ERIE, Pa. (EYT) — Several priests with connections to Clarion County and surrounding areas have been named in a disturbing grand jury report detailing sexual abuse of children by clergymen in Pennsylvania and a systematic cover up by Catholic church leaders that spanned decades.
The comprehensive findings of a statewide-investigative grand jury were announced on Tuesday by Attorney General Josh Shapiro.
The investigation captured widespread sexual abuse and institutional cover up across the entire state. Building on investigations of the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and the Philadelphia Archdiocese by previous grand juries, the 40th Statewide Grand Jury’s investigation covered the other Dioceses of Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg, Greensburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton, giving a complete picture of pervasive abuse in dioceses across Pennsylvania.
The grand jury found 301 Catholic priests identified as predator priests who sexually abused children while serving in active ministry in the church. Detailed accounts of over 1,000 children victimized sexually by predator priests, with the grand jury noting it believed the real number of victims was in the “thousands.”
Senior church officials, including bishops, monsignors and others, knew about the abuse committed by priests, but routinely covered it up to avoid scandal, criminal charges against priests, and monetary damages to the dioceses.
Priests committed acts of sexual abuse upon children, and were routinely shuttled to other parishes – while parishioners were left unaware of sexual predators in their midst.
The grand jury recommended reforming the criminal and civil statutes of limitations on sexual abuse in Pennsylvania, among other recommendations, and Attorney General Shapiro called on every Catholic bishop to support the reforms.
The 884-page grand jury report documents scores of sexual assaults and rapes of children by priests, and the institutional cover ups that followed by senior church officials.
The full grand jury report can be accessed here.
STATEMENT FROM THE GRAND JURY
Many of the priests who we profile here are dead. We decided it was crucial to include them anyway, because we suspect that many of their victims may still be alive – including unreported victims who may have thought they were the only one. Those victims deserve to know they were not alone. It was not their fault.
We need to end with this note. During our deliberations, one of the victims who had appeared before us tried to kill herself. From her hospital bed, she asked for one thing: that we finish our work and tell the world what really happened. We feel a debt to this woman, and to the many other victims who so exposed themselves by giving us their stories. We hope this report will make good on what we owe.
PRIESTS WITH CONNECTIONS TO CLARION COUNTY AND SURROUNDING AREAS
FATHER DONALD COOPER — DECEASED
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1936
YEAR OF DEATH: December 16, 2011
ORDINATION: May 23, 1963
Employment/Assignment History:
6/1963-5/1964 — Bradford Central High Christian High School, Bradford, PA
5/1964-6/1971 — St. Titus, Titusville, PA
6/1971-6/1975 — St. George, Erie, PA
6/1975-11/1984 — St. Charles, New Bethlehem, PA
11/1984-6/1987 — Mount Calvary, Erie, PA
6/1987-3/1988 — Assumption, Oil City, PA
3/1988-6/1989 — St. Catherine, DuBois, PA
3/1988-4/1989 — St. Anthony, Walston, PA
6/1989-7/2002 — St. Joseph, Force, PA
7/2002-6/2005 — Christ the King, Houtzdale, PA
10/2002-6/2005 — Holy Trinity, Ramey, PA
6/2005 — Retired
Summary:
In 2005, a 40-year-old man sent an e-mail communication to the Diocese of Erie to report that he had been subjected to inappropriate sexual contact by Father Donald Cooper between 1981 and 1982. Cooper was a priest at St. Charles during the time period of the allegation. The victim stated that Cooper had abused him multiple times over that time period and had left him with years of emotional trauma.
The victim explained that, at the time, he was a 16-year-old boy who was looking for spiritual fulfillment in his life. His immediate family were not church goers, but the victim was introduced to the Catholic church by a family friend. The victim soon took a strong liking to the faith and wanted to learn more about it. The victim was attending St. Charles when Cooper offered him personalized catechism lessons to instruct him in the faith. Over time, a relationship developed and Cooper started to take the victim on overnight trips where they would stay in various hotels and motels. Cooper would convince the young victim to take a shower with him or to spend time with him in a sauna. This is when the molestation would take place. Cooper would massage the victim and fondle his genitals. The victim was also subjected to Cooper masturbating in front of him. The abuse took place in various hotels and also occurred in the church rectory. The victim stated that a retired priest, Father William Smith, lived in the rectory and knew of the abuse but did nothing about it.
