Assignment Record – Rev. Richard L. McCaffrey, s.j.

Summary of Case: Richard Leo McCaffrey was ordained a Jesuit priest of the New England Province in 1973. While a seminarian he taught school in Glenallen, Alaska and in his native Boston, Massachusetts. After ordination McCaffrey settled into ministry in the diocese of Fairbanks, working in parishes located in Tununak, Nightmute, Toksook Bay, Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Bethel, Russian Mission, Marshall, Barrow, Tanana and Fairbanks. He also held a number of prominent Chancery positions, including Chancellor. In 1992 he officially became a member of the Jesuit's Oregon Province. McCaffrey was removed from ministry in 2005 after accusations emerged that he had sexually abused 10 and 11-year-old girls in Alaskan villages during the late 1970s and early1980s. The abuse was said to have involved at least three girls from three different parts of the state. He was sent to the Jesuit Colombiere Community in Portland, Oregon, where he died May 7, 2006.

Ordained: May 26, 1973
Died: May 7, 2006

1967

Fairbanks bishop was Francis Doyle Gleeson, s.j. (1948-1968), followed by Robert Louis Whelan, s.j. (1968-1985).

1969

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

1970

Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

Jan. 1978

Spokane bishop was Bernard Joseph Topel (1955- 1978), followed by Lawrence Harold Welsh (1978-1990).

Tununak

• McCaffrey was accused in an August 2005 lawsuit of having sexually abused a Tununak girl in 1978 and 1979, when the girl was 10 and 11 years-old. His accuser said the priest would invite her into his bedroom, take off her clothes, have her masturbate him, then tell her her actions were "pure.... like Adam and Eve." She said McCaffery also molested her friends.

Hooper Bay

• In May 2005 a 35-year-old woman reported that McCaffrey sexually assaulted her when she was 10-years-old, in a Western Alaska village.

• McCaffrey was accused in 2005 lawsuit of sexually abusing a girl in the early 1980s at Little Flower of Jesus when the girl was 10 and 11 years-old. His accuser said McCaffery would force her to touch him and rub him with oil. She said he would tell her that what happened was okay and not to tell
anyone, then give her candy and pop.

1985

Fairbanks bishop was Michael Joseph Kaniecki, s.j. (1985-2000).

Oct. 1998

Kanieicki was succeeded as Fairbanks bishop by Donald Joseph Kettler (2002-2013).

The 1999-2006 Directories index McCaffrey as both at Immaculate Conception Jesuit Residence in Fairbanks.

McCaffrey was suspended from ministry in May 2005 due to allegations that he had sexually abused young girls. The allegations were deemed 'credible' and McCaffrey was permanently removed from the Fairbanks diocese in August 2005. McCaffrey denied the abuse.

May 2005

Portland archbishop was Richard Joseph Malone (2004-2012).

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1974-2006)

• Our Lady of the Snows Parish, Hooper Bay, Alaska: 1928-2003, Editors Note: This Article Is Indebted to a Considerable Extent to Writings by Father Louis L. Renner, S.J., Alaskan Shepherd, June-July 2003
• Allegations Put Pastor on Leave, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks Daily News, June 2, 2005
• Suit Alleges Former Alaska Priest Molested Girl in '70s, Fairbanks: McCaffrey Was Placed on Administrative Leave in June Because of Allegations, By Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News, August 10, 2005
• Civil Suit Alleges Fairbanks Pastor Molested 10-Year-Old, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Daily News-Miner, August 10, 2005
• Pastor Removed from Ministry, By Mary Beth Smetzer , Fairbanks Daily News-Miner [Fairbanks AK], August 22, 2005
• Diocese Calls Abuse Claims 'Credible', By Sean Doogan, August 22, 200, KTUU.com
• McCaffrey Denies Abuse, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, August 23, 2005
• Jesuits Review Abuse Claims, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks Miner, August 24, 2005
• KTUU.com, October 17, 2005
• Priest Faces 2nd Abuse Lawsuit, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, October 18, 2005
• Embattled Priest Dies of Natural Causes, By Mary Beth Smetzer, Fairbanks News-Miner [Alaska], May 9, 2006
• Embattled Priest Dies; Lawsuits Go on, McCaffrey: Accused of Abuse in Alaska, He Had Been Living in Oregon, The Associated Press, May 10, 2006
• Excerpt from Bankruptcy Reorganization Documents for Fairbanks Diocese January 25, 2010, p. 1
• Alaskana Catholica: A History of the Catholic Church in Alaska, By Louis L. Renner, s.j.

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 McCaffrey'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 May 4, 2014.