Fr. William J. Lombardy

Ordained: 1967
Status: Sued

Died: 10/13/2017
Diocese: Archdiocese of New York NY

Accused in a lawsuit filed in 1/21 of sexually abusing two altar boys in the 1960s. The boys were students at St. Mary’s School in the Bronx, where Lombardy was a teacher. Lombardy’s accusers also alleged abuse in the suit by Rev. Raymond Foster. Lombardy is known for having trained chess champion Bobby Fischer from age 11. The men who filed suit alleged abuse at ages 11 and 12; one said Lombardy lured him under the ruse of teaching him chess. Lombardy left the priesthood in the late 1970s, married and had a son. HIs marriage ended in 1992 and Lombardy’s wife took their son and moved to her native Netherlands. He died in 10/17. His obituary notes that he worked at some point under Theodore McCarrick, who went on to become a Cardinal and was later credibly accused and laicized.


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