Chancery

List of Credibly Accused Clergy

March 1, 2019

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

I am releasing today a list of the names of clergy who have served in the Diocese of Columbus, and who have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor. I share with the faithful of our diocese sorrow, sadness, and anger over such behavior. I apologize to all victims for the abuse suffered, and hope that these disclosures will help bring healing to all victims and their families. The Diocese of Columbus is committed to maintaining a safe environment for all children and youth, and I am hopeful that the release of this information will help restore the confidence of all faithful in the Church and in its clergy. I urge anyone with claims of abuse by clergy or Church personnel to contact law enforcement immediately and also our Victim’s Assistance Coordinator at 614-224-2251, 866-448-0217, or [email protected].

In compiling this list, Diocesan staff reviewed the files of nearly 2,000 clergy who served in the Diocese of Columbus since its beginning in 1868.  The list is organized into five sections:

  • The first section contains the names of clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus (officially a member of the Diocese’s clergy) against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was made and investigated while the cleric was living.
  • The second section contains the names of clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor was made after the cleric’s death.  This distinction recognizes that an allegation received after a cleric is deceased does not provide the opportunity for the accused cleric to be questioned.
  • The third section contains the name of one priest incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus who was credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor while on assignment outside the Diocese.
  • The fourth and fifth sections contain the names of extern (incardinated outside the Diocese of Columbus) or religious (members of different religious orders) clergy who served in the Diocese of Columbus and who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors, separated based upon where the alleged abuse occurred.

The most recent credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor by a clergy member incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus involved alleged conduct that occurred in 1992.

The Diocese of Columbus is committed to full compliance with civil law and the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People and the Essential Norms for Diocesan/Eparchial Policies Dealing with Allegations of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Priests, Deacons, or Other Church Personnel, as established by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2002.  The Charter and Essential Norms contain a comprehensive set of policies and procedures for addressing allegations of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy, ensuring the safety of our children and youth, and creating an environment of transparency, accountability, reconciliation and healing.  Furthermore, the Diocese of Columbus is committed to providing law enforcement officials its full cooperation with all matters of criminal behavior by anyone acting on behalf of the Church.  The Diocese continues the practice of reporting information, credible or otherwise, about abuse of minors it receives to legal authorities, a practice adopted in 2002 prior to the creation of the Charter and Norms.  Also, since the initiation of the Charter and Norms, as called for by those documents, the Diocese has trained more than 62,000 through the Protecting God’s Children program, and more than 93,000 criminal background checks have been done on people working with minors.

I want to thank everyone at all levels who dedicate themselves to assuring the safety of our children and young people. As we move forward together into the future, let us all be strengthened by our loving Lord in the continuing work of assuring safe environments for all children and young people.

Sincerely in Christ,

Most Reverend Frederick F. Campbell
Apostolic Administrator

CLERGY CREDIBLY ACCUSED OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF A MINOR

Updated May 19, 2022

For purposes of this list, a credible allegation is one which, based upon a review of the available facts and circumstances, is more likely than not to be true.  Factors considered in making this determination included the details provided by the accuser(s); corroborating evidence; sincerity, circumstances, and reputation of the accuser and the accused; the accused clergy’s history (including any previous difficulties, suspicions or, in the case of previously accused clergy, allegations); and, if applicable, the accused’s admission of wrongdoing.  No one factor was determinative.  Rather, a totality of the circumstances was considered.  Since the establishment of the Review Board in 2003, the determination of credibility is made in consultation with the Review Board in all cases of incardinated clergy (priests and deacons) accused of sexual abuse of a minor while the clergy is still living and not yet laicized (removed from the clergy state).

While this list is as comprehensive as possible, there are challenges presented by the age of or lack of information relating to certain allegations as well as the reality of human fallibility.  Therefore, it can never be said with complete certainty that this list contains the names of every cleric who has ever sexually abused a child in the Diocese of Columbus.  In light of this, there may be those who experienced abuse but who do not see the name of the cleric who abused them on this list.  The fact that the name of an accused diocesan cleric does not appear on this list is not a repudiation of an allegation or a denial that the alleged abuse occurred.  Likewise, it is possible that new information could be presented that might clear an accused cleric of wrongdoing.  Because of these factors, this list will always be a work in progress, and the Diocese will continue to consider both new allegations as well as new information about old allegations so that, as much as humanly possible, this list will be complete and accurate.

