. John the Baptist	Poughkeepsie	NY	1/1 Administrator
2013 Timothy Michael Dolan replaced Egan as New York archbishop (2009).	Jan. 2015	The Good Shepherd	Rhinebeck	NY	1/2	Good Shepherd had a CCD program with 140-153 students.
2013	Jan. 2015	St. Joseph's	Rhinecliff	NY	1/2	St. Joseph's was a mission of Good Shepherd in Rhinebeck.
1999	Jan. 2015	Our Lady of Mt. Carmel	Poughkeepsie	NY	1/1, 1/3, 1/4, 1/2	Our Lady of Mt. Carmel had a school with 297-160 until 2007, and a CCD program with 380-132 students. Kihm is not indexed beyond the 2015 Directory. The archdiocese stated that it had had "concerns" for several months before his suspension about possible past sexual abuse by Kihm. The allegations were found to be credible by both the archdiocese and law enforcement. Prosecution was not possible due to New York's statute of limitations.
Jan. 2015	March 2016	Suspended				Kihm requested laicization, which was granted as announced in March 2016. He was said to have moved away from the state of New York.

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.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1982-2015).

• Rhinebeck priest suspended after allegation of sexual abuse, By Diane Pineiro-Zucker, Daily Freeman, January 28, 2015
• Dutchess priest suspended in decades-old sexual abuse allegation, By Nina Schutzman, Poughkeepsie Journal, January 28, 2015
• Sex abuse investigation of pastor at Rhinebeck church continuing, By Paula Ann Freeman, Daily Freeman, March 14, 2015
• Dutchess Priest Resigns after Sex-abuse Probe, By Nina Schutzman, Poughkeepsie Journal, March 21, 2016
• Rhinebeck priest removed from ministry in wake of sexual abuse allegations, By Ariél Zangla, Daily Freeman, March 22, 2016
• NY Archdiocese Removes Hudson Valley Priest, Washington Times, March 23, 2016

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 Kihm's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations 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 6, 2017.