Records Depict Lonely, Immature and Self-Deluded Priest

By Jules Crittenden
Boston (MA) Herald
January 27, 2002

Years before the lives of so many small boys were tainted by his twisted ministry, years before his beloved church would be dragged down with him into a vile morass of scandal, John J. Geoghan was a little boy who suffered.

In his own words and in the words of psychiatrists who examined him, a traumatic and confused childhood and a possible congenital brain defect set the stage for the horrors that followed.

Numerous letters and testimony by priests suggest deep concerns about Geoghan's mental well-being from the earliest years of his calling to the priesthood.

Throughout, it appears now in the reams of newly released documents, Geoghan was as self-deluded as many of those around him were about what he was doing and what they should do about it. He emerges as a desperate and lonely man, hungry for affection and unable to interact normally with other adults. In the end, he denies the depths of the perversion he has already admitted to, and clings pathetically to his priestly status.

Trouble began at a tender age for Geoghan, now 66. He was 5, one of two children in a devout West Roxbury family, when his father died in 1940. Geoghan's reported "happy" memory of the event seems bizarre, except in the context of Catholic funeral masses, where it is common for priests to proclaim the joy of a soul being called to heaven.

Psychiatrist Stephen Montana wrote in 1989, "Although Father Geoghan's recollection of his father's death and funeral are happy because of the spiritual context in which he recalls this event, there is evidence that the death was as profoundly disturbing emotionally as one might expect."

A 1995 evaluation said Geoghan "traces his idea of becoming a priest to the death of his father. He reportedly became fascinated with the idea of heaven."

Geoghan was a bedwetter, but recalled no other negative memories of childhood - no physical, sexual or verbal abuse. He said his uncle, the late Msgr. Mark Keohane, became "the perfect substitute father."

Geoghan told his psychiatrist his first sexual feelings at 11 were "frightening." He fervently tried to avoid masturbation. Though diagnosed as a homosexual pedophile, Geoghan said his early fantasies focused on women. He dated only in groups, and never had sex except as an adult pedophile.

After graduating from Boston's Cathedral of the Holy Cross High School in 1952, Geoghan emerged in church records for the first time as a troubled young seminarian.

O'Connell Seminary Rector John J. Murray wrote to Rector Thomas Riley of St. John's Seminary, where Geoghan began studying in July 1954: "Geoghan has given the faculty of this seminary cause for concern in the past two years. . . . He has a very pronounced immaturity . . . a little feminine in his manner of speech and approach. Scholastically he is a problem . . . I still have serious doubts about his ability to do satisfactory work."

But Murray cited his "fervent spiritual life, industry, determination to succeed, happy disposition . . . perhaps maturity will bring to this man the qualities he needs . . . for the priesthood."

A year later, when Geoghan failed to appear at a seminary summer camp, Riley fired off a terse July 8, 1955, letter threatening to expel Geoghan if he did not provide a prompt explanation. The tone suggests Riley has lost patience with Geoghan, and Geoghan's uncle Keohane quickly intervened. A heated and revealing exchange of letters followed.

"He has been treating with a physician since he left Brighton because of a nervous and depressed state," Keohane wrote.

Riley replied he knew about Geoghan's condition but did not think it an excuse to miss camp. He added pointedly, "We shall do everything within reason to help John settle his problem, but . . . his case should be dealt within the same way as that of any other student."

This outraged Keohane, who shot back, "I resent your implication that I sought favors or preferment for John. All his life I have never meddled in his affairs . . . or sought influence for him." He chided Riley for failing to see that for months Geoghan had been "sleepless, without appetite."

"After three years in Diocesan seminaries, he is now sick, unhappy and appears to be wrestling with his soul. The Seminary's sole concern . . . seems to be a rule violation," Keohane wrote.

Records indicate Geoghan left the seminary at this time, going on to receive a history degree at Holy Cross College in Worcester in 1957. In his 1995 evaluation, he attributes his departure to "the death of a priest friend; he reportedly felt that he was not allowed to grieve this person's death."

