BishopAccountability.org's Are There Gaps in the Parish Records of the Official Catholic Directory?

2a. Are There Gaps in the Parish Records of the Official Catholic Directory?

As we will see, the Official Catholic Directory does not give direct information on the treatment or disciplining of priests, though reported absences sometimes indicate that treatment has occurred. But is its reporting on parish assignments reliable? Reliability varies by diocese, but in general we have found the Official Catholic Directory to be extremely particular about parish assignments. Therefore, when a parish assignment in the Official Catholic Directory seems peculiar or in error, it is a good idea to look more closely.

For example, in the basic list of Ávila's career that we built in the previous section, the Official Catholic Directories for 1934-44 place him at Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in New Bedford, with time out in 1938 for advanced study in Washington DC:

1934 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1935 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1936 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1937 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1938 Catholic University - Washington DC
1939 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1940 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1941 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1942 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1943 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)
1944 Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception - New Bedford (assistant)

But several articles in local papers, including Ávila's obituary, indicate that he spent some of this time at Our Lady of Health in Fall River, even though Ávila's presence there is never mentioned in the Official Catholic Directory. One newspaper article says that Ávila was transferred from Our Lady of Health to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception in early December 1943.

As we have seen, the Official Catholic Directory reports the assignments of priests as of January 1 of the publication year. So if Ávila moved from Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception to Our Lady of Health and back again during 1943, the Official Catholic Directory would not have reported Ávila's brief time at Our Lady of Health. Or perhaps Ávila was at Our Lady of Health for a longer time, but was carried in the Official Catholic Directory as if he were still serving at Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. Another newspaper article indicates that Ávila might have served at Our Lady of Health for years.

Such a discrepancy between the Official Catholic Directory and other sources is unusual, and makes one wonder what the truth is here. Ávila was not the only alleged abuser to spend time at Our Lady of Health. Was the church a half-way house for abusers, and was the parish suppressed in Ávila's Official Catholic Directory record to conceal this fact?

Links to the entire Guide:

      Introduction

1.   How to Create a Assignment Record in a Few Easy Steps

2.   Last Year at St. Anthony's: Looking Up a Priest in the Official Catholic Directory

2a. Are There Gaps in the Parish Records of the Official Catholic Directory?

3.   Parish School and Festival: Transfers in the Official Catholic Directory

4.   Distinguished Priests: Background in the Official Catholic Directory

5.   Clergy Burial Grounds: Retirement and Death in the Official Catholic Directory

6.   Heal the Sick: Chaplains and Treatment in the Official Catholic Directory