When the victim reported the abuse in 2005, an internal investigation was conducted by Monsignor Robert Smith. When confronted, Cooper admitted that he did shower and use the sauna with the victim, and that he gave the victim massages. However, he did not admit to the masturbation. Once the interviews were conducted, it was the opinion of Smith that the victim was telling the truth and that his account was credible. Cooper agreed that he would retire and would no longer be able serve as a priest. Additionally, the church and the victim came to an agreement wherein the Diocese would pay for the victim’s past and future therapy sessions and medication and also pay off $19,530 of the victim’s personal debt.
MONSIGNOR JAMES P. HOPKINS — DECEASED
YEAR OF BIRTH: Unknown
YEAR OF DEATH: 1957
ORDINATION: N/A
Employment/Assignment History:
Unknown Dates — Pastor St. Titus Church in Titusville, PA
1920s — Pastor at unknown church in East Brady, PA
Summary:
On August 3, 1993, a victim wrote a letter to Bishop Trautman at the Diocese of Erie. She stated in the letter that in 1945, when she was 13 years of age, she experienced abuse at the hands of Monsignor Hopkins in the rectory of St. Titus. She stated that Hopkins would, “grab our face in his hands, force us to look up, and then plant a sloppy kiss on our mouths. He would also grab us and pull us close, wrap his cape around us, and fondle us wherever he pleased.”
She further stated that she remembered the dinners held on the weekend of forty hours, at which the girls at the convent were invited to serve. She only served one time. Whenever anyone would voice concern over Hopkins’s behavior, she would always hear the conduct dismissed by others as, “Oh well, he’s old, he doesn’t mean anything by it.” The victim told the Bishop that she knows that there is no excuse for such behavior nor is there any excuse for those who see it and do nothing about it.
On August 23, 1993, Trautman received a letter from the Office of Clergy Personnel. This letter stated that the office reviewed Hopkins’s file, which included sacramental records, applications of various pastoral positions, health-related correspondence, pictures, press releases including that of his death in 1957, and one letter of complaint. The letter of complaint contained in this file related to an incident in the 1920s that did not involve any sort of physical abuse or assault.
On January 11, 1994, the victim wrote another letter to Trautman. She enclosed a copy of the first letter and asked the Bishop to please respond. On January 24, 1994, Trautman wrote to the victim, acknowledging her recent letter about the accusation against Hopkins. The Bishop wrote that “Since Monsignor Hopkins died in July of 1957, there is no possible way to investigate
your accusation.”
REVEREND JOSEPH W. JERGE — DECEASED
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1927
YEAR OF DEATH: 2006
ORDINATION: May 3, 1951
Employment/Assignment History:
5/18/1951 – 6/30/1952 — Parochial Vicar, St. Boniface, Erie, PA
6/30/1952 – 5/23/1959 — Parochial Vicar, St. John the Baptist, Erie, PA
5/23/1959 – 8/29/1964 — Parochial Vicars, St. Joseph, Oil City, PA
8/29/1964 – 6/03/1970 — Pastor, St. Hippolyte, Guys Mills, PA
6/30/1970 – 12/04/1989 — Pastor, St. Callistus, Kane, PA
4/19/1989 – 11/22/1989 — Sick Leave
12/04/1989 – 6/14/1991 — Parochial Vicar, St. John the Evangelist, Girard, PA
6/14/1991 – 9/01/1992 — Parochial Vicar, St. Francis Xavier, McKean, PA
9/01/1992 – 2006 — St. Patrick’s Retirement Resident, Erie, PA
Summary:
The Diocese of Erie was first made aware of sexual abuse allegations against Joseph W. Jerge in early 1989. On April 19, 1989, he was sent to St. Luke’s Institute for sexual psychological therapy. In the fall of 1989, he was released from St. Luke’s and signed an aftercare contract that restricted his contact and ministry with young boys. He was placed back into ministry at St. John the Evangelist.
On April 10, 1991, Jerge had a meeting with several members of the clergy, including Father Fischer. In this meeting, the support team voiced their concerns about Jerge’s violations of his post-care contract, specifically about his continued contact with young boys. As a result, Bishop Trautman re-assigned Jerge to St. Francis Xavier parish in McKean on June 14, 1991.
