Assignment Record– Rev. Thomas F. Motherway

Summary of Case: Ordained for the Archdiocese of Boston in 1969, Motherway worked in Boston, Peabody, Lynn, Monponsett and in the Fall River diocese in Centerville MA. He went on an extended sick leave in 1985 after a serious car accident and on permanent disability in 1998. Motherway was named in March 2003 as having been accused at some point of child sexual abuse. No details were given. He died in April 2003.

Born: 1942
Ordained
: 1969
Died: April 21, 2003

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

6/04/69

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970), followed by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

9/28/73 St. Ambrose's Boston (Fields Corner) MA 3/3, 4/4 School had 217-175 boys and 241-195 girls.
9/29/73 4/15/74 St. Ann's Peabody MA 2/3  
4/16/74 5/10/82 St. Mary's Lynn MA 5/5, 3/6, 4/6, 3/7, 3/5, 2/5 Parish had a high school with 768-309 students. The 1975 Directory lists, in addition to the high school, a "school with 571 students."
5/11/82 7/14/83 St. Bernadette's Randolph MA 3/4  
7/15/83 10/10/83 Our Lady of the Lake Monponsett MA temporary associate pastor  

10/11/83

Medeiros was succeeded by Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002).

6/30/85 St. Margaret's Boston (Dorchester) MA 4/4

Parish had a school with 404-379 students, and a high school with 358-333 girls.

Motherway was seriously injured in a February 1985 car accident. (Associated Press
March 19, 1985)

7/01/85 9/30/98 Absent on Sick Leave   MA  

A phone number is listed for him in the 1993 Directory. A 2010 google search shows the number to be for the rectory of Our Lady of the Assumption in Chelsea MA.

Motherway's 83 year old mother was arrested in 1995 for physically abusing him. He was confined to a wheelchair and was living with her in her Cape Cod home. Per news reports, he was assigned to Our Lady of Victory in Centerville MA at the time. (Boston Herald
November 30, 1995)

 

Fall River diocese bishop was Sean Patrick O'Malley, O.F.M. Cap. (1992-2002).

  Our Lady of Victory Centerville MA    
10/01/98 4/21/03 Permanent Disability

 

Motherway was named among 48 archdiocesan priests in March 2003 as having been accused at some point of child sexual abuse. (Boston Globe
March 5, 2003)

MA   Motherway died April 21, 2003.


Sources
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1970-2004); Motherway Assignment Record, Archdiocese of Boston

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 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 Motherway'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 June 3, 2010.