Rev. Felix R. Colosimo – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Ordained for the Syracuse diocese in 1965, Felix R. Colosimo worked as an assistant priest in Rome, Syracuse, Norwich and Utica, New York, before being named pastor in a Holland Patent parish in 1981. That pastorship was followed in 1987 by another in Utica and, in 1998, he was assigned as pastor to a parish in New Hartford.

In December 2013 a man reported to the diocese that Colosimo had sexually abused him beginning when the man was four years-old in the late 1970s, and continuing until the man was in his mid-teens. He said Colosimo threatened to physically harm him if he told. The diocese deemed the allegations 'credible,' and Colosimo was quietly removed from active ministry in July 2014. His accuser filed a lawsuit in June 2017 in Connecticut, having been unable to do so in New York due to the statute of limitations. According to the lawsuit, Colosimo abused the boy in Connecticut during trips there, when the boy was ages 12-15. Further, Colosimo allegedly abused him with another boy in a Connecticut hotel in the fall of 1987, which Colosimo videotaped. The alleged victim said he provided the diocese with a tape of the two boys shirtless in a hotel room. The other boy reportedly died by suicide years later. Colosimo is said to also have sexually abused his accuser during trips throughout the years to Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

Colosimo denied the allegations. He died October 26, 2017. 

Ordained: 1965
Died: October 26, 2017

1965

Diocese of Syracuse

Bishop was Walter Andrew Foery (1937-1970).

1968

Foery was succeeded by David Frederick Cunningham (1970-1976).

1976

Cunningham was replaced as Syracuse bishop by Francis James Harrison (1976-1987).

Utica

• A man reported to the diocese in December 2013 that Colosimo sexually abused him throughout his childhood, beginning when the man was age 4 in 1978 or 1979 and attending St. Peter's with his family. The man said Colosimo threatened to physically harm him if he told.

2/3, 2/4

Rev. Robert Ours was in residence here 1980-81.

St. Peter's had a school with 305-274 students.

Ours was convicted in 2014 on child porn charges; Colosimo's accuser in 2017 also accused Ours of sexually abusing him as a boy when Ours was a deacon. Ours was ordained to the priesthood in 1980.

Holland Patent

• The man who reported abuse by Colosimo beginning at age 4 at St. Peter's said the abuse continued into Colosimo's assignment at St. Leo's, much of it occurring in St. Leo's rectory.

1987

Joseph Thomas O'Keefe succeeded Harrison as Syracuse bishop (1987-1995), followed by James Michael Moynihan (1995-2009).

Utica

• Colosimo's accuser filed a lawsuit in CT in June 2017, claiming the priest sexually abused him in the state when the man was 12- to 15 years-old, 1987 through 1990. The suit was filed in CT because some of the abuse was said to have occurred during trips there, and the statute of limitations for abuse in NY had expired. Per the lawsuit, another boy was sexually abused with him at a hotel in CT in the fall of 1987. Colosimo also allegedly abused his accuser on trips to PA, NJ and MA.

Colosimo denied the allegations against him.

Colosimo is said to have videotaped his sexual abuse of his accuser and the other boy. The man said that in 2014 he gave the diocese a videotape of himself and the other boy sitting shirtless in a hotel room.

The other boy alleged to have been abused with Colosimo's accuser reportedly has since died by  suicide.

1998

Moynihan was replaced as Syracuse bishop by Robert Joseph Cunningham (2009-).

Our Lady of the Rosary had a Catechesis program with 196-360 students.

Colosimo is not indexed beyond the 2014 Directory.

In July 2014 the diocese deemed the allegations against Colosimo to be credible, and he was quietly removed from ministry.

Colosimo died October 26, 2017. 

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, 1966-2014).

• SYRACUSE Diocese, Priest Sued over Child-molesting Claims from 30 Years Ago, By John O'Brien, Syracuse com June 2, 2017
• Lawsuit accused former Utica Priest of child molestation, By Greg Mason, Observer-Dispatch, June 3, 2017
• Syracuse Diocese, Former Priest Facing Lawsuit over Sexual Abuse Claimes, By Justine Marschner, CNY Centra,l June 5, 2017
• Law Firm of Estey and Bomberger Files Clergy Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Against the Diocese of Syracuse, PRNewswire, June 7, 2017


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 Colosimo'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 March 29, 2021.