At that time Fischer, wrote several letters to the administration at St. Luke’s voicing his concerns that Jerge was failing in his efforts to stay away from the youth of the Diocese. In his letters, Fischer reported that Jerge had admittedly offended upon numerous children and was nevertheless coaching youth basketball, hearing confessions, and ministering at a parish that had a swimming pool. Fischer went on to write that he felt that this swimming pool “will only nourish the sickness.”
In that same month, June 1991, Jerge again agreed to adhere to the conditions set forth in his original post-treatment conditions that restricted his contact with the young men of his parish. This clergy meeting took place in the presence of Father Glenn Whitman, Director of Clergy Personnel, and Father John Kirk.
Jerge’s ministerial timeline places him at two parishes after the Diocese had officially confirmed the existence of several child victims of his sexual abuse and after he had been sent to St. Luke’s for psychological counseling. It is unclear which victims came forward with allegations against Jerge, but one such victim is particularly well-documented by the Diocese.
Victim #1 was a sophomore in high school when Jerge befriended him, took him on trips alone, and fondled him on a number of occasions. Later in Victim #1’s life he would be blackballed from employment and preemptively blocked from any attempt to be admitted to seminary. In 1995, Victim #1 applied for a position as Director of Religious Education at one of the Diocesan schools.
The Grand Jury found documentation in Diocese files that Bishop Trautman personally instructed school administrators not to hire Victim #1, noting in a letter to Father William Kuba that Victim #1 may be homosexual and may have attempted suicide. Also found in Victim #1’s file was a notation that he was living an openly gay lifestyle and going to gay bars. This “File Update” marked Confidential is dated August 23, 1996. The same File Update which accuses Victim #1 of being homosexual concludes with this sentence: “This file update is provided in the event that [Victim #1] would seek admission to the seminary studies here in this Diocese or elsewhere.” This clear evidence that Victim #1 had been blackballed from employment or admission to seminary is contrary to the compassionate image the Church has historically sought to portray. It is also noted that the Diocese paid at least $1,200 of Victim #1’s counselling fees.
Jerge’s abuse of Victim #2 was documented in detail by the Diocese. Victim #2 stated that his sexual abuse by Jerge began in approximately 1981 to 1985, when he was between the ages of thirteen and eighteen at St. Callistus. Victim #2 stated that all sexual assaults by Jerge occurred inside Jerge’s car. He stated that Father Jerge would invite a small group of altar boys to go out with him after finishing their tasks at church. Victim #2 stated that he and three to five other boys would accompany Jerge to a movie or to a restaurant for a meal. Victim #2 said that he was always the last boy in the car to be taken home by Jerge. He stated that Jerge would drive around in his car with him for approximately twenty to thirty minutes. Victim #2 stated that Jerge would place his hand on Victim #2’s crotch area and caress and rub it. Victim #2 explained that Jerge would put his fingers between Victim #2’s button fly and stimulate that area. Victim #2 estimated that Jerge would molest him in the manner described above approximately two to four times a month when he was between the ages of thirteen and eighteen. Victim #2 reported that he remembered an incident when he was in high school where Jerge’s name came up. Victim #2 advised that he was at a party with similar-aged friends and a small group of youths were playing a game of truth or dare. Victim #2 stated that during the game a female classmate asked Victim #2 “Truth or Dare? Has Father Jerge ever touched you? After this remark, Victim #2 wondered if others had also been sexually abused by Father Jerge. Victim #2 eventually entered the priesthood and was ordained.
