Assignment Record – Rev. Norman J. Rogge, s.j.

Summary of Case: A Jesuit priest of the New Orleans Province ordained in 1956, Rogge was convicted twice for the sexual abuse of boys in Florida - in 1967 and again in 1985. He received probation both times and was allowed to continue in ministry. Rogge worked across the south in parishes, high schools and a juvenile detention center. He was sent to live in a Jesuit retirement community in New Orleans in 2002 after journalists exposed news of his past convictions. Rogge died in 2009.

Ordained: 1956
Died: February 4, 2009

1956

Kansas City Kansas archbishop was Edward Joseph Hunkeler (1951-1969).

1957

Norwich bishop was Bernard Joseph Flanagan (1953-1959).

1958

Dallas-Ft. Worth bishop was Thomas Kiely Gorman (1954-1969).

1960

St. Augustine bishop was Joseph Patrick Hurley (1940-1967).

The St. Petersburg diocese was established March 2, 1968. Its bishop was Charles Borromeo McLaughlin (1968-1978), followed by William Thomas Larkin (1979-1988).

Tampa

Tampa

• In 2002 a man said Rogge repeatedly fondled him when the man was a young resident of the detention home in 1963. He said Rogge told him he was checking his genitals for signs of damage.

• Multiple residents of the home told investigators in 1967 that Rogge touched them inappropriately during nude swimming lessons in a lake near a cottage belonging to Rogge.

• Rogge was convicted in Florida in 1967 of contributing to the delinquency of a minor after pleading guilty to placing his hand on the leg and penis of a 14-year-old resident of the detention home. The incident occurred at a movie theater in September 1966.

Rogge was sentenced to three years of probation.

1979

Mobile bishop was John Lawrence May (1969-1980). Mobile became an archdiocese July 20, 1980. It's archbishop was Oscar Hugh Lipscomb (1980-2008).

1981

Oakland bishop was John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003).

1982

Alexandria-Shreveport bishop was William Benedict Friend (1982-1986).

Campti

• Rogge pleaded no contest in 1985 to masturbating in front of an 11-year-old boy, attempting to get the boy to perform oral sex on him, and giving the boy beer during a July 1984 visit to Tampa, FL. Two other men participated with Rogge in the behaviors, which happened over a two-day stay at a country cabin. One of the men was a convicted child molester who threatened to kill the boy if he told. Rogge was identified in the to in Florida police records as "Anthony J. Rogge aka Norman J. Rogge".

Rogge is indexed but not listed in the Alexandria-Shreveport diocesan pages as at Nativity of the BVM. The 1984-1985 Directories list Rogge as in residence at St. Patrick's in Montgomery.

Rogge was sentenced to a year in jail; the judge, however, withheld adjudication of guilt and Rogge was ordered to go to Servants of the Paraclete in New Mexico for treatment. After his stay in New Mexico, Rogge was put on probation.

1988

New Orleans archbishop was Francis Bible Schulte (1988-2002).

1989

Lafayette bishop was Harry Joseph Flynn (1989-1994), followed by Edward Joseph O'Donnell (1994-2002).

2002

Schulte was succeeded by Alfred Clifton Hughes (2002-2009).

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1957-2005)

• 1967 Conviction--Court Docs
• A Roman Catholic Priest Was Held without Bond in Citrus County Jail, United Press International, June 7, 1985
• Priest from Louisiana was Sentenced to One Year in Jail, United Press International, November 6, 1985
• Priest Kept Working after Child Abuse Prosecutions, Cleric Pleaded Guilty, No Contest in 2 Cases; He Calls Charges 'Incorrect', By Brooks Egerton, Dallas Morning News, May 4, 2002
• Allegations against Two More Priests in South Louisiana, By Jessica Bujol, Associated Press State & Local Wire, April 17, 2002
• 2 La. Priests Returned to Service after Accusations of Sex Abuse, By Janet McConnaughey, Advocate, April 19, 2002
• Orders Have Let Abusers Remain, But Leader Predicts Ban on Public Ministry for Offenders, By Reese Dunklin and Brooks Egerton
Dallas News, August 8, 2002
• Funeral Notice, Rogge, Times-Picayune (New Orleans), February 16, 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.

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 Rogge'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 May 15, 2014.