BishopAccountability.org has launched a
project to gather and post the assignment records of every U.S. Catholic priest who has been
accused of sexual abuse since 1940, so that vulnerable communities can be identified and
bishops' transfer policies can be determined.
See below for a brief description of assignment records and their importance, easy ways that you can help with this project, and our initial list of assignment records. For a more detailed account of assignment record research and how you can volunteer, see our guide.
Assignment Records: Why They Are Important
An assignment record lists all the
diocesan and parish appointments of a priest, including telltale periods of sick leave. A detailed
assignment record, like this assignment
record of John Geoghan created by the Boston Globe, identifies populations that have
been placed at risk, and is also cross-referenced with a list of accusations, so that the transfer
policies of the priest's bishops can be evaluated. By identifying a priests' seminary class and the
colleagues with whom he has worked, an assigment record can also begin to identify the circle of
colleagues who kept the priest's activities secret and who might even have been involved in the
abuse themselves.
Assignment records are all around us:
* Newspaper
accounts of the crisis
* Diocesan
records
* Investigative
files
* Obituaries and
other old newspaper reports
But these records are dispersed and difficult to find, and
complete assignment records for most accused priests are not publicly available. We urge the U.S.
bishops to publish detailed assignment records with treatment episodes and accusation dates for
every abuser. In the meantime, we are undertaking this work of research and collection ourselves.
See our initial
collection of assignment records below.
Volunteering
for the Assignment Record Project
Please send us any assignment records that
know about or come across:
* In your daily newspaper reading
* In your personal experience, if
you are a survivor of abuse
* In the research that you've done, if you are a lawyer or a reporter
working in this area
If you would like to join the Service Record Project as a volunteer --
for a few hours, or a few hours per week, or anything in between -- please read our guide to
service record research, and email us
to let us know you're interested. This is work that you can do at a local Catholic college library
or at most central city libraries, and you can email, snail mail, or even phone us the
results.
List of Assignment Records
The staff at
BishopAccountability.org has begun to assemble a library of assignment records for accused priests
and others who figure in the crisis.Some we have developed ourselves from the Official
Catholic Directory, diocesan documents, and investigative reports. Others were created by
lawyers and investigative reporters. Others were created by the dioceses themselves and relinquished
under subpoena, or were prepared by the dioceses in response to investigation by law enforcement.
Viewed by Last Name:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Total Individuals: 86
Return to main database page. See abbreviations and posting policy. Send corrections.
Diocese: Diocese of Scranton PA
On 7/5/21 the Diocese announced that Vaillancourt had been placed on leave pending the investigation of an allegation that he had sexually abused a girl in the 1980s. Director in the late 1980s of Diocesan Youth Ministry. Pastor at the time of his suspension of St. Brendan the Navigator in Camden, ME. Vaillancourt denied wrongdoing. Reportedly in 9/21 a second woman had come forward, alleging Vaillancourt raped and sexually assaulted her repeatedly in 1982, when she was 15. He was in charge of youth ministry at St. Andre's in Biddeford during the time in question. In 7/22 the diocese announced that its Review Board had determined that the allegations were unfounded, and that Vaillancourt would be returned to active ministry. Assigned in 1/23 to an Auburn parish.
Named publicly as accused by the diocese on its list in 3/19. It notes multiple allegations of abuse received in 1992, of abuse in the late 1970s. Retired 1987. Died 3/9/92.
From Belgium. Died 7/25/09. Diocese of Marquette announced 11/15/13 that it had received a credible allegation of abuse of a minor by 'Fr. Ben' in 1989 while he filled in at St. Michael Parish in Marquette. The allegation was reported to the Jesuits and to the county prosecutor's office. On the Jesuits Midwest Province list 12/17/18. Included in the MI A.G.'s 10/22 report, which shows that the allegation was of sexual abuse of a boy, age 10 or 11, in the summer of 1987 and 1988.
"Jack." Arrested in 1997 for public lewdness at a rest area; went on leave. Accused in a lawsuit filed 1/19/21 under the NY Child Victims Act by a man in his 40s of sexually abusing him as a child preparing for First Communion at St. Jude's in Wynantskill. Varno allegedly got the boy drunk on wine then fondled and sodomized him. The diocese kept Varno in public ministry until his parishioners of Our Lady of Grace in Ballston Lake discovered the lawsuit and demanded his removal in 7/21. Varno stepped down voluntarily, including from assignments at Immaculate Conception in Glenville and St. Joseph's in Scotia. He denied the allegations.
Died: 04/13/2015
Diocese: Archdiocese of St. Paul & Minneapolis, MN
Ordained for the Diocese of Tulancingo, Mexico. Incardinated in 1990 into the Diocese of Fresno. Pastor 1996-2004 of St. Mary's in Cutler. Retired in 2004 to Mexico. Named publicly as credibly accused by the Fresno diocese on its list in 8/21. Faculties noted to be suspended.
