Assignment Record– Rev. George J. Rosenkranz

Summary of Case: Rosenkranz was accused of sexually abusing altar boys from parishes in several Boston area communities in the 1960s and 70s. At least two accusers have stated that monsignors saw what was happening, and did nothing. One of the former altar boys took his claims to the archdiocese in 1987, and was told that he was possibly misinterpreting affection for something sexual. Rosenkranz was arrested in 1981 for performing a lewd act on a man in a public restroom, but the charges were dropped after intervention from a "friendly" judge. He was again arrested in 1989 for "lewd conversation and indecent assault" on an undercover police officer. It was after this that he was put on Sick Leave by the archdiocese. He was defrocked in 2006.

Born: 1936
Ordained
: 1962
Laicized: 2006

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1962

Boston archbishop was Richard James Cushing (1944-1970).

1964 St. John the Evangelist Canton MA

4/4

Responsible for all youth programs. Taught religious ed. to freshman boys. Directed 80 elementary and 50 high school altar boys. Started a CYO with 300 high schoolers. Conducted Days of Recollection in several Catholic high schools, including Ursuline Academy and Jean D'Arc. (Rosenkranz resume from archdiocesan personnel file)

Parish had a school with 404-388 boys and 370-378 girls.
1962 1965 St. Gerard's Canton MA   Per archdiocesan assignment record.
1965 1970 Our Lady Star of the Sea

Marblehead

Rosenkranz was accused in a 2002 lawsuit of molesting an altar boy in the late 1960s at this parish and in a New Hampshire hotel where he had taken the boy overnight. The former altar boy also said that a monsignor had seen him as a boy with Rosenkranz and did nothing. The accuser confronted Rosenkranz and the diocese in 1987 with his claims. (Boston Herald, March 11, 2002) He wrote a letter to Cardinal Law, and another to Rosenkranz. Rev. John McCormack, head of the archdiocese's ministerial personnel at the time, is said to have dismissed the man's complaints when approached in 1987. (Associated Press
April 13, 2002)

There was at least one more allegation of sexual abuse and rape of a child at this parish. (Pattern and Practice brief)

MA

3/3

Responsible for all youth programs, including altar boys, scouts, and C.Y.O. Organized and supervised a guidance dept. for junior high students. Personally counseled 100 students.

Parish had a school with 359-209 boys and 327-251 girls.

Per Rosenkranz' resume, he received a graduate degree in education in 1968, and in 1969 studied "Guidance and Counseling with particular emphasis on adolescent development". The objective of his resume was guidance of youth.

Archdiocesan authorities may have known about Rosenkranz' sexual abuse of children as early as 1970, and was transferred out of this parish as a result. (Patterns and Practice brief)

 

    Catholic Youth Organization   MA Assistant Deanery Director for the Salem Deanery. C.Y.O. Board of Directors member. Per Rosenkranz' resume, he supervised and directed C.Y.O activities among North Shore of Boston parishes.
    Teens Encounter Christ     Spiritual Director at TEC Encounters.  

1970

Cushing was succeeded by Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1971 Our Lady of Grace Chelsea-Everett MA 3/4

Parish had a school with 198 boys and 204 girls.

 

1971 1975 Cardinal Cushing Academy West Newbury MA   This was a school with 205 boys and 30 girls.

1972

Replacing Medeiros was Bernard Francis Law (1984-2002).

1984 Blessed Sacrament

Saugus

Rosenkranz was accused in a 2002 lawsuit of sexually abusing an altar boy in the 1970s at this parish. His account of abuse matched that of an accuser form Our Lady Start of the Sea in Marblehead, although the accusers did not know one another. He, too, said he was abused at the parish and in New Hampshire, and that a monsignor was aware and did nothing. (Boston Herald
March 11, 2002)

Rosenkranz was arrested in 1981 for performing a lewd act on a man in a Sear's men's restroom. He contacted a "friendly" judge, and the charges were dropped. (Boston (MA) Globe
September 13, 2002) Bishop Daily handled the case for the archdiocese, supporting Rosenkranz and keeping the incident quiet. (July 1981 memo from Rosenkranz' personnel file)

MA 2/4, 2/3, 3/3, 2/2  
1984 1985 St. Mary Star of the Sea Beverly-Danvers MA 3/3 Parish had a school with 245 students.
1985 1986 St. Theresa's North Reading MA 2/2  
1986 1989 St. Joseph's (French) Salem MA

3/4, 3/3

In residence.

Parish had a school with 252-241 students.
1986 1989 St. Therese's

Salem

Rosenkranz was arrested in October 1989 for "lewd conversation and indecent assault" on an undercover police officer at a highway rest stop. (Boston Globe
September 13, 2002)

MA  

This was a mission of St. Joseph's.

Rosenkranz was put on sick leave in December 1989.

A retired priest who knew Rosenkranz, having lived with him for three years, wrote to Bishop Banks in 1990 that he thought Rosenkranz "should not be reassigned to a parish," and that he had to leave our Lady Start of the Sea "for the same reason" he was leaving St. Joseph's. (Boston archdiocesan documents)

1989 1999 Absent on Sick Leave       Rosenkranz moved at some point to Englewood, FL.
1999 2002 Unassigned      

Rosenkranz is not indexed beyond the 2002 Directory.

He was defrocked in 2006 as announced in February 2007. (Salem News [Massachusetts]
February 24, 2007)


Source
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1964-2002)

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 Rosenkranz' 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 November 2, 2015.