BUFFALO (NY)
WKBW ABC 7
March 16, 2018
By Charlie Specht
Rev. Donald Becker denies multiple abuse claims
A longtime priest in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo was forced out of service and put on “medical leave” in 2002 after allegations of child sexual abuse came to light, the 7 Eyewitness News I-Team has learned.
Until now, the Rev. Donald W. Becker has never been named publicly as an alleged child sex abuser even though victims have come forward with stories of abuse and the reverend has long had a poor reputation among some diocesan priests.
The timing of Becker’s forced retirement — he was given a “medical leave of absence” soon after the Catholic sex abuse scandal first broke in Boston in 2002 — looks especially suspect in hindsight, clerical sexual abuse experts said.
Since he was ordained in 1967, Becker has served at multiple parishes — mostly in the Southtowns and in rural areas — including St. Bonaventure in West Seneca, Nativity in Orchard Park, SS. Peter & Paul in Hamburg, St. Agatha’s in South Buffalo and St. Mary’s in Batavia.
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