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Assignment Record– Rev. Robert F. Daly

Summary of Case: Daly left active ministry in 1984. He was later accused of molesting minors over a 15-year period in the 1970s and 1980s, and he was accused in a 2005 lawsuit of previous child sexual abuse. In June 2011 the Vatican announced Daly's laicization. At the time of the announcement Daly was working as a school psychologist in Kingston, MA; he was placed on leave by school officials who said the news of Daly's laicizaiton and earlier lawsuit was the first they knew there were accusations of abuse against him.

Ordained: 1967
Laicized: 2011

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1967

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

1968 St. Jerome's North Weymouth
MA 4/4 Parish had a school with 192 boys and 182 girls.
1968 1969 St. Mary's Charlestown
MA 3/3 Parish had a school with 226 boys and 227 girls.

1969

Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1980 St. Patrick's

Brockton

After he left active ministry in 1984, Daly was accused of molesting minors over a 15 year period in the 1970s and 1980s.

MA 4/4,3/3,3/4,3/5,2/4 Parish had a school from 1969-1972 with 151-97 boys and 175-85 girls.
6/24/30 7/31/80 St. Peter's Plymouth MA associate pastor  

8/01/80

Bernard Francis Law followed Medeiros as Boston archbishop (1984-2002).

10/11/84 St. Anne's

Readville (Boston)

After he left active ministry in 1984, Daly was accused of molesting minors over a 15-year period in the 1970s and 1980s.

MA 2/3 Parish had a school 279 students.
1984 1986 Absent on leave       Daly is not indexed beyond the 1986 Directory.

1986

Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. replaced Law
(2003-).

2011        

Daly was accused of child sexual abuse in a 2005 lawsuit. He was known at the time to have been living in Plymouth, MA.

In June 2011 the archdiocese announced that Daly was removed by the Vatican from the clerical state. He had voluntarily left the priesthood in the 1980s.

Daly had been working as a school psychologist in Kingston, MA when his laicization was announced. School district officials placed him on paid leave the day they learned from the news media of the laicization and previous accusations.


Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1968-1986).

Some Priest Abuse Claims Remain Open, By Sue Reinert, Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA), March 8, 2005
Archdiocese of Boston Announces Robert F. Daly, John Keane, Robert Knapp and Benjamin Mcmahon Are No Longer in the Clerical State, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, June 13, 2011
Two with Local Ties Among 4 Defrocked Priests, MetroWest Daily News, June 13, 2011
Vatican ousts 4 from clerical state, By John M. Guilfoil, Boston Globe, June 14, 2011
Vatican Defrocks 4 Priests; 3 Served at South Shore Churches, By Lane Lambert, Brockton Enterprise, June 14, 2011
School Psychologist Placed on Leave over Abuse Allegations, By Christian Schiavone, MetroWest Daily News, June 17, 2011
Our Opinion: Time for Church to Honor Transparency Promise, The Patriot Ledger, June 21, 2011
Boston Archdiocese Posts Sex-Abuse Database Online, By Joan Frawley Desmond, National Catholic Register, August 25, 2011

 



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.

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 & 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 Daly's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation 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 September 23, 2015.



 
 

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