Rev. Neil P. Conway

Summary of Case: Conway admitted in 2002 to molesting eight boys during his 22 years as a priest of the Cleveland diocese. He was caught in 1985 and sent for treatment. He was put on total and permanent disability in 1987 and left the priesthood. Accused in 2002 of having sexually abused a six year old boy in 2001.

Ordained: 1963

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1963

Cleveland bishop was Edward Francis Hoban (1945-1966), followed by Clarence George Issenmann (1966-1974)

1967 St. Rose's Cleveland OH

3/3

 

 St. Rose's had a school with 680-701 students.
1967 1968 St. Aloysius Cleveland OH

4/4

In residence.

 

1968

Issenmann was replaced as bishop by James Aloysius Hickey (1974-1980)

1980 St. Henry's

Cleveland

• In 2002 a man claimed to have been sexually abused as a boy by Conway in 1997. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
March 30, 2002)

OH 4/4, 5/5, 3/3, 2/2, 1/1 St. Henry's had a school with 472-327 students.
1969 1976 Secretary to Auxilliary Bishop Cosgrove        

1980

Hickey was followed as bishop by Anthonty Michael Pilla (1980-2006)

1983 St. Timothy's Garfield Heights OH 2/3 St. Timothy's had a school with 278-276 students.
1983 1985 St. Barnabas'

Northfield

• A man accused Conway in a 2000 lawsuit of having sexually abused him in 1984, when the man was an eighth grader and altar boy at St. Barnabas. The abuse had been reported to St. Barnabas, per the man's attorney. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
March 9, 2000)

OH

2/3

 St. Barnabas' had a school with 428-434 students.
1985 1986 St. John the Baptist

Akron

• In 1985 nun discovered a young boy in Conway's bed at St. John the Baptist's. The boy sued the diocese in 2001 after the diocese refused to pay for his counseling. Conway admitted to molesting the boy, but the diocese denied it in court papers. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
March 12, 2002)

 OH 1/2 St. John the Baptist's had a school with 114 students.
1986 1988 Absent on Leave       Conway was removed from St. John's and sent for sexual abuse treatment at St. Luke Institute, which was a psychiatric facility for priests in Silver Spring, Maryland. He admitted to molesting eight boys during his career as a priest. He was placed on total and permanent disability in 1987, and left the priesthood. He worked for the Cuyahoga County Child Support Enforcement Agency from 1988-1996, leaving after he was accused of forging signatures on affidavits. At some point he moved to a farm in Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where neighbors complained about noisy festivals he held there. He was arrested three times, for disorderly conduct, for receiving stolen property, and for allowing his horse to wander off of his property. (Akron Beacon Journal [Ohio]
March 29, 2002)
1988    

Akron/Cleveland

• In 2002 a man who said he'd been sexually abused by Conway as a child in 1977 accused Conway of also molesting the man's 6 year old son at Conway's farm in 2001. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
March 30, 2002)

OH    


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1964-1988)

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 Conway'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 Nov. 30, 2009