Rev. Henry J. Trainor

Summary of Case: Trainor first left active ministry in 1993 due to accusations of child sexual abuse against him. He was reinstated a few years later by San Francisco archbishop Levada, but removed in 2002 when prosecutors were given information about the earlier accusations.

Ordained: 1973

     

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1973

San Francisco archbishop was Joseph Thomas McGucken (1962-1977)

1975 Queen of Apostles San Jose CA 3/4, 2/4 Queen of Apostles had a school with 282-240 students.

1975

McGucken was succeeded by John Raphael Quinn (1977- 1995)

1980 Holy Name of Jesus San Francisco CA 3/4, 2/4 Holy Name of Jesus had a school with 614-645 students.
1980 1983 St. John the Evangelist San Francisco CA 2/3 St. John's had a grade school with 298-286 students, and a high school with 300-336 girls.
1983 1985 Mater Dolorosa South San Francisco CA 2/2 Mater Dolorosa had a school with 286 students.
1985 1992 St. Stephen's San Francisco CA 3/3, 4/4 St. Stephen's had a school with 263-302 students.
1992 1993 St. Finn Barr San Francisco CA 1/2 St. Finn Barr had a school with 315 students.

1993

Quinn was replaced by William Joseph Levada (1995-2005)

1996 Absent on Leave • Trainor left active ministry "on his own accord" due to allegations of child sexual abuse.      
1996 1997 Special Assignment: Dept. of the Moderator of the Curia     Associate Director of Archives  
1996 2001 St. Patrick's San Francisco CA

4/4, 2/4, 2/3

In residence 1996-1997

St. Patrick's had a religious education program with 125-84 students.
2001 2002 Special Assignment: Laguna Honda Hospital     Chaplain  
2001 2002 St. Brendan's San Francisco CA 5/5 In residence. St. Brendan's had a school with 342-346 students, and a religious education program with 5-6 students.

2002

George Hugh Niederauer followed Levada as San Francisco archbishop (2005-)

2008 Absent on Leave       Trainor was removed from active ministry in 2002 after prosecutors were given information about the earlier allegations against him.
2008 2010 Retired        
2010 2011 Absent on Leave/Retired        

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1974-2011)

• S.F. Archdiocese Quietly Removing Accused Priests, By Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle, August 29, 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 Trainor'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 Dec. 21, 2011.