Rev. Lawrence R. Strittmatter – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Ordained in 1957 for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, Lawrence "Larry" Strittmatter was a parish priest and long-time principal of Elder High School. The archdiocese began to receive allegations in at least 1979 that Strittmatter was sexually abusing his students. In 1981 he was sent to counseling and transferred for a short while to a parish on the other side of the city. In 1982 he was named pastor of Our Lady of Victory parish. He was removed from the parish in 1988 after more allegations, sent to treatment, then reassigned to St. Albert the Great in Dayton OH, which is in the northern reaches of the archdiocese.

In the Spring of 2002 a man reported to law enforcement and the archdiocese that Strittmatter molested him on three occasions in 1979 and 1980, when the man was an Elder student. Strittmatter's accuser said that the priest invited him to join him in games of racquetball at the club, and that the abuse happened afterwards, in the shower. In June 2002 Strittmatter was suspended from ministry. Subsequently, more former Elder students came forward with similar allegations of abuse by Strittmatter. By September 2003, twenty-eight men had accused Strittmatter in lawsuits. At least one claimed the priest abused him as a fourth-grader at Our Lady of Victory. It has been estimated that Strittmatter may have had nearly 100 victims.

The archdiocese was convicted in November 2003 on five counts of misdemeanor cover-up of sexual abuse of children by its priests. Strittmatter was laicized in 2006.

Ordained: May 25, 1957
Laicized: 2006

1957

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Archbishop was Karl Joseph Alter (1950-1969).

Resurrection had a school with 247-217 boys and 202-230 girls.

1967

Alter was succeeded as Cincinnati archbishop by Paul Francis Leibold (1969-1972).

1970

Joseph Louis Bernardin followed Leibold as Cincinnati archbishop (1972-1982).

Cincinnati

• An August 2003 lawsuit claimed that the archdiocese was informed during 1979-1980 of allegations of abuse of an Elder student by Strittmatter, but did nothing. Further, the suit alleged that another allegation of abuse of a student by the priest was reported to the archdiocese during 1980-1981, and that this time Strittmatter was sent to counseling and transferred to another assignment.

• The archdiocese received a third allegation in 1988 that Strittmatter had sexually abused an Elder student in the late 1970s.

• In March 2002 a man reported to law enforcement that Strittmatter had sexually abused him when the man was an Elder student in 1979 and 1980. He said the abuse occurred after the two played racquetball on three occasions at the Cincinnati Friars Club, on Strittmatter's invitation.The man informed the archdiocese in May 2002, and Strittmatter was suspended. More men subsequently came forward alleging abuse as Elder students by Strittmatter, all reporting that the abuse happened in the shower or pool at the Friars club after playing racquetball or handball with the priest. A May 2003 lawsuit alleged Strittmatter abused "dozens" of Elder students.

1981

Daniel Edward Pilarczyk succeeded Bernardin (1982-2009).

Cincinnati

• Strittmatter was accused in a lawsuit filed in May 2003 of sexually abusing minors while assigned to Our Lady of Victory.

• Ten men sued in August 2003 alleging they were sexually abused by Strittmatter as boys, at least one as a fourth grader at Our Lady of Victory. In September 2003 14 more plaintiff's joined the suit.

Our Lady of Victory had a school with 742-541 students.

Strittmatter was sent to treatment in 1988 after a man alleged that the priest had sexually abused him as an Elder High school student in the late 1970s, when Strittmatter was the Elder's principal.

3/3, 2/2, 2/3

In residence 1988-1989.

St. Albert's had a school with 462-593 students, and a CCD program with 298-424 students.

After treatment as a result of the allegation of abuse that emerged against Strittmatter in 1988, he was reassigned to St. Albert the Great parish and ordered to stay away from children. Parishioners were not informed of the allegations, but the pastor was told by the archbishop "in confidence."

Strittmatter was suspended from ministry in June 2002 after an allegation the archdiocese received in May 2002 that he had sexually abused an Elder High School student in the late 1970s.

In November 2003 the archdiocese was convicted of misdemeanor criminal cover-up of child sexual abuse by its priests. Archbishop Pilarczyk admitted that officials were told five times during 1979-1982 of allegations, some against Strittmatter, and failed to report them to police.

Strittmatter's laicization was announced by the Vatican in March 2006. By then 28 men had alleged in lawsuits that Strittmatter had sexually abused them as boys. A plaintiff's attorney stated that Strittmatter's abuse of students began "soon after ordination" and that his number of victims may have been "near 100."

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, 1957-2002).

• New Allgation Puts Priest on Leave, By Dan Horn and Jennifer Edwards, Cincinnati Enquirer, June 10, 2002 
• Priest at St. Albert Placed on Leave, By Joann Rouse, Dayton Daily News, June 10, 2002
• Some in Parish Stand by Priest, By Janice Morse and Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, June 12, 2002
• Cincinnati Man tells of Abuse by Local Priest, By Christine Willmsen, Dayton Daily News, June 13, 2002
• More Allegations Involving Ohio Priest Surface, By Christine Willmsen, Dayton Daily News , June 18, 2002
• Suit: Priest Molested Students, By Roy Wood, Cincinnati Post, May 22, 2003
• Alumni Are Solidly Behind Elder, By Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, May 24, 2003
• 2 Priests Suspended; More Allegations Arise, Cincinnati Enquirer, August 11, 2003
• Lawsuit: More Abuse at Elder, By Reid Forgrave, Cincinnati Enquirer, August 12, 2003
• WCPO 09.16.03
• 10 Area Priests to Be Reviewed, Dayton Daily New, September 18, 2003
• Archdiocese guilty of coverup, By Kimball Perry, Cincinnati Post, November 21, 2003
• Supreme Court to Hear Appeal about Priest, Dayton Daily News, September 9, 2005
• Ex-Elder Principal Stripped of Priesthoood, By Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, March 9, 2006
• Former Area Priest Defrocked, By Tom Beyerlein, Dayton Daily News, March 9, 2006
• Breaking the Code of Silence, By Dave Malaska, Cincinnati City Beat, July 13, 2010
• Former Priest Sex Abuse Victims React to New Pope, By Kareem Elgazzar, WCPO, March 14, 2013


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 Strittmatter'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 24, 2017.