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| 37 Clergy Named As Accused Sex Abusers by Jackson Diocese. Who Are They?
By Sarah Fowler
Mississippi Clarion Ledger
March 19, 2019
https://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2019/03/19/catholic-church-abuse-priests-accused-child-sex-abuse-names-released/2725971002/
From the retired superintendent of Catholic education in Mississippi to a priest on the lam in Peru, more than three dozen clergy have been named as potential abusers.
According to a list released by Jackson Diocese officials Tuesday, March 19, there have been 35 priests and two religious brothers accused of assault with Mississippi ties. The allegations date back decades, with the most recent allegations coming in the early 2000s.
The diocese has previously stated they turned over a list of accusations and the accused to the state attorney general in 2002. However, according to Margaret Ann Morgan, spokesperson for Attorney General Jim Hood, the AG's office "is not aware and could not locate any documents from 2002."
In a press release provided Tuesday, the diocese stated it "presented all of its cases to the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office in 2002 and again in 2019 in an effort to ensure transparency and a spirit of cooperation."
(Story continues after photo gallery.)
The names of the clergy and previous assignments are listed below.
Diocesan priests
Thomas M. Boyce
St. Mary, Batesville
St. Jude, Pearl
All Saints, Belzoni
St. Michael, Vicksburg
St. Peter, Jackson
Chaplain, U.S. Army
St. Alphonsus, Ocean Springs
Dates of alleged abuse: 1972-1973 – Jackson
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: Removed 2002; deceased 2002.
Boyce was a diocesan priest. He is accused of abusing a 14-year-old girl in 1973 when he was at St. Peter in Jackson. The abuse continued as the victim aged, until 1982.
The victim filed a lawsuit in 2003 but it was dismissed, due to the statute of limitations. The Court of Appeals dismissed her appeal, saying she was "aware of abuse when it was allegedly committed ... she kept the abuse to herself for fear of risking her mother's welfare, and because she blamed herself for what was happening to her," according to a 2006 article from the Associated Press. The victim also said she was abused by a second priest, George Broussard.
George Broussard
St. Clare, Waveland
St. Peter Cathedral, Jackson
Diocesan chancellor
Catholic University of America
St. John, Gulfport
Dates of alleged abuse: 1969-1974 – multiple locations
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: Left ministry, 1975; deceased 2007.
Broussard is accused of abusing eight victims. A diocesan priest, Broussard is accused of abusing three brothers, four John Does, aged two to five, and a girl. The female victim is the same victim in the Boyce incident. She alleged the abuse took place from 1969 to 1974. Broussard requested and was granted leave in 1975. His facilities were removed in 2003. He died in 2007.
Paul Victor Canonici
President, St. Joseph High School, Jackson
St. Joseph Jr./ Sr. High School Project, Jackson
St. Francis of Assisi, Madison
Diocesan Superintendent of Education, Jackson
St. Joseph, Starkville
St. Joseph, Gluckstadt
Principal, St. Joseph High School, Jackson
Assistant Principal, St. Joseph High School, Jackson
Date of alleged abuse: 1983 – Madison area
Date abuse was reported: 1997
Current status: Retired 1998; removed from ministry, 2002.
A diocesan priest, Canonici is the former superintendent of Catholic education in Mississippi. He had not been previously identified by the diocese. He is currently retired.
In speaking with the Clarion Ledger, Canonici said, "I'm not aware that I have abused, that I have done anything that was sexually abusive to people."
Nelius Downing
Sacred Heart, Canton
St. Mary Cathedral/Basilica, Natchez
Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
St. Paul, Vicksburg
St. Elizabeth, Clarksdale
St. Michael, Biloxi
Date of alleged abuse: 1939 – Meridian
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: Deceased prior to accusation.
Bernard Christopher Haddican
Our Lady of Victories, Cleveland
St. Elizabeth, Clarksdale
St. Michael, Vicksburg
St. Mary, Shelby
St. John, Oxford
St. Joseph, Greenville
St. Richard, Jackson
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hattiesburg
Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
St. Mary Cathedral, Natchez
Date of alleged abuse: 1964-84, multiple locations
Dates abuse was reported: 1998, 2002
Current status: Retired 1991; deceased 1996.