FATHER GERARD KREBS — DECEASED
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1938
YEAR OF DEATH: 2005
ORDINATION: December 18, 1963
Employment/Assignment History:
7/26/1964 – 6/3/1970 — Secondary Education Venango Christian High School, Oil City,
PA
7/26/1964 – 6/3/1970 — Weekend Assistant, St. Stephen’s, Oil City, PA
6/3/1970 – 9/8/1970 — Parochial Vicar, Our Lady Queen of the Americas, Conneaut
Lake, PA
6/3/1970 – 9/8/1970 — Resident, St. Stephen’s Rectory, Oil City, PA
9/8/1970 – 12/6/1978 — Parochial Vicar, Erie, St. John the Baptist
12/6/1978 – 1/27/1983 — Pastor, Holy Cross Church, Brandy Camp, PA
1/27/1983 – 6/30/1990 — Pastor, St. Patrick, Erie, PA
3/1/1990 – 5/4/1990 — Health Leave, Guest House, Rochester, MN
6/30/1990 – 1/6/1992 — Pastor, St. Patrick, Erie, PA
1/6/1992 – 12/31/2003 — Director of RCIA, Diocesan Office, Erie, PA
1/6/1992 – 2/4/1994 — Resident, Blessed Sacrament, Erie, PA
2/4/1994 – 3/27/2004 — Resident, St. Joseph/Bread of Life, Erie, PA
4/10/1996 – 10/1/1996 — Chaplain, Soldiers & Sailors Home
11/17/1996 – 5/8/1997 — Weekend Assistant, St. Patrick, Erie, PA
11/22/1996 – 12/31/2003 — Director of Activities/Coming Millennium, Diocesan Office,
Erie, PA
1/1/04 – 5/25/2005 — Retired, Priest Retirement Residence, Erie, PA
Summary:
Three known victims came forward indicating that they were sexually abused by Father Gerard Krebs. The first victim claimed in a March 19, 2002 e-mail communication to Bishop Donald Trautman that he was sexually abused by Krebs in 1968. At that time Krebs was an English teacher at Venango Christian High School (“VCHS”). Sometime around graduation, Victim #1 learned that he had impregnated his girlfriend. Distraught, he sought out Krebs for counseling and guidance. Krebs stated that he was once a pre-med student and in order to determine whether or not Victim was capable of impregnating a woman Krebs needed to check Victim #1’s prostate. Krebs did so through penetration of Victim #1’s anus with his finger. A second victim alleged that Krebs sexually abused him sometime in the late 1960s at VCHS. In a letter to Father Tom Brown of St. Thomas the Apostle in Corry dated April 6, 2002, a woman stated that her brother was “sexually molested” by Krebs and that she had learned of it through conversation with her brother. She further alleged that Krebs was known to take the victim and other male students to different places and to give them wine.
The third victim stated in an October 20, 2006 e-mail that he attended VCHS from 1964 to 1968. Victim #3, who was Episcopalian, approached Krebs during his junior year about the possibility of becoming Catholic. Victim #3 alleged that Krebs led him through “a series of sexual rituals to both prove my faith and the fact that I was not a homosexual.” Moreover, Victim #3 referenced a 1969 graduate of VCHS who described numerous experiences of the same nature that he and other classmates endured but did not divulge any additional information.
In 2002, following these allegations, Krebs underwent psychological evaluation at St. Luke’s Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland. At this time, Krebs expressed acceptance of his homosexuality during his evaluations but stated he could not recall any specific instances in which he had sexually abused young boys. Krebs did, however, indicate that his drinking was so severe at that point in his life that he could not rule out the possibility of it having happened. Krebs did appear to recall Victim #2 and stated that they slept together in the same bed in a hotel room but had had no sexual contact.
The Grand Jury found no documentation indicating that law enforcement was ever notified about any of Krebs interactions with his victims.
FATHER SALVATORE LUZZI
DATE OF BIRTH: 1935
YEAR OF DEATH:
ORDINATION: May 31, 1962
Employment/Assignment History:
6/09/1962 – 8/29/1968 — Faculty, Venango Christian High. Residence at St. Joseph, Oil City, PA
8/28/1968 – 8/28/1969 — Sp. Ministry, St. Mark’s Seminary, Erie, PA
8/28/1968 – 7/16/1972 — Dean/Collegians, St. Mark’s Seminary, Erie, PA
7/16/1972 – 5/05/1979 — Sp. Ministry, St. Mark’s Seminary, Erie, PA
5/05/1979 – 7/19/1994 — Pastor, St. Joseph, Warren, PA
3/19/1991 – 8/01/1994 — Sp. Ministry, Dean/Warren Co. Deanery, St Joseph, Warren, PA
7/19/1994 – 2/10/1995 — Sick Leave
5/05/1979 – 9/15/1995 — Resided at St. Joseph
9/15/1995 — currently faculties removed
Summary:
After several years teaching at Venango Christian High School, Reverend Salvatore P. Luzzi was moved to St. Mark’s Seminary, where he filled several roles. Over the course of his 30 year ministry, he was accused of sexual misconduct by eight male victims ranging in age from early teens to early twenties. Some of these victims were groped, inappropriately kissed, hugged, and/or fondled. He also faced allegations of responsibility for the suicide of a former student/victim.
