WALTHAM (MA)
BishopAccountability.org
Of the 21 persons whose files were released on November 21, 2013, Bro. Joseph F. Reagan is the only one not previously known to be accused. He is not on the Los Angeles archdiocesan lists, and he was not in BishopAccountability.org’s Database of Accused. Reagan joined the Brothers of the Congregation of Holy Cross in 1961. He trained in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Texas in 1961-1965, and then worked as a counselor at a boys’ home called Rancho San Antonio in Chatsworth CA (see summary). He left the order in 1966, planning to “achieve my salvation … in the field of baseball.”
The order was contacted several times in June 2002 by a man alleging abuse by Reagan at Rancho San Antonio. The “disturbed” caller was told that Reagan “left the HC Brothers, married, became a cop in Oxnard, and then Regan [sic], his wife and daughter were killed in an auto accident.” A detective with the LAPD also called the order several times in early 2003.
The file contains nothing indicating that the order knew about the abuse before the survivor called, but there are at least four pages missing from the file as released (Bates numbers BOHC/REAGAN 078-081). Some documents raise concerns. One evaluation states that Reagan “seems to have a great deal of natural ability to work with boys” and that he has “shown signs of immaturity in judgment.” Another observes that he “has had a little trouble adjusting to the less manly Brothers but has more or less outgrown it. It should not bother him anymore. Friendly, takes active part in rec. May be a little prone to scandal at first due to naivete.” The order’s concern for such issues can also be seen in a questionnaire that asks reviewers whether applicants to the order are “manly and virile” or “soft or feminine.” Reagan’s Salesian reviewer replies, “I did not notice.”
Here is the entire Reagan file, re-processed to make it searchable and easier to download than the files as released.
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