Rev. Msgr. Joseph Thang Xuan Pham

Summary of Case: Pham was removed from active ministry in July 2011 after being accused of, and admitting to, having sexually abused a minor while he was in college.

Ordained: 1985

   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes
    St. Joseph Seminary College

St. Benedict

• Pham was accused in 2011 of having sexually abused a minor when he was in college. He admitted the accusation was true.

LA student/seminarian Pham attended St. Joseph Seminary College.

1985

Richmond bishop was Walter Francis Sullivan (1974-2003)

1988 St. Bede's Williamsburg VA 4/4  
1988 1990         Pham is not indexed in the 1989 or 1990 Directories, nor is he listed in the Richmond diocesan pages at his previous or subsequent assignments.
1990 1991 Unassigned        
1991 1997 Ethnic and Special Ministries Richmond VA   This was a chancery position.

1991

Sullivan was succeeded by Francis Xavier DiLorenzo (2004-)

2010 Church of the Vietnamese Martyrs Richmond VA 1/1, 1/2

This parish had a religious education program with 98-115 students.

Pham is first noted to be a Monsignor in the 2004 Directory.

2010 July 2011 St. John's Dinwiddie VA Parochial Vicar Pham was removed from ministry in July 2011 due to an accusation and Pham's admission that he had sexually abused a minor while in college (seminary).

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1986-2010)

• Dinwiddie Priest Removed from Post, By Randy Hallman, Richmond Times-Dispatch, July 30, 2011
• Priest Removed from Ministry, Catholic Virginian, July 31, 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 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 Pham'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 Oct. 18, 2011