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Assignment Record– Rev. Richard J. Barry, O.M.I.
Summary of Case: A priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (Missionary Oblates) ordained in 1978, Barry worked in the archdioceses of Boston MA and Washington DC, as well as the dioceses of Harrisburg PA and Grand Rapids MI. In 2002 an accusation emerged that Barry raped and assaulted a youth at a Tewksbury MA parish, where he was assigned in the late 1970s-early 1980s. Barry's accuser said the abuse occurred over a three-year period, and started when he went to Barry for counseling as a 16 or 17-year-old boy. The abuse allegedly occurred at the parish, at a cabin in NH and in the boy's bedroom. Barry was transferred in 1981 to Dallastown PA. His name was included in the March 2003 NH Attorney General's report on abusive priests. Barry is said to have been defrocked sometime before 2002.
Ordained: 1978
| Start |
Stop |
Assignment |
Town/Accusations |
State |
Position |
Notes |
1978
Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983). |
1981 |
St. William's |
Tewksbury
• Barry was accused in 2002 of having sexually abused a 16 or 17- year-old boy at St. William's, in the boy's bedroom, and in a New Hampshire cabin. The boy is said to have gone to Barry for counseling, and the abuse allegedly occurred over a three-year period. |
MA |
3/3 |
|
1981
Harrisburg bishop was Joseph Thomas Daley (1971-1983). |
1983 |
St. Joseph's |
Dallastown |
PA |
3/3
In residence |
St. Joseph's had a school with 204 students. |
1983
Washington archbishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1980-2000). |
1984 |
Oblate College |
Washington |
DC |
|
|
1984
Harrisburg bishop was William Henry Keeler (1983-1989). |
1986 |
St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque |
Harrisburg |
PA |
3/3 |
Parish had a school with 233-235 students. |
1986
Grand Rapids bishop was Joseph Matthew Breitenbeck (1969-1989). |
1988 |
Immaculate Heart of Mary |
Grand Rapids |
MI |
2/3 |
Parish had a school with 439-437 students. |
| 1988 |
1989 |
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Provincial Residence |
Washington |
DC |
|
|
| 1989 |
1991 |
|
|
|
|
Barry is not indexed in the 1990 or 1991 Directories. |
| 1991 |
1992 |
Oblate College |
Washington |
DC |
|
The 1992 Directory is the last in which Barry's name appears.
Barry was defrocked by the time of the 2002 complaint. |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York:
Kenedy & Sons, 1979-1992).
• Letters to Cambridge DA and to Cardinal Law, Barry personnel file, February-March, 2002
• Newly Released Files Identify More Alleged Abusive Priests, By Robin Washington and Marie Szaniszlo,, Boston Herald, December 17, 2002
• AG's Report Names 35 NH Priests, Union Leader [Manchester NH], March 4, 2003
• The Missing Names from Cardinal O'Malley's List of Accused Clerics, Boston Globe, November 20, 2011
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 &
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 was last updated August 30, 2015.
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