Rev. John J. Campbell, s.j.- Assignment Record

Rev. John J. "Jack" Campbell, s.j.

Summary of Case: A Jesuit priest of the Missouri Province, ordained in 1950, Campbell has been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of at least 13 people. Five of those who have come forward were former students at St. Louis University High School, where Campbell taught and resided for many years. One of them disclosed that Campbell sexually abused him during counseling sessions, saying that the sexual activity would cure the boy of his insecurities. When allegations against Campbell emerged in 1987, he was barred from contact with children. When additional allegations surfaced the following year, Campbell was removed from public ministry in St. Louis and sent to live at Regis College in Denver. In 1993 he was barred from all public ministry, according to the Jesuits. Campbell died in April 2009.

Ordained: 1950
Died: April 10, 2009

Start	Stop	Parish/Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1950 Kansas City archbishop was George Joseph Donelley (1946-1950), followed by Edward Joseph Hunkeler (1951-1969).	1951	St. Mary's College	Kansas City	KS
1951 Springfield bishop was William Aloysius O'Connor (1948-1975).	1952	St. Joseph's Hall	Decatur	IL
1952 St. Louis archbishop was Joseph Elmer Ritter (1946-1967).	1962	St. Louis University High School	St. Louis	MO		St. Louis Univ. High School had 794-875 students, all male.
1968 Ritter was succeeded by John Joseph Carberry (1968-1979).	1972	St. Louis University High School	• By Oct. 2003, at least five former SLU High students had come forward with credible allegations of sexual abuse by Campbell.	MO	In residence.	Jesuit officials said in 2003 that Campbell was living but not teaching at SLU High during these years. He may have been residing at SLU High in previous and subsequent years as well.
1962	1965	The Queen's Work	St. Louis	MO		This was a Jesuit magazine. The 1963-1965 Directories index Campbell twice, as both at The Queen's Work and St. Louis Univ. High. He is not, however, listed in the archdiocesan pages as at the high school.
1965	1970	National Sodality Service Center	St. Louis	MO		This was formerly The Queen's Work.
1970	1976	St. Francis (College) Church	St. Louis • In Oct. 2003 the Missouri Province Jesuits settled with a man who claimed that Campbell sexually abused him during counseling sessions at St. Francis. The man said the abuse started two or three years prior to his 1972 St. Louis Univ. High School graduation, and went on for two or three years after. He said Campbell told him the sexual activity would cure him of his insecurities. The Jesuits acknowledged that this man was the 13th to come forward with credible accusations against Campbell.	MO	3/7, 3/8, 4/10, 3/9	St. Francis Xavier had a school with 220-284 students.
1970	1976	The Jesuit Community at St. Louis University	St. Louis • The victim with whom the Jesuits settled in Oct. 2003 said much of the abuse occurred in an SLU dormitory, where Campbell lived and provided counseling.	MO		St. Louis University said in 2003 that it had no connection with Campbell and that he was never employed there.
1976	1979	St. Louis Jesuit House of Retreats (White House)	St. Louis	MO
1979 Carberry was succeeded by John Lawrence May (1980-1992).	1982	St. Louis University	St. Louis	MO
1982	1987	St. Louis University High School	St. Louis	MO		St. Louis Univ. High had 968-952 students, all male.
1987	1989	St. Louis Jesuit House of Retreats (White House)	St. Louis	MO		Campbell was barred from contact with children in 1987, due to sexual abuse allegations.
1989 Denver archbishop was James Francis Stafford (1986-1996).	1991	Regis College	Denver	CO		Campbell was removed from public ministry in St. Louis and sent to Denver in 1989.
1991 Charles Joseph Chaput, O.F.M. Cap. replaced Stafford (1997-2011).	2004	Xavier Jesuit Center	Denver	CO		Campbell was stripped of all public priestly duties in 1993. Campbell is not indexed beyond the 2004 Directory.
2004	2009					Campbell died April 10, 2009, in St. Louis.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1951-2004)

• Jesuits Pay $185,000 to a Former Student, He, 12 Others Say They Were Molested, By Priest Who Led Retreats Here, By Patricia Rice, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 23, 2003
• Group Asks SLU to Seek out Abuse Victims/ SLU High Graduate Tries to Give Letter to Biondi, By Tim Bryant, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 17, 2003
• Former St. Louis Resident Who Settled Priest Abuse Case Confronts Retired Jesuit, Associated Press, December 20, 2003
• Sex Allegations Follow Ex-Priest to Denver Area
• Man's Abuse Claims Shock Neighbors, By Eric Gorski and Sean Kelly , Denver Post , December 22, 2003
• Accused Priest Doesn't Worry Diocese Retiree Has Not Sought to Work, Officials Say, By Eric Gorski, Denver Post, December 23, 2003
• Elderly Priest Accused of Past Sex Abuse Will Stay in Denver, By Eric Gorski, Denver Post, March 4, 2004
• Seattle Man Sues Spokane's Gonzaga Prep., News Tribune , June 14, 2012

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 Campbell'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 June 17, 2013