Rev.Benedict P. Barszcz, S.A.C.

Assignment History– Rev. Benedict P. Barszcz, S.A.C.

Summary of Case: A native of Poland, Benedict P. Barszcz was ordained in 1990 for the Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallotines). By 1993 he was with the Order in North Tonawanda, NY, in the Diocese of Buffalo. Barszcz assisted at parishes in the Brooklyn diocese during 1994-1998; in October 1998 he was assigned to assist back in Buffalo, at St. Peter's in Lewiston.

On July 20, 1999 Barszcz was arrested and charged with public lewdness after he allegedly exposed himself to two girls, ages 14 and 15. He reportedly was sitting in a car masturbating in front of the girls, then drove away; the girls and their parents flagged down two detectives, who pulled the priest over. The diocese removed him from public ministry and he was returned to his Order in North Tonawanda.

Barszcz is last known to have been working in Poland in 2001, as a port chaplain in Szczecin.

Ordained: 1990

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1990	1993					Barszcz is not indexed in the 1991-1993 Directories.
1993 Diocese of Buffalo Bishop was Edward Dennis Head (1973-1995), followed by Henry Joseph Mansell (1995-2003).	1999	Society of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallotines)	North Tonawanda	NY		The Directories show Barszcz during 1994-1998 as at both the Pallotines' base in North Tonawada and at several parishes in Brooklyn, NY.
1994 Diocese of Brooklyn Bishop was Thomas Vos Daily (1990-2003).	1997	St. Mark	Brooklyn	NY	3/4 1994-1996: Msgr. Gerard J. Arella; Revs. John J. Schmidt; Benedict Barszcz, S.A.C. (Poland). Pastoral Assocs.: Sr. Gloria Lepere, O.P.; Deacons Mark Seliga; Richard Lee. In res., Rev. Joseph P. Quigley. 1996-1997: Msgr. Gerard J. Arella; Revs. Cyril J. Doody; Benedict Braszcz, S.A.C. (Poland) Pastoral Assocs.: Sr. Gloria Lepere, O.P.; Deacon Mark Seliga. In res,. Rev. Joseph P. Quigley.	St. Mark's had a school with 294-297 students, and a CCD program with 350-375 students.
1997	1998	St. Frances de Chantal	Brooklyn	NY	5/5 Revs. Arthur D. Purcell; Jose George (India); Andriej Lukianiuk. In res., Revs. Michael J. Hunt, Pastor Emeritus; Benedict Barszcz, S.A.C. (Poland).	St. Frances de Chantal's had a CCD program with 320 students.
Oct. 1998 Diocese of Buffalo Bishop was Henry Joseph Mansell (1995-2003).	July 1999	St. Peter's	Lewiston • Barszcz was arrested and charged with public lewdness on July 20, 1999 after he was accused of exposing himself to two girls, ages 14 and 15. He was reportedly sitting in a car and masturbating in front of the girls. He drove away and the girls and their families flagged down two detectives, who pulled the priest over.	NY		This assignment is per news reports. Barszcz is not indexed beyond the 1999 Directory. Barszcz was removed from public ministry by the diocese and sent to the Pallotine Center in North Tonawanda.
July 1999						A Vatican publication called "Apostolatus Maris, The Church in the Maritime World" published in late 2001 shows Barszcz to have been new port chaplain for Szczecin, Poland.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, ).

• Priest Accused of Lewdness is Reassigned, Buffalo News, July 22, 1999
• Diocese Reassigns Priest Facing Public Lewdness Charge, Buffalo News, July 23, 1999
• At least 19 Buffalo Priests Publicly Linked to Sex Allegations, Buffalo News, February 28, 2018
• Apostolatus Maris, The Church in the Maritime World, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, No. 74, 2001/III, p.13

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Barszcz's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on May 8, 2018.