Rev. John J. Mueller

Summary of Case: Mueller was suspended from ministry in 2002 due to allegations of abuse of a 16 year old girl in 1962. The diocesan review board ruled in 2004 that the allegation was credible. In 1989 a woman reported that Mueller had sexually abused her in 1977, when she was 24 years old and in counseling with him. In 2009 Mueller is still a priest, retired and on restrictions.

Ordained: 1959

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1959

Cleveland bishop was Edward Francis Hoban (1945-1966)

1964 St. Therese, Little Flower

Cleveland (Garfield Heights)

• Accused in 2002 of having sexually abused a 16 year old girl in 1962. (Akron Beacon Journal [Ohio]
August 19, 2004)

  

3/3

 

 Parish had a school with 927-852 students.

1961

Hoban was succeeded by Clarence George Issenmann (1966-1974)

1969 Diocesan Court Notary        
1964 1968 St. Luke's Cleveland (Lakewood) OH 3/3 Parish had a school with 734-665 students.
1969 1972 Diocesan Procurators-Advocates        

1972

Following Issenmann as bishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1974-1980)

1982 Prosynodal Judge        
1968 1975 St. Francis' Cleveland OH 2/3, 1/4, 1/5 Parish had a school with 282-149 students.

1975

Anthony Michael Pilla replaced Hickey (1974-2006)

1982 St. Bernard

Akron

• Accused of sexually abusing a vulnerable 24 year old woman he was counseling at St. Bernard's in 1977. The woman reported the abuse to the diocese in 1989. (Akron Beacon Journal [Ohio]
August 19, 2004)

OH

2/3, 1/3, 1/4

 

  
1982 1986 St. Joseph's Amherst OH 3/3, 2/2 Parish had a school with 285-256 students.
1986 1987 St. Paul's Cleveland OH 1/2  
1992 2002 Diocesan Tribunal: Associate Judge        

1987

Richard Gerard Lennon succeeded Pilla
(2006- )

2009 St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Wooster OH 1/2, 1/1, 2/3

Parish had a school with 150-250 students.

Mueller was suspended from ministry in July 2002 due to past allegations of sexual abuse of a minor. (Akron Beacon Journal [Ohio]
July 5, 2002) Mueller retired in March 2003. The diocesan review board determined in Aug. 2004 that the allegation was true, and Mueller was placed on restrictions from ministry. He was not removed from the priesthood because in 1962 the church considered 16 year olds to be adults. (Beacon Journal [Cleveland OH]
January 3, 2005)

Mueller has continued to be indexed and listed in the Directories as at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Wooster OH.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1960-2009)

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 Mueller'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 Dec. 3, 2009