Assignment Record– Rev. Martin J. Walsh
Summary of Case: Ordained for the Boston archdiocese in 1974, Walsh assisted at parishes in Waltham, Swampscott, Malden
and Somerville, and he was chaplain for a time at Malden High School. An alcoholic, Walsh was in and out of treament during
his career. In 1997 an accusation emerged that he sexually abused a 14-year-old boy during the 1970s, and that there may have
been other victims. The disclosure is said to have been by the victim just before he died of cancer. Walsh relapsed in 1997 and
went on leave of absence. By 2002 he was on permanent disablilty. He died June 21, 2007. Walsh was accused in a lawsuit settled
in December 2014 of sexually abusing a minor at a Waltham parish in 1975. As of March 2016, the Review Board deemed the
allegations against Walsh "unsubstantiated."
Born: 1948
Ordained: May 18, 1974
Died: June 21, 2007
|
| Start | Stop | Assignment | Town/Accusations | State | Position | Notes |
1974 Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983). |
1981 | Our Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted | Waltham • In 1997 a woman called the archdiocese to report that a friend disclosed to her, just before he died at age 36 of lung cancer, that Walsh had sexually abused him at age 14 during Walsh's time at this parish. He suspected that two of his friends who were altar boys at Our Lady's were also abused by Walsh. The woman further said that the dying man told of two incidents - one at an upstate New York family party, and another at Walsh's cabin at Chalk Pond, NH. (Memo from Sr. Rita McCarthy 12-12-97) • Walsh was accused in a lawsuit settled in December 2014 of sexually abusing a minor in 1975, while assigned to Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted. (Boston Globe, March 28, 2016.) |
MA | 3/4, 2/3 | Parish had a school with 123-249 students.
Walsh denied the charges. (memo from Rev. William F. Murphy 1-6-98) |
| 1981 | St. John the Evangelist | Swampscott | MA | associate pastor | ||
| Nov. 1981 | March 1982 | Sick Leave | ||||
1982 Medeiros was succeeded by Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002). |
1984 | Immaculate Conception | Malden | MA | 2/5, 3/6 | Parish had a grade school with 446-462 students and a high school with 18-165 girls. |
| 1984 | 1993 | Malden Catholic High School | Malden | MA | Chaplain | Malden Catholic was run by the Xavierian Brothers and had 790-500 students, all male Walsh is referred to as Rev. Martin J. Walsh, Jr. Records show that Walsh was treated at Our Lady's Hall during the summer of 1988, due to concerns related to drinking. Our Lady's was a residence in Milton MA for troubled priests. Walsh was arrested in Feb. 1991 in New Hampshire for driving while intoxicated. He was in and out of treatment over the years. |
| 1989 | 1997 | Sacred Heart | Malden | MA | 4/4, 3/3, 2/2 | Parish had a school with 463 students. |
| 1997 | 2002 | Absent on Leave | Walsh had a relapse into alcohol abuse and was placed on Leave. Cardinal Law wrote to Walsh in November 2002 that he was "impeded from the exercise of orders due to psychic infirmity." However, there was nothing formal in place and Walsh was not, in fact, restricted from ministry. (Strictland memo 11-04-03) | |||
2002 Law was replaced by Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. (2003-). |
2007 | Permanent Disability/St. Joseph's | Somerville | MA | Died June 21, 2007. Per Walsh's obituary he assisted at St. Joseph's in Somerville "the past few years". (The Pilot Per the Archdiocese in 2011, the Review Board found the allegations against Walsh to be unsubstantiated. (National Catholic Register, August 25, 2011) |
Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1975-2008)
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
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This assignment record was last updated on April 11, 2016.