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Assignment Record– Rev. George J. Koychick
Summary of Case: George Koychick was ordained for the Harrisburg diocese in 1949. He assisted at parishes in Harrisburg, Mt. Carmel, York and Mechanicsburg, and was pastor in Williamstown, York and Palmyra. He was also chaplain during the late 1950s-early 1960s at the PA Industrial School in Camp Hill. The Official Catholic Directory does not index Koychick 1997-2000; his whereabouts during that time are unclear. He was in residence 2000-2003 at a McSherrytown parish, then drops out of the Directory altogether. In August 2016 the diocese publicly acknowledged that in 2003 it received credible allegations against Koychick of child sexual abuse that occurred in the 1970s.
Ordained: 1949 |
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Start |
Stop |
Assignments |
Town/Accusations |
State |
Position |
Notes |
1949
Diocese of Harrisburg
Bishop was George Leo Leech (1935-1971). |
1952 |
St. Francis of Assisi |
Harrisburg |
PA |
3/3, 2/3 |
St. Francis had a school with 84-387 students.
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1952 |
1953 |
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel |
Mt. Carmel |
PA |
3/4 |
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel had a school with 378 students, and a vacation school with 40 students. |
1953 |
1957 |
St. Joseph's |
York |
PA |
2/2, 2/3 |
St. Joseph's had a school with 324-516 students, and a vacation school with 71-35 students. |
1957 |
1962 |
St. Joseph's |
Mechanicsburg |
PA |
2/2, 3/3
In residence. |
St. Joseph's had a school with 252-386 students. |
1957 |
1962 |
PA Industrial School |
Camp Hill |
PA |
chaplain |
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1962 |
1967 |
Sacred Heart of Jesus |
Williamstown |
PA |
1/1 |
Sacred Heart had a grade school until 1964 with 131-90 students, and a high school 1966-67 with 79 students. |
1967
Leech was succeeded as Harrisburg bishop by Joseph Thomas Daley (1971-1983). |
1981 |
St. Patrick's |
York
• Koychick was accused in 2003 of perpetrating child sexual abuse in the 1970s. The diocese did not acknowledge this publicly until August 2016. |
PA |
1/3, 1/4
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St. Patrick's had a school with 460-226 students. |
1980 |
1981 |
Rural Dean |
York County (except Hanover) |
PA |
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1981
William Henry Keeler replaced Daley as bishop (1983-1989), followed by Nicholas Carmen Dattilo (1989-2004). |
1997 |
Holy Spirit |
Palmyra |
PA |
1/1, 1/2 |
The Directories show a CCD program 1992-1997 with 202-144 students. |
1997 |
2000 |
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Koychick is not indexed in the 1998-2000 Directories. |
2000 |
2003 |
Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary |
McSherrytown |
PA |
2/2
In residence. |
Annunciation of the BVM had a school with 386-407 students, and a CCD program with 110-95 students. |
2003
Dattilo was succeeded as Harrisburg bishop by Kevin Carl Rhoades (2004-2009), Joseph Patrick McFadden (2010-2013), then Ronald William Gainer (2014-). |
2016 |
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Koychick is not indexed beyond the 2003 Directory.
In 2016 the diocese stated that when allegations surfaced in August 2003 about 1970s abuse, Koychick was already retired, out of ministry, and forbidden to function as a priest. They also said law enforcement was notified. |
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, 1950-2003).
• Two City Priests To Be Ordained, Harrisburg Evening News, March 22, 1949
• Rev. George Koychick Observes 25 Years In The Priesthood, York Daily Record, March 30, 1974
• Diocese: Three priests added to list of alleged abusers, By Brandie Kessler, ydr.com, August 29, 2016
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 Koychick'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 August 30, 2016. |
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