Fr. James M. Silva

Ordained: 1967
Status: Convicted

Diocese: Diocese of Providence RI

Removed from ministry 3/1/1993. Two men filed suit in 1994. Seven more men filed civil suits alleging they were abused as children by Silva in the 1960s-1980s. Criminal charges were also filed in 1994. Silva admitted in court that he sexually abused a young man. Received a 7-year suspended sentence and was ordered to undergo counseling. Eight claims were settled by the diocese as part of a $13.5M mass settlement in 9/2002 (one may have settled earlier). Multiple transfers after initial notice. Included on the Providence diocese’s list 7/1/2019. On the Santa Fe archdiocese’s list 5/19/2021, whcih notes he was at Via Coeli in Jemez Springs in 1981 and at a Jemez Springs parish. Indicted in 11/2021 on charges of abuse of a boy under the age of 14 1989-1990, after an investigation by the A.G. and RI State Police.


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