  1. Clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor within the Diocese was made and investigated while the clergy was living

Name

Ordained

Status

Fr. Ronald Atwood

1969

Deceased

Fr. Thomas Brosmer

1969

Deceased

Fr. R. Michael Ellifritz

1967

Deceased

Fr. Roger Emmert

1962

Deceased

Msgr. Joseph Fete

1974

Laicized

Fr. Michael Hanrahan

1971

Laicized, deceased

Dcn. James Hutson

1982

Deceased

Fr. Philip Jacobs

1974

Laicized

Fr. Raymond Lavelle

1957

Deceased

Fr. Frederick Loyd

1970

Laicized, deceased 

Fr. Robert Luchi

1957

Deceased

Fr. Kevin Lutz

1978

Removed from ministry

Fr. Dean A. Mathewson

1973

Administrative leave

Fr. Bernard McClory

1953

Deceased

Fr. Thomas McLaughlin

1956

Laicized, deceased

Fr. Samuel Ritchey

1973

Laicized, deceased

Fr. Francis Schaefer

1955

Deceased

Fr.  David Schilder

1968

Deceased

Fr. George Tumeo

1965

Laicized

Fr. Martin Weithman

1980

Laicized


  1. Clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor within the Diocese was made after the clergy’s death[1]

  

Name Ordained Status
Msgr. Robert Brown 1939 Deceased
Msgr. Harry Estadt 1932 Deceased
Fr. John Gamba 1942 Deceased
Fr. John Geiger 1957  Deceased
Fr. Louis Hoffman 1943 Deceased
Fr. John Ryan 1959 Deceased
Fr. Robert Schmidt 1943 Deceased
Fr. Ted Spires 1961 Laicized, deceased
Fr. Alan Sprenger 1960 Deceased
Fr. John Tague 1951 Deceased


  1. Clergy incardinated in the Diocese of Columbus against whom a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor at a location outside the Diocese was made and investigated while the cleric was living.  
Name Ordained Status
Fr. Carl Drake 1964 Deceased


  1. Extern or religious clergy (clergy from other dioceses or religious orders) who served in the Diocese of Columbus who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors (alleged conduct occurred in the Diocese of Columbus).

 

Name Ordained Status
Fr. Hector Bellinato, PIME 1935 Deceased
Fr. David Heimann 1958 Deceased
Dcn. Gabriel Hernandez 2008 Dismissed from the Josephinum, laicized
Fr. Robert Hunt, C.PP.S. 1954 Deceased
Fr. Timothy Keane, SS.CC. 1950  Deceased

 

  1. Extern or religious clergy who served in the Diocese of Columbus that were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors elsewhere (alleged conduct occurred outside the Diocese of Columbus)

Ordained Status
Fr. Pierre Albalaa, MSM 1995 Removed from ministry
Fr. Frank Benham 1963 Left ministry
Fr. Stuart Campbell, OP 1930 Deceased
Fr. Aaron Cote, OP 1986 Deceased
Fr. Kenneth France-Kelly, OP 1981 Deceased
Fr. Joseph Herlihy, OP 1939 Deceased
Fr. Walter Horan, OP 1945 Deceased
Fr. Stephan Johnson, CSP 1981 No longer in ministry
Fr. James Kilkenny, OP 1936 Deceased
Fr. Francis Masserella, GHM  1941 Deceased
Fr. Thomas McCarthy, OP 1960 Deceased
Fr. Richard J. McCormick, SDB 1970 Incarcerated
Fr. Joseph McGuiness, OP 1939 Deceased
Fr. Robert Pelkington, OP 1968 Deceased
Fr. John Powers, OP 1952 Deceased
Fr. Francis Sweeney, CSP 1961 Deceased
Fr. John Walsh, OMI 1940 Deceased

This list will be supplemented based upon any future determinations of credible allegations.

Updated: 6/9/2023

[1] The Diocese of Columbus also received an allegation of sexual abuse concerning Monsignor Thomas Bennett. The abuse allegedly occurred during the 2002-2003 school year.  Monsignor Bennett served within the Diocese from 1957 until his death in 2008.  The allegation was first made known to the Diocese of Columbus in May 2018 and was the subject of a lawsuit filed on July 5, 2018, in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court, Ohio.  That lawsuit was settled in 2020.