Rev. Paul Henry Leech-Assignment

Rev. Paul Henry Leech

Ordained: 1980

Start	Stop	Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1979 Louis E. Gelineau was bishop of Providence (1971-1997).	1980	St. Philip's	Greenville • Charged in July 1984 of having sexually asaulted teenage boys at three parishes, including St. Philip's. (United Press International July 5, 1984)	RI	4/4 As a Deacon, prior to ordination, Leech worked under Revs. Raymond J. Rafferty, Charles P. Quinn, and Roger C. Gagne. He is listed in the Official Catholic Directory as as Rev. Mr. P. Henry Leech.	St. Philip had a school with 272 students.
1980	1983	St. Joseph's Stations-Morin Heights Community Center; Woonsocket Health Center	Woonsocket (Chipman's Corners) • Pleaded no contest in Aug. 1985 to sexual assault, sodomy, and assault and battery on teenage boys at three RI parishes, including St. Joseph's. (Associated Press August 20, 1985)	RI	3/3 Leech was the third priest, after Revs. J.A. Roger Lacasse and Dennis M. Boudreau.
1983	1984	St. Jude's	Lincoln • Sentenced in Oct. 1985 for sexual assault of teenage boys at St. Jude's and his previous parishes. Although the sentence was for 86 years in jail, all but three years were suspended. (United Press International October 7, 1985)	RI	2/2 Pastor was Rev. George P. Behan.
1984	1988	Absent on sick leave	?	?		Leech's name no longer appears in the OCDs after 1988.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1980-1988).

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.