Rev. Joseph V. Maffei, S.V.D.

Assignment Record– Rev. Joseph V. Maffei, S.D.B.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Province of St. Philip the Apostle, Joseph Maffei was ordained in 1958. He worked in minor seminaries, retreat houses for youth, and parishes in Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and, for several years, in Montreal, Quebec. He died in 2009. Maffei was accused in a lawsuit filed in 2013 of having sexually abused a 12-year-old boy at the Marian Shrine in New Rochelle, New York, in 1978. His accuser also claimed abuse by Maffei's fellow Salesians, Rev. Sean Rooney and Bro. Alan Scheneman. The case was settled, as announced in September 2013.

Ordained: 1958
Died: December 29, 2009

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State/Country	Position	Notes
1958 Diocese of Gary Bishop was Andrew Gregory Grutka (1956-1984).	1967	St. Dominic Savio Juniorate, St. Dominic Savio Retreat House, Camp Salesian for Boys	Cedar Lake	IN		The Juniorate was a minor seminary with 9-50 boys.
1967 Archdiocese of Boston Archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).	1970	Sacred Heart Juniorate	Ipswich	MA		This was a vocation retreat house for boys of junior and high school age.
1970 Archdiocese of Montreal Archbishop was Paul Grégoire (1968-1990).	1972	Eglise St. Domenico Savio	Montreal	Quebec/Canada
1972 Archdiocese of New York Archbishop was Terence James Cooke (1968-1983).	1978	Salesian High School	New Rochelle	NY	Treasurer (noted in 1973 Directory)	Salesain High School had 585-395 students, all boys.
1978 Archdiocese of Boston Archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).	1981	Sacred Heart Retreat House	Ipswich • Maffei was accused in a 2013 lawsuit of having repeatedly sexually abused a 12-year-old boy. The abuse is said to have occurred at the Marian Shrine in New Rochelle NY. Maffei's alleged victim also claimed in the lawsuit that he was sexually abused by Rev. Sean Rooney, S.D.B., and Bro. Alan Scheneman, S.D.B.	MA	Retreat Director	This was a vocation retreat house for boys and girls of junior and senior high school ate. The case was settled, as announced in September 2013.
1981 Archdiocese of New York Archbishop was erence James Cooke (1968-1983), followed by John Joseph O'Connor (1984-2000).	1984	Our Lady of the Rosary	Port Chester	NY	2/3	Our Lady of the Rosary had a school with 180-246 students.
1984 Archdiocese of Newark Archbishop was Peter Leo Gerety (1974-1986), followed by Theodore Edward McCarrick (1986-2000).	1989	St. Anthony's	Elizabeth	NJ	3/5, 1/4, 1/6	St. Anthony's had a school with 510-395 students.
1989 Archdiocese of New York Archbishop wasJohn Joseph O'Connor (1984-2000).	1994	Don Bosco Retreat Center and Marian Shrine	West Haverstraw	NY	finances
1994 Archdiocese of New York Archbishop was John Joseph O'Connor (1984-2000), who was succeeded by Edward Michael Egan (2000-2009), then Timothy Dolan (2000-).	2000	Salesian Provincial House	New Rochelle	NY		Maffei is not indexed beyond the 2000 Directory. Maffei died December 29, 2009.

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.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1959-2000)

• Boston Lawyer Clergy Sex Abuse Victims Releases New List of Alleged Abusers, By Jay Lindsay, The Republic, September 4, 2013
• John Doe vs Father Sean Rooney, S.D.B. et al, Commonwealth of Massachusetts Superior Court, December 16, 2013

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 Maffei'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 August 4, 2016.