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Assignment Record– Rev. Msgr. Robert C. Fichtner
Summary of Case: Fichtner was suspended from public ministry in 2003 due to an accusation that he had sexually abused a 9-year-old boy in the late 1980s. His suspension was lifted by the archdiocese in 2005 when the archdiocesan review board deemed the accusation "unsubstantiated". Fichtner had retired in 2002. He died June 7, 2013.
Born: February 8, 1929
Ordained: February 2, 1955
Retired: 2002
Died: June 7, 2013
Start |
Stop |
Assignment |
Town/Accusations |
State |
Position |
Notes |
1955
Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970). |
1957 |
St. Peter's |
Plymouth |
MA |
3/3 |
|
1957 |
1958 |
Catholic University |
Washington |
DC |
|
|
1958 |
1959 |
St. Michael's
Mission-Dracut |
Lowell |
MA |
5/6 |
Parish had a school with 590 boys and 571 girls. |
1959 |
1967 |
SS. Peter and Paul |
(South) Boston |
MA |
3/8, 2/7, 2/5 |
|
1967
Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983). |
1981 |
Our Lady Help of Christians |
Newton |
MA |
3/5,3/4,2/4 |
Our Lady's had a grade school with 553-378 students and a high school with 198-291 students. |
1967 |
1981 |
St. Sebastian's School |
Needham |
MA |
part-time faculty member |
|
|
|
Blessed John XXIII Seminary |
Weston |
MA |
spiritual director |
|
1981
Bernard Francis Law replaced Medeiros (1984-2002). |
1990 |
St. Joseph's |
Holbrook
• In 2003 a 27 year old man accused Fichtner of having sexually abused him during confession when the man was a 9-year-old fourth grader at St. Joseph's parish school. The man said that he was violently forced to perform oral sex on Fichtner. |
MA |
1/3,1/2 |
St. Joseph's had a school with 236-365 students.
|
1990 |
2002 |
St. Patrick's |
Watertown |
MA |
1/2,1/3 |
Referred to as "Very Rev." |
2002
Sean Patrick O'Malley, o.f.m. Cap. succeeded Law
(2003-). |
2013 |
Retired |
Waltham |
|
|
Retired in 2002.
Placed on administrative leave in 2003 due to allegation from his post at St. Joseph's.
Allowed in 2005 by the archdiocese to return to ministry after church review board determined the allegation was "unsubstantiated".
Fichtner died June 7, 2013. |
Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York:
Kenedy & Sons, 1956-2007).
• Some Priest Abuse Claims Remain Open, By Sue Reinert, Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA), March 8, 2005
• New England in Brief, Restrictions Are Lifted on Accused Priest, Boston.com [Boston MA], June 8, 2005
• Priest Cleared of Child Sex Abuse, Holbrook Sun [Holbrook MA], June 10, 2005
• Boston Archdiocese Posts Sex-Abuse Database Online, By Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register, August 25, 2011
• Obituary: Msgr. Robert C. Fichter, 84, The Pilot, June 14, 2013
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 &
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
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us with new information and corrections.
This assignment record collates Fichtner'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 September 29, 2015.
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