Rev. Donald J. Cooper

Rev. Donald J. Cooper – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Donald J. Cooper was ordained for the Diocese of Erie in 1963. He taught his first year at Bradford Christian High School while residing in a Bradford parish, then assisted in Titusville and Erie parishes until 1975, when he was named pastor of St. Charles' in New Bethlehem. In 1984 he was assigned as Administrator to Mt. Calvary in Erie, followed in 1987 by a leave of absence. During 1988-1989 Cooper was an assistant priest at a parish in Dubois, after which was the lone priest until 2002 in Force Elk, followed by the same role simultaneously in Houtzdale and Ramey parishes. Cooper was a member of several diocesan committees and the Presbyteral Council, as well as the board of directors for Christ the King Manor in Dubois. There is a gap in his assignment record 2005-2006. His status was 'retired' thereafter until his death in December 2011.

Cooper's name was included on the Erie diocese's list released April 6, 2018 of priests, lay employees and volunteers accused of sexually abusing minors. The list includes the notation after his name, 'Forbidden to function as a priest.'

Born: January 27, 1936
Ordained: May 23, 1963
Died: December 16, 2011

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Allegations	State	Position	Notes
1963 Diocese of Erie Bishop was John Mark Gannon (1920-1966).	1964	St. Bernard's	Bradford	PA	4/4	St. Bernard's had a school with 280 boys and 277 girls.
1963	1964	Bradford Christian Central High School	Bradford	PA	faculty member	Bradford Christian had 125 boys and 132 girls.
1964 Gannon was succeeded as Erie bishop by John Francis Whealon (1966-1968), followed by Alfred Michael Watson (1969-1982).	1971	St. Titus	Titusville	PA	2/2	St. Titus had a school with 132-72 boys and 132-91 girls.
1971	1975	St. George's	Erie (Woodland Heights)	PA	2/3, 1/4	St. George's had a school with 891-800 students.
1975 Watson was replaced as Erie bishop by Michael Joseph Murphy (1982-1990).	1984	St. Charles'	New Bethlehem	PA	1/1, 1/2 Pastor
1975	1984	St. Nicholas'	Crates	PA		This was a mission of St. Charles' in New Bethlehem.
1975 Diocese of Greensburg Bishop was William Graham Connare (1960-1987).	1984	SS. Cosmas and Damian	Seminole	PA		This was a mission of St. Charles' in New Bethlehem.
Diocese of Erie		Diocesan Budget and Finance Committee	Erie	PA
Diocese of Erie		Diocesan Stewardship Committee	Erie	PA
Diocese of Erie		Diocesan Presbyteral Council	Erie	PA
1984 Diocese of Erie Bishop was Michael Joseph Murphy (1982-1990).	1987	Mount Calvary	Erie	PA	3/3, 1/2 Administrator	Mount Calvary had a school with 163-188 students.
1987	1988	On Leave of Absence
1988	1989	St. Catherine's	Dubois	PA	3/3	St. Catherine's had a school with 177 students.
		Christ the King Manor	Dubois		Board of Directors member
1989 Murphy was succeeded as Erie bishop by Donald Walter Trautman (1990-2012).	2002	St. Joseph's	Force Elk	PA	1/1
2002	2005	Christ the King	Houtzdale	PA	1/1	Cooper is indexed and listed at Christ the King with the title 'Monsignor.'
2002	2005	Immaculate Conception	Medara	PA		This was a mission of Christ the King in Houtzdale.
2002	2005	Holy Trinity	Ramey	PA	1/1
2005	2006					Cooper is not indexed in the 2006 Directory, nor is he listed in the diocesan pages as at his previous assignment, or under 'Retired'.
2006	2011	Retired				Cooper died December 16, 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.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1964-2013).

• Rev. Donald J. Cooper, Erie Times News via Brugger Funeral Homes, December 20, 2011
• Revision to the Policy for the Protection of Children, Diocese of Erie, April 6, 2018
• Erie Diocese Released Names of Accused Priests, Laypeople, GoErie, April 6, 2018

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 Cooper'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 July 12, 2018.