Assignment Record– Rev. Stanislaus A. Bur

Summary of Case: Stanislaus Bur was ordained for the Grand Rapids MI diocese in 1950. He assisted at several Grand Rapids diocesan parishes, transferring to the Saginaw diocese in 1971 when his then-parish became part of that diocese. He retired in 1985, per the Official Catholic Directory. Media reports indicate Bur was forced from active ministry in the early 1990s after a man reported to the Grand Rapids diocese that Bur sexually abused him in 1958 when he was a little boy and an altar server in Ionia. The diocese deemed the accusation credible and paid for the man's therapy for several years. Bur stated in 2002 that he "may have touched boys' genitals" to teach them about their bodies, but said he did not abuse them. In March 2008 there were new allegations against Bur of past sexual abuse. Bur died in February 2009.

Ordained: 1950
Died: February 1, 2009

1950

Grand Rapids bishop was Francis Joseph Haas (1943-1953).

Grand Rapids

St. Thomas' had a school with 252-273 students.

1952

1953

Haas was succeeded by Allen James Babcock (1954-1969).

Ionia

• A man told the Grand Rapids diocese in the 1990s that Bur sexually abused him when he was a student and altar server at SS Peter and Paul. The man remembered Bur watching boys shower at the parish school after basketball practice and masturbating while he heard their confessions in his parked car after driving him and other boys to away games. Further, he said Bur raped him while he was sleeping one morning in January 1958. (He said Bur was visiting and his mother allowed the priest to wake him up.) The man said he woke up, yelled at the priest to get out and, while his brother and sister watched, chased him out of the house. Bur's accuser said he later discovered several other victims of Bur's abuse from his school/parish, both upperclassmen and younger.

1960

1960

Joseph Matthew Breitenbeck followed Babcock as Grand Rapids bishop (1969-1989).

1970

Parish became part of the Saginaw diocese in 1971. Saginaw bishop was Francis Frederick Reh (1968-1980).

1974

Reh was succeeded by Kenneth Edward Untener (1980-2004).

The Grand Rapids diocese found credible the accusations by a man who reported childhood sex abuse by Bur in Iona MI. The diocese reportedly tracked Bur to the Saginaw diocese and he was removed from active ministry. The diocese paid for the man's therapy from 1992-2001.

Bur was honored by the Saginaw diocese in 2000 for 50 years of ministry. He told a reporter in 2002 that he may have touched boys' genitals to teach them about their bodies, but he denied abusing them.

2003

Untener was followed as Saginaw bishop by Robert James Carlson (2004-2009).

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1951-2003)

• Stories of Broken Victims Lie behind Catholic Summit, By Jim Schaefer and Alexa Capeloto, Detroit Free Press, April 24, 2002
• Could Have Prosecuted Priests, Forsyth Says, Grand Rapids Press, May 17, 2002
• Former Area Priest Faces New Abuse Allegation, Muskegon Chronicle, March 7, 2008
• More Allegations of Priest Abuse Surface, WoodTV, March 7, 2008
• Abuse Prevention Program Requires Commitment, By Charles Honey, Grand Rapids Press, March 8, 2008

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 Bur'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 May 2, 2018.