BROOKLYN (NY)
BishopAccountability.org
November 11, 2017
Summary of Case: Adam F. Prochaski was a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn ordained in 1968. He spent his entire career at Holy Cross parish and school in Maspeth, Queens, which was established by and served the Polish community. Prochaski was an assistant priest unitl 1989, when he was named pastor. Prochaski left the parish in 1994 and, through 2002, was indexed in the Official Catholic Directory as “Absent on Leave” or “Absent on Sick Leave.”
In September 2017 a former Holy Cross teacher, Linda Porcaro, stated publicly that in 1990 seven of her female students told her that Prochaski was sexually abusing them. Porcaro said she reported this to the school principal, whose response was to laugh and say that “everyone knew about Father P.” Porcaro said she later told a new principal, who reported the allegations to the diocese, but that “not much was done.” The diocese claimed that it first received allegations against Prochaski in 1994 and that he left the priesthood soon thereafter. The diocese denied responsibility for Prochaski after 1994, despite his having been indexed in the Directories through 2002.
By October 2017, twenty-three women had come forward with allegations that Prochaski sexually abused them when they were students at Holy Cross. The abuse allegedly occurred between 1972 and 1994, and was of girls ages 5 to 16. Many of the girls were Polish immigrants, brought to the U.S. via a special program run by Prochaski. Porcaro said that she had heard from “hundreds” of former students who said that the priest had abused them.
Prochaski reportedly went on to marry and to work as an addictions counselor.
The New York Police Department initiated an investigation. The statute of limitations for child sexual abuse in New York state prevents criminal or civil litigation after the alleged victim reaches age 23, with the exception of rape.
Ordained: 1968
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