Haddican was a diocesan priest who retired in 1991. One victim claims he was abused by Haddican between 75-100 times when he was a child. The church settled with that victim for $44,000. Haddican died in 2002.
Kenneth Harris
Excardinated Steubenville
On leave
St. Joseph, Greenville
St. James (Our Lady of Sorrow), Leland
St. Bernadine, San Bernadino, California
Absent on leave
St. Mary Cathedral, unknown
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hattiesburg
St. Paul, Vicksburg
St. Mary Cathedral/Basilica, Natchez
St. Teresa of Avila, Chatawa
Dates of alleged abuse: 1951 – Steubenville, Ohio
Dates abuse was reported: 1998, 2003
Current Status: Excardinated to Steubenville Diocese 1955; Deceased in 1964, prior to accusation 1964
Harris was listed on a list of "credibly accused" priests released by the Diocese of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, in 2018.
Michael H. Irwin
Cathedral H/S Natchez
St. Mary Cathedral/Basilica, Natchez
St. Aloysius H/S, Vicksburg
St. Paul, Vicksburg
Date of alleged abuse: 1975 – Vicksburg
Date abuse was reported: 2005
Current status: Deceased prior to accusation in 1993
A diocesan priest, Irwin died prior to the accusation against him. The details of the claim were not made know.
James Elmer Kircher
St. Benedict the Moor, Indianola
Sacred Heart, Canton
St. Mary, Shelby
St. Therese, Jackson
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Lumberton (Seneca)
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Greenwood
St. Paul, Vicksburg
Dates of alleged abuse: 1978-82, multiple locations
Date abuse was reported: 1986/2002
Current status: Removed from ministry, 1987; deceased 2007.
A diocesan priest, Kircher faced multiple accusations. In 2002, four plaintiffs, identified as John Doe 6-John Doe 9, sued the diocese. In the suit, the four claimed they were assaulted by Kircher when they were children in the 1970s. Kircher was suspended from the ministry in 1987 and laicized in 1998.
John Leonard
St. Paul, Vicksburg
St. Francis, Shaw
St. Mary, Batesville
St. John, Sardis
Our Lady of Victories, Cleveland
All Saints, Belzoni
St. Mary, Yazoo City
Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
Date of alleged abuse: 1952-56 – Bay St. Louis
Date abuse was reported: 2004
Current status: Deceased, 2003.
Paul Madden
Incardinated, Peru
Society of St. James, Peru
St. John, Crystal Springs
OLPH, Saltillo, Mexico
St. Mary Cathedral/Basilica, Natchez
Holy Family, Jackson
St. Alphonsus, Ocean Springs
Date of alleged abuse: 1973 – Ireland
Date abuse was reported: 1993
Current status: Retired; incardinated in diocese in Peru.
A diocesan priest and member of St. James Society, Madden first began working in the Jackson diocese in 1970, according to a 2015 statement from the church. In 1993, the diocese learned of an accusation from an alleged assault that occurred in the 1970s.
According to the 2015 statement, in February 2002, Madden resigned from the Society of St. James and began working in the Diocese of Chimpote, Peru. The Diocese of Jackson informed the bishop of Chimpote of the reported abuse. In July 2002, pursuant to the mandates of the “Dallas Charter” and the Diocese of Jackson’s Protection of Children policies, the Diocese suspended the faculties of Madden. After the suspension, Madden sought incardination from the bishop of Chimpote Diocese. In response to the Chimpote’s inquiries, the Diocese of Jackson again informed the bishop of Chimpote of the alleged abuse, as well as actions taken by the Diocese of Jackson, namely the suspension of his faculties.
A copy of the Dallas Charter in Spanish was sent to the bishop of Chimpote. In April 2004, the bishop of Chimbote incardinated Madden into the Diocese of Chimpote.
Robert Alfred Olivier
St. Joseph, Gluckstadt
Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Jackson
St. Therese, Jackson
St. Joseph, Greenville
Sacred Heart of Jesus, Hattiesburg
Dates of alleged abuse: 1957-59 – Hattiesburg
Date abuse was reported: 2006
Current status: Removed from ministry, 2006.
A diocesan priest, Olivier was accused of having "inappropriate sexual contact, but not intercourse, with a teenage parishioner" in the 1950s, according to a 2007 statement from the diocese. Olivier admitted to the contact, the diocese previously stated, which lasted over a four-year period.
