Fr. Joseph Rappl
In 4/2018 a 48-year-old man stated publicly he was sexually abused at age 11 in 1981 by Rappl. He said it happened once, after confession at St. Peter’s in Lewiston. After Lewiston, Rappl was assigned to parishes in West Seneca and Holley, before working into the late 1990s as a military chaplain in CA, NY, Washington DC and NC. He left the priesthood 1999. He stayed in NC and was noted in 4/2018 to be working as a “married Roman Catholic Priest,” although he was no longer in “the clerical state.” He was also a volunteer counselor at an overnight camp for children run by the Buffalo diocese. Rappl’s accuser filed a complaint with the diocese 3/19/2018. Rappl was accused in a lawsuit in 8/2019 of abuse of another child, age 12-14 in 1978-1980 at St. Peter’s in Lewiston. Included on the Diocese’s list of credibly accused.
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