But in 1957 he returned to St. John's, and was ordained in 1962. The church documents do not appear to cite any problems in his second stint as a seminarian. He became an assistant priest at Blessed Sacrament in Saugus.

Here, according to the accusations of numerous victims, starts Geoghan's career as a sexual predator, seeking out vulnerable children who like himself have no father. In a pattern that would be repeated for 30 years, Geoghan insinuated himself in troubled homes as a helpful father figure, taking young boys on outings, washing them, putting them to bed and otherwise easing the burden of stressed single mothers. By his own admission, he scrupulously avoided sexual contact with girls. But he compulsively fondled and performed oral sex on boys, whose numbers allegedly exceed 130.

There are signs that he was fundamentally unhappy in the confines of priestly life. In a self-evaluation for the church in the 1960s, Geoghan seems to allude to the loneliness of rectory life, always an "office" but never a "home." His 1995 psychiatric evaluation states that he "sees himself as a heterosexual. (He) attributes his sexual involvement with minors to his needs for affection, his loneliness, and his desire for intimacy." His evaluations describe him as having a "rigid" mentality given to impulsive sexual lapses, with a strong propensity for rationalization.

Two evaluations cite a possibly congenital right-hemisphere brain impairment, which may limit his ability to understand non-verbal communication from others, limiting his ability to interact with them appropriately.

Geoghan moved from the Saugus parish to others in Concord, Hingham, Jamaica Plain, Dorchester and finally Weston. Accusations of molestation have emerged from all of these places, and from each decade, reports of priests warned by parents, priests and other church employees having concerns, and warnings to higher officials.

Even those who say they were unaware of the accusations say there was something disturbing about Geoghan. The Rev. Thomas Moriarty, who served at St. Paul's in Hingham, testified, "I found him different, I must say. I mean, I just didn't know how to react to him. He was different . . . Something is wrong. I mean, something is not right here, but what it is, you can't put your finger on it."

Geoghan's first bout with treatment came in 1968, when a Hingham man reported abuse and Geoghan was sent to the Seton Institute in Baltimore. He also disappeared from Hingham for eight months in 1973 while suffering from a "middle ear infection." More treatment followed with the mounting accusations of abuse in 1980, 1984, 1989, 1995 and 1996. But until 1996, he was always returned to parish or other priestly duties without restrictions.

While his uncle, Msgr. Keohane, appears to be absent from the church's Geoghan documents for many years, he reappears briefly in 1989, with an unclear role in one of his nephews's times of need. Geoghan wrote to Bishop Robert Banks in the midst of his 1989 crisis authorizing him to "reveal to my uncle . . . any and all information from any source, about me."

"My uncle has been my friend and faithful surrogate father since the death of my own father, some 49 years ago," Geoghan wrote. Keohane died in 1998 and is not referenced in the final tumultuous years of Geoghan's career.

Returned yet again to parish duty without restrictions, Geoghan lobbied heavily in 1992 for the pastorship at St. Julia's. But he was passed over, and the job went to a Holy Cross classmate who became his boss. Geoghan voiced disappointment to the monsignor who told him, but later told priest friends he didn't really want to be a pastor.

After the emergence of new accusations in 1993, Geoghan was finally removed to the Office for Senior Priests, where as assistant director he was to see to the needs of elderly priests - a posting intended to keep him away from children.

As new accusations of abuse emerged in the mid-1990s, threatening his new post, Geoghan portrayed himself as the victim, denying that he may have lost control again.

In a 1995 letter to Msgr. William Murphy, a family friend who appeared to be shepherding his case within the upper levels of the administration, Geoghan wrote, "I know it is not the end of the world but for me with the many burdens I am bearing, it feels like it!

"I have been falsely accused and feel alienated from my ministry and fellowship with my brother priests," he wrote. "I cannot believe that one would be considered guilty on an accusation or based on speculation but I have experienced this. Where is the justice or due process? . . . I will do all in my power to maintain my innocence."

Seeming to recognize that his very priesthood was in danger, Geoghan clung to it tenaciously.