Francis Reid
St. Paul, Vicksburg
St. Louis, Biloxi
St. James (Our Lady of Sorrow), Leland
St. Jude, Pearl
St Joseph, Greenville
Dates of alleged abuse:1963-65 – Leland
Date abuse was reported: 2014
Current status: Left ministry in 1970s; deceased 1993.
A diocesan priest, Reid died before the accusation against him became public.
Kevin Reid
Holy Trinity, Columbia
Our Lady of Fatima, Biloxi
Immaculate Heart of Mary, Greenwood
Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
Dates of alleged abuse:1961-66, Bay St. Louis
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: Left ministry in 1976; deceased.
Ivan Siekman
Sacred Heart, Biloxi
Dates of alleged abuse: 1972-73 – Bay St. Louis
Date abuse was reported: 2003
Current status: Left ministry, 1990; faculties removed, 2003.
Jack Smith
St. Michael, Vicksburg
Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
St. Joseph, Starkville
St. Alphonus, Ocean Springs
Dates of alleged abuse: 1972-1980, multiple sites
Date abuse was reported: 2003
Current status: Deceased prior to accusations.
James Bernard Taylor
St. Peter, Bassfield
Immaculate Conception, Laurel
St. Michael, Forest
St. Joseph, Woodville
St. Joseph, Greenville
St. Therese, Jackson
St. Paul, Vicksburg
Our Lady of the Gulf, Bay St. Louis
St. Mary, Yazoo City
Nativity of the BVM, Biloxi
St. Mary, Jackson
A Biloxi diocesan priest, Taylor retired in 1998, prior to the accusation against him.
Date of alleged abuse: 1962 – Woodville
Date abuse was reported: 1998
Current status: Retired prior to accusation; deceased.
Thomas Edward Williams
Our Lady of Fatima, Biloxi
Domestic Prelate
St. John, Gulfport
St. Francis of Assisi, Brookhaven
St. Paul, Pass Christian
St. Mary Cathedral, unknown
St. Paul, Vicksburg
St. Mary Cathedral, Natchez
Date of alleged abuse: 1958 – Gulfport
Dates abuse was reported: 2002, 2012
Current status: Deceased, 1983.
Extern priests
Daniel J. O'Hanlon, Diocese of Springfield, Illinois
St. Michael, Biloxi
St. Charles Borromeo, Picayune
St. Michael, Biloxi
St. Mary Cathedral/Baslica, Natchez
Dates of alleged abuse: 1966-67 – Biloxi
Date abuse was reported: 1993, 2002
Current status: Deceased, 1969.
Permanent deacons
Richard Caldwell
St Mary, Vicksburg
A permanent deacon, Richard "Rick" Caldwell was accused of having "inappropriate sexual contact" with an underage girl in the 1980s, before he was a deacon, according to a statement on the diocese's website. The diocese first learned of the incident in 2018, and after an investigation, concluded the claims were credible, the statement read. He was removed from the ministry in 2018.
Date of alleged abuse: 1981 – Vicksburg
Date abuse was reported: 2018
Current status: removed from ministry, 2018.
Religious order members accused in Diocese of Jackson
Cuthbert Bender, Order of St. Benedict
Annunciation, Columbus
St. James, Tupelo
St. Francis, Aberdeen
St. Teresa, Chatawa
Date(s) of alleged abuse: late 1950s – Aberdeen area
Date abuse was reported: 2008
Current status: Deceased in 1968.
Tim Crowley, Congregation of the Holy Spirit
St. Paul, Vicksburg
St. Teresa, Chatawa
Date of alleged abuse: 1968 – Chatawa
Date abuse was reported: 2018
Current status: Deceased prior to accusation.
Thomas Dullard, Order of St. Augustine
Christ the King, Jackson
St. Joseph School, Jackson
Date of alleged abuse: 1973 – Jackson
Date abuse was reported: 1973
Current status: removed from ministry 1974; deceased.