Luzzi worked extensively with young would-be priests at St. Mark’s where he and fellow priest Leon Muroski served as Spiritual Directors to the seminarians. Luzzi’s inappropriate touching and fondling of at least two seminarians prompted the Diocese to settle with those seminarians for large sums of money. The first former Seminarian’s case was settled in civil court for $34,500 and this individual received several thousand dollars over the course of the many years that the Diocese paid for his counseling and medication costs.
Several other former juvenile victims of Luzzi received letters or phone calls of apology from the Diocese. These victims were counseled by the Diocese through correspondence or inperson interviews wherein Luzzi’s behavior was dismissed as “Sal’s way of expressing himself” and his “touching approach” to ministry was attributed to his Italian upbringing.
The Diocese listed several Luzzi victims in its internal reports, but little to no documentation was contained in the files. It was alleged that Luzzi groped the buttocks of one victim in a hardware store in 1998. This individual was 19 at the time of the incident. Luzzi denied the touching and only admitted to patting this individual on the back.
In 1974-1975, Luzzi and Father Leon Muroski were working at Camp Notre Dame in Fairview when a young seminarian named Michael Amy was accused of fondling two juveniles.
These victims reported the incident to the Pennsylvania State Police, the Diocese of Erie, and to their parents. The Diocese representative for this incident at Camp Notre Dame was Father Lawrence Speice. Speice assisted Amy by interceding on Amy’s behalf with the State Police and the boys’ parents. No arrest was made. Luzzi and Muroski dealt with Amy by making him attend counselling and keeping him in seminary. Amy would go on to abuse at least two more juveniles, along with several other unidentified juvenile prostitutes as an ordained priest prior to being laicized.
During Amy’s laicization process, he called Speice, Muroski and Luzzi as his witnesses. Muroski denied knowledge of any wrongdoings by Amy. Speice and Luzzi both admitted some knowledge of Amy’s molestation of children in 1974-1975. Luzzi wrote on Amy’s Witness Statement that he was “amazed that he was made a pastor in a place where something happened before,” and that “there certainly should have been something in his Seminary day files.” Luzzi added, “I personally wondered when these things would resurface.”
In 1994, Bishop Trautman sent both Luzzi and Muroski to St. Luke’s Institute for therapy. The Diocese publicly announced that Luzzi was going on an extended sabbatical for “personal, spiritual and academic growth.” Once Luzzi was discharged, the Bishop welcomed him back into pastoral ministry by letter on February 14, 1995. However, the welcome also came with several conditions and a Penial Precept, a formal notification in the church that restricts ministry. Trautman directed Luzzi to refrain from all contact with youth under 19 years of age and to avoid travel and social interaction with such parishioners. Later that same year, in September 1995, Trautman had Luzzi’s faculties as a priest removed and Luzzi began residing in a private residence, where he remains today.
It was Luzzi’s position that Trautman forced him to retire. It was the position of Trautman and the Diocese that what led to Luzzi’s resignation was the weight of new allegations and the real possibility of widespread publicity. It was found in subpoenaed files that Luzzi’s accusers threatened to take “appropriate steps” if Luzzi was not removed from ministry. This information was found in an internal document written by Monsignor Robert Smith and placed into Luzzi’s file on October 12, 1995. Smith and Trautman informed Luzzi that if he did not retire of his own free will, the Diocese would follow the canonical process specified in church law to remove Luzzi. Luzzi resigned less than 30 days later.
MONSIGNOR DANIEL MARTIN — DECEASED
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1917
YEAR OF DEATH: 2006
ORDINATION: November 17, 1943
Employment/Assignment History:
1943 – 1945 — Parochial Vicar, Sacred Heart, Sharon, PA
1945 – 1962 — Faculty, Erie Cathedral Preparatory High School, Erie, PA
1948 – 