Rev. Michael T. Neuberger

Summary of Case: Neuberger was accused in two separate lawsuits in the 1990s of having sexually abused two boys, ages 16 and 17, in the 1960s. Three mental health professionals specializing in treating sex offenders stated under oath that Neuberger admitted to soliciting "sinful acts" from the confessional. By 2004 he had been "dismissed from the clerical state". The case was noted in July 2004 to be under appeal. In 2008 the Vatican allowed Archbishop Dolan to give Neuberger the status of "fully restricted from public ministry." Neuberger's name is on a Milwaukee archdiocesan list of priests with substantiated allegations against them of sexual abuse of a minor.

Ordained: 1962

   

Start Stop Parish Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1962

Milwaukee archbishop was William Edward Cousins (1958-1977)

1964 St. Philip Neri's Milwaukee WI 3/3 Parish had a school with 363-351 students and a Junior High-9th Grade- with 32 students.
1964 1968 St. Boniface's

Milwaukee

• Neuberger was accused in a 1990s lawsuit of having sexually assaulted a 16-year-old boy from 1965 until the boy was 18.

• Neuberger was named in another lawsuit in the 1990s of having sexually assaulted a 17 year old boy in 1968. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel [Wisconsin]
July 31, 1996)

WI 3/3, 4/4, 4/5

Parish had a school with 330-237 students.

One of Neuberger's accusers was ordered by the court to pay the church $15,704.36 in legal costs. (Journal Sentinel Online
April 14, 2002)

1968 1969 Messmer High School Milwaukee WI   This assignment is per the Milwaukee archdiocese.
1969 1970 On Leave Milwaukee WI

2/2

In residence.

 
1970 1972 St. Gall's Milwaukee WI    
1972 1973 On Duty Outside the Archdiocese/Other Assignments       Neuberger is indexed in the 1973 Directory as On Duty Outside the Archdiocese, but is listed in the Milwaukee Archdiocesan Pages as at Box 2018 Milwaukee, WI.

1973

Cousins was succeeded by Rembert George Weakland, O.S.B. (1977-2002)

1978 Thomas More High School Milwaukee WI   Thomas More had 809-691 students, all male.
1978 1979 Carthage College Kenosha WI Campus Minister  
1978 1979 University of Wisconsin Parkside Kenosha WI Campus Minister  
1978 1979 Gateway Technical Institute Kenosha WI Campus Minister  
1978 1979 Gateway Technical Institute Racine WI Campus Minister  
1978 1979 Gateway Technical Institute Elkhorn WI Campus Minister  
1979 1980 St. Francis de Sales Lake Geneva WI 2/2 Parish had a school with 133 students.
1980 1981 St. Dominic's Sheboygan WI 3/3 Parish had a school with 216 students.
1981 1993 St. John Neumann's

Waukesha WI 1/1, 1/2 The parish school was part of the Waukesha Catholic School System, which started in 1990. The 1993 Directory indicates the school had 69 students, and a religious education program with 900 students. St. John's did not have a school prior to 1990.
1993 1003 St. Catherine's Milwaukee/Granville WI   This assignment is per the Milwaukee archdiocese.
1993 2002 On Leave      

Neuberger is not indexed beyond the 2002 Directory.

In a July 1996 letter to then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Archbishop Weakland wrote that Neuberger had "a variety of sexual and financial allegations brought against him" and that a psychologist and two clinical social workers stated under oath that Neuberger admitted to soliciting "sinful acts" from the confessional. (NYT Documents 000029, Weakland letter 7-17-1996)

Per the archdiocese in 2004, Neuberger has been "dismissed from the clerical state (case in appeal)" due to substantiated allegations of child sexual abuse against him. (Archdiocese of Milwaukee
July 9, 2004)

In January 2008 the Vatican allowed Archbishop Dolan to give Neuberger "fully restricted from public ministry" status.     

 

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1963-2002)

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 Neuberger'ss 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 February 17, 2021.