Assignment Record– Rev. Joseph P. Fratic

Summary of Case: Fratic was placed on "unassigned" status in 2004, due to an allegation that he had sexually abused a 13-year-old boy in 1979. Per his accuser, the abuse occurred after another priest with whom Fratic served, Rev. Paul Hurley, provided the boy with alcohol and pornography.

Born: 1938
Ordained: 1964

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

2/06/64

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

 4/17/64 St. Joseph's (Lithuanian) Lowell MA 2/2  
4/18/64 9/26/66 St. Francis Lawrence MA 2/3, 2/2 Parish had a K-8 school with 152-132 boys and 142-134 girls.
4/18/64 9/26/66 St. Vincent de Paul Methuen MA   This was a mission of St. Francis in Lawrence.

9/2766

Humberto Sousa Medeiros replaced Cushing (1970-1983).

11/21/71 Sacred Heart Malden MA 4/5, 4/6, 3/4 Parish had a school with 360-202 boys and 412-198 girls, and a high school with 166-36 girls.

11/22/71

Succeeding Medeiros was Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002).

7/31/84 St. Paul's

Cambridge

• Fratic was named in a 2004 lawsuit as having sexually abused a 13-year- old boy in 1979. The accuser said that Fratic molested him after another priest at St. Paul's, Rev. Paul W. Hurley, lured him to his home and plied him with alcohol and pornography. (Boston Herald
February 6, 2004)

MA 4/5, 3/5, 2/4, 2/8, 2/9 Parish had a school with 80-50 students.
9/11/72 7/31/84 St. Paul's Choir School Cambridge MA part-time faculty  
9/11/72 4/30/81 Regional Director of Liturgy Boston MA    
8/01/84 3/11/85 St. Bernard's Concord MA 3/3  
3/12/85 9/30/85 Most Precious Blood Dover MA administrator (temp)  
10/01/85 4/04/88 St. Luke's Belmont MA 3/3  
4/05/88 6/03/01 Most Precious Blood Dover MA 1/1 News reports state that Fratic spent 2000 on sabbatical at the Catholic University fo Louvain in Belgium. The Directory does not reflect this.

7/01/01

Sean Patrick O'Malley followed Law as archbishop (2003- ).

9/2504 St. Jerome's Arlington MA 1/1  
9/26/04 2015 Unassigned/Restricted        


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1964-2009)

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 Fratic'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 September 29, 2015.