"Father Geoghan is a very determined individual," wrote the Rev. Brian Flatley in April 1996 as he worked with a doctor to try to coax Geoghan into a residential treatment program. "He lied to this office, admitting he did so because he feared the consequences . . . I cannot be convinced he is not lying again."

On Dec. 12, 1996, against the advice of church administrators who urged permanent disability status of Geoghan, Bernard Cardinal Law granted him early retirement even though he was four years short of eligibility. Law had approved Geoghan's return to parish life twice before despite knowing he was a serial pedophile.

"Yours has been an effective life of ministry, sadly impaired by illness," Law wrote. "On behalf of those you have served well, and in my own name, I would like to thank you."

It remains unclear exactly why Geoghan received those kind, personal words after a criminally tainted and professional lackluster career. It is also unclear why he was still receiving special courtesies at this late date.

"Dear Cardinal Law," he wrote in his deteriorating scrawl days later. "Thank you for the permissions granted me. I also appreciate the warmth of your letter. I am sure it was as difficult for you to write as it was for me to read."

As police inquiries mounted in late 1997, the process of defrocking Geoghan was begun. Geoghan was dismissed as a priest on Feb. 17, 1998, but apparently was not notified of this until April 27, records indicate.

But even after he was ousted and was living with his sister in Scituate, Geoghan tried to cling to the church. He demanded a mailing address at Regina Cleri, the home for retired priests. This was denied. Geoghan's sister Catherine Geoghan, with whom he lived in Scituate after being laicized, said in her deposition that Geoghan believes Law "made a grave mistake." But he was "not angry. He prays for him everyday."

Catherine Geoghan, still a loyal sister, described a period in Scituate in which the families of accusers tried to confront her brother: "They came and sat. I had to call the police . . . they moved onto the seawall, they put down there chairs, their water bottles, their drinks, their binoculars, their cameras. That's the kind of people you're dealing with."

Catherine Geoghan said her brother was innocent - the accusers were people he tried to help but turned on him. "And of course money will change people," she said, refering to multi-million-dollar lawsuits against the church.

Today, Geoghan is in custody, awaiting further criminal trials and undergoing yet another psychiatric evaluation. This time, it is not to see whether he is fit to be a priest, but what kind of sentence he should face for molesting a Waltham boy 12 years ago.

[Photo Captions: Life and times of John J. Geoghan; Growing up; A psychosocial history compiled in 1989 at the St. Luke Institute in Maryland by Dr. Stephen Montana and Dr. Rhoda Ruttenberg describes Geoghan's formative years; His calling; Part of his psychosocial history compiled at St. Luke Institute April 16, 1989; Early troubles: A letter from Rev. Monsignor John J. Murray, rector of Cardinal Cushing Seminary questions Geoghan's maturity and more; A near expulsion for failing to attend a seminary camp and the ensuing rescue by his uncle, a priest, Mark H. Keohane, were Geoghan's first missteps documented by the church; Abusing boys: During his 1989 treatment for sexually molesting children, Geoghan admitted to sexually assaulting several boys in the 1970s; Personality profile: Excerpts from the St. Luke Institute report dated April 16, 1989 and the recommendation; Red light: Bishop Robert J. Banks notes from an April 28, 1989 conversation with Dr. John Brennan include 'You better clip his wings before there is an explosion.' and 'You can't afford to have him in a parish.;’ No secret: In this letter, Geoghan OKs the release of any information to his uncle, now a monsignor; Safe to return: Dr. Robert F. Swords of The Institute for Living gives the green light for Geoghan to return to work as a priest; Boyish: A Sept. 12, 1994 confidential memo from the Rev. John B. McCormack, secretary for ministerial personnel paints a disturbing picture of Geoghan; Won't go: Geoghan pleads to keep his job at the Office for Senior Priests; Didn't want help: This memorandum from Geoghan's file written by the Rev. Brian Flatley shows Geoghan's resistance to treatment. Flatley also describes Bernard Cardinal Law as being uneasy talking to Geoghan; At peace? A seemingly relaxed Rev. John J. Geoghan is all smiles in this 1968 photo.]