Rev. Gregory G. Ingels

Summary of Case: Ingels was a prominent priest of the San Francisco archdiocese, and a nationally known canon lawyer and expert witness for the church against legal claims by victims of clergy sex abuse. He acknowledged in a police tape in 2003 that he had sexually abused a 15 year-old boy in 1972, when he was a deacon and teacher at the boy's high school, Marin Catholic. The victim reported the abuse to the archdiocese in 1996. Levada allowed Ingels to stay in ministry and he helped advance Ingels' career. Ingels was removed from public ministry in mid-2002 due to the U.S. bishops' new "zero tolerance" policy, but was allowed to help design the U.S. bishops' Dallas Charter. Ingels was charged in the 1972 case in 2003. It was then that he was placed on leave. Also in 2003, a woman reported to police that Ingels sexually abused her over a four year period, beginning in 1973, when the girl was a 15 year-old student at Marin Catholic. She produced nearly three dozen "love letters" that Ingels had written to her from 1974-1984. Both cases were dropped when the Supreme Court overturned a CA law that would have allowed prosecution. Ingels was last known to be living with retired bishop Quinn in Menlo Park, and to be an advisor for a support organizations for priests in trouble, Opus Bono Sacerodotii.

Ordained: 1974

1972

San Francisco archbishop was Joseph Thomas McGucken (1962-1977)

Marin Catholic High School

Kentfield

• Ingels was charged in 2003 with molesting a 15 year-old boy in 1972. The boy was a Marin Catholic High School student.

• In 2003 a woman reported that Ingels sexually abused her over a four year period, beginning in 1973, when she was a freshman at Marin Catholic High. She had lost her parents in a car accident at age 7, and was having trouble with her adoptive family. Ingels stepped in to "help" her.

This was prior to Ingels' ordination.

In police tape recordings in 2003, Ingels apologized to the male victim saying, among other things, "What I did to you was terrible."

In 2003 the female accuser gave police a stack of "love letters" written to her by Ingels from 1974-1984. They were written on stationery from the various parishes to which he was assigned.

1974

McGucken nwas succeeded by John Raphael Quinn (1977-1995)

2/2

In residence.

3/5, 3/4

In residence.

1988

1990

1992

Quinn was replaced by William Joseph Levada (1995-2005)

4/4

In residence.

2003

Levada was followed as archbishop by George Hugh Niederauer (2005-)

Ingels was removed from public ministry in July 2002 due to the accusation he abused a boy in 1972. He was allowed to continue work as a canon lawyer, and he was one of four chosen by the Canon Law Society of America to work on the Guide to the Implementation of the U.S. Bishops' Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests or Deacons. It wasn't until charges were filed against Ingels that he was placed on leave, in May 2003.

The Marin County D.A. was preparing to file charges that Ingels sexually abused a high school girl in the 1970s when the Supreme Court overturned the 1994 law that extended the Statute of Limitations on sex crimes. As a result, neither case could be prosecuted .

Ingels was last known to be living in a mansion on the grounds of St. Patrick Seminary in Menlo Park with retired archbishop Quinn. Ingels was known in 2005 to be an advisor to Opus Bono Sacerodotii. Per its website, OBS "is a Catholic charity that in partnership with our benefactors, assist bishops, religious superiors, and Vatican officials in finding solutions for the proper care and treatment of priests who are experiencing difficulties. In the past nine years since our founding we have been contacted by thousands of priests and many bishops, including the Holy See."

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1975-2010)

• Expert on Dealing with Abuse Accused, Bay Area Priest Faces Molestation Charge, By Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, May 23, 2003
• Law Expert Priest Charged with Sexual Abuse of Boy, Complaint Alleges Sexual Conduct with 15-Year-Old, By Beth Fouhy,Associated Press, carried in Daily Bulletin [San Francisco CA], May 24, 2003
• The State, Priest Who Wrote Sex-Abuse Guide Faces Charges, By William Lobdell, Los Angeles Times, May 25, 2003
• Priest Who Advised on Abuse Arraigned in Marin, By Peter Fimrite, San Francisco Chronicle, May 29, 2003
• Scuse Us, Folks, By Ron Russell, San Francisco Weekly [San Francisco CA], Downloaded June 9, 2003
• Levada Takes Heat over Abuse Inquiry, By Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, November 12, 2004
• Fast Times at Marin Catholic High, By Ron Russell , SF Weekly, January 19, 2005
• Zipped Up, By Ron Russell, SF Weekly, January 19, 2005
• $21.2 Million Settlement for Victims of 5 Priests, By Wyatt Buchanan and Elizabeth Fernandez, San Francisco Chronicle
June 11, 2005
• More Clergy Abuse Cases in Talks, By Don Lattin , San Francisco Chronicle [San Francisco CA] , June 14, 2005
• Blind Eye Unto the Holy See, By Ron Russell , San Francisco Weekly, July 13, 2005
• Ave Maria's Pass for Pederast Priests, AveWatch, December 22, 2008
• Cardinal Has a Mixed Record on Abuse Cases, By Michael Luo, The New York Times, May 5, 2010

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 Ingels'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 Sept. 28, 2011