ROCHESTER (NY)
BishopAccountability.org [Waltham MA]
October 6, 2025
[Note from BishopAccountability.org – Church bankruptcies have begun to include survivor impact hearings. At one of those hearings, Fr. Paul Ignatius Cloonan was brought to our attention, and his “ledger page” (his diocesan assignment record) was provided to us. We have researched the lawsuits regarding Cloonan filed during New York’s CVA window and updated his entry in our Database of Accused accordingly.]
Named as a sexual abuser by at least 14 men and women in lawsuits filed during the New York Child Victims Act window (click “Read original article” above for access to the ledger page, lawsuits, and other sources). In the seven lawsuits that provide details of the abuse, the criminal acts range from sexual touching to anal rape and include fondling and groping of the victim’s genitals, creation of pornographic photographs, and oral rape. Cloonan rubbed his genitals and rectum on one victim’s face and chest, and forced another victim to give the priest oral sex. Each victim for whom details are known experienced multiple assaults. At least six of Cloonan’s victims were altar servers, and another was employed by the priest as the parish groundkeeper. Children were abused in at least five rectories and the homes of at least two of the victims. Other venues for abuse were the attic of a rectory during “chores” and a public park in Rochester.
Cloonan’s diocesan ledger page lists 13 parishes where he worked for over 34 years between 1954 and 1988. In only one parish did Cloonan work for the usual six years. His average stay in a parish was 2.6 years. So many transfers and such brief appointments appear to indicate that the diocese knew Cloonan was an abuser, likely during his first appointment, but continued to move him to unsuspecting parishes. The known complainants state that he abused them in 10 of his 13 parishes. He is known to have abused at least three children during his first assignment at Holy Rosary in Rochester (1954-1957) and at least three children during his last assignment as pastor at St. Mary of the Assumption in Scottsville (1986-1988). Cloonan is known to have abused at least four children during his assignment at Our Lady of Good Counsel (1970-1975); in 1971, he was abusing all four of them. Three victims are known to have been abused in more than one parish; one victim’s abuse continued for 10 years while Cloonan worked in five different parishes. During that time, Cloonan was also out of ministry for six months, a hiatus which the ledger describes as a sabbatical at Notre Dame Institute starting 6/25/85. The ledger does not include another possible hiatus – an assignment as the chaplain at St. Ann’s Home for the Aged, which is listed in the 1976 Official Catholic Directory.
Cloonan was 60 years old when he “resigned” his last parish on 12/2/88, according to the diocesan ledger. The index of the 1993 OCD shows that Cloonan was living at St. Mary’s in Geneseo with his brother, Fr. Joseph F. Cloonan, a retired Navy chaplain. A 6/3/97 family obituary states that Rev. Paul I. Cloonan was then living in Paso Robles CA (in the Monterey diocese), while his brother Joseph lived in San Diego. A 10/14/04 family obituary locates Rev. Paul I. Cloonan in San Diego. Publicly available information shows him also residing in Pacific Grove CA (in the Monterey diocese). It is not known whether he was in ministry in the years after 1988. Paul I. Cloonan was laicized on 10/28/05; this action was made public by the diocese on 6/7/12. Cloonan died on 10/17/15. On 9/12/19, the Diocese of Rochester filed for bankruptcy protection, staying all abuse lawsuits, including the Cloonan complaints. The $246.35 million bankruptcy settlement approved on 9/5/25 included compensation for the Cloonan victims.