Joseph Guidry, Society of the Divine Word
Sacred Heart, Greenville
St. Gabriel, Mound Bayou
Date of alleged abuse: 1980 – Greenville
Date abuse was reported: 2004
Current status: removed from ministry 2004
Patrick Lee, Society of the Divine Word
St. Mary, Vicksburg
Immaculate Conception, Clarksdale
Sacred Heart, Greenville
Date of alleged abuse: 1988 – Vicksburg
Date abuse was reported: 1988
Current status: removed from ministry, 1988
Vincent MacDonald, Priests of the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart, Walls
Dates of alleged abuse: Early 1970s – Walls
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: removed from ministry, 2002; deceased 2017.
Peter Richardson, Glenmary
St. Francis, Aberdeen
Dates of alleged abuse: 1987-90 – Aberdeen
Date abuse was reported: 2014
Current status: removed from ministry, 2010; deceased, 2014
Gerald Swift, Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
Immaculate Conception, Camden
Annunciation, Kiln
Sacred Heart, Louisville
Date of alleged abuse: 1978 – Kosciusko
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: Deceased, 2007
Vance Thorne, Society of the Divine Word
Holy Ghost, Jackson
St. Mary, Vicksburg
Date of alleged abuse: 1986
Date abuse was reported: 1986
Current status: Removed from diocesan ministry 1987; deceased 2004.
Brother Don Lucas, Order of Friars Minor
St. Francis, Greenwood
Date(s) of alleged abuse: 1998 – Greenwood
Date(s) abuse was reported: 2018
Current status: Deceased.
Brother Paul West, Order of Friars Minor
St. Francis, Greenwood
West is accused of assaulting a minor while he served at St. Francis of Assisi in Greenwood. The allegation has been considered and found to be credible, according to a 2018 statement released by the Jackson diocese. West served as a Brother at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Greenwood, from June 1993 to November 1998, the statement said.
Dates of alleged abuse: 1993-98 – Greenwood
Dates abuse was reported: 1998, 2018
Current status: Removed from ministry; left the religious life
Religious Order members accused elsewhere who served in Diocese of Jackson
Ernest Hill, Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
Immaculate Conception, Camden
Annunciation, Kiln
Date of alleged abuse:1992 – Indiana
Date abuse was reported: 1994
Current status: Suspended 1994; deceased 2003
Aedan Manning, Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity
St. John, Crystal Springs
St. Richard, Jackson
Diocesan Tribunal, Judicial Vicar
Diocesan Director of Permanent Diaconate
Date of alleged abuse: 1967 – New Jersey
Date abuse was reported: 1991
Current status: Retired 2002; deceased 2008
Robert Poandl, Glenmary
St. Francis, Aberdeen
Date of alleged abuse: 1991 – West Virginia
Date abuse was reported: 2010
Current status: Removed from ministry 2010; deceased, 2019.
James Stein, Premonstratensians (Norbertines)
St, Joseph School, Madison
St. Moses the Black Priory, Raymond
Date of alleged abuse: 1988
Date abuse was reported: 2003
Current status: Removed from ministry, 2003.
In 1991, while living in Wisconsin, Stein pleaded guilty to fourth-degree misdemeanor sexual assault. According to a 2004 report by the Wisconsin Green Bay Press Gazette, Stein fondled a college student in a pool. Stein was suspended by the church, the report said, and ordered to two years of inpatient therapy.
A religious priest, Stein was employed as a teacher at St. Joseph Catholic School in Madison during the 2001-2002 school year. St. Joe officials were not aware of Stein's criminal record when he was hired, according to a previous statement issued by the diocese. When they learned of the charge, Stein was fired.
In 2004, Stein was convicted of molesting a then 14-year-old boy in 1988, according to the Press Gazette. Stein was given 10 years' probation.
Vincent Watches, Society of the Divine Word
Holy Ghost, Jackson
Date of alleged abuse: N/A – See Catholic Diocese of Austin’s list of accused clergy
Date abuse was reported: N/A
Current status: Deceased, 1995.
Extern priests accused elsewhere who served in the Diocese of Jackson
Arnulfo Arandia – Ecuador
Diocesan Office of Hispanic Ministry
Date of alleged abuse: 1988 – Dade County, Florida
Date abuse was reported: 2002
Current status: Faculties removed, 2002.
William Wiebler – Diocese of Davenport, Iowa
Worked for Sacred Heart League, Walls
Dates of alleged abuse: 1970s and 1980s – Iowa
Date abuse was reported: 2006
Current status: Deceased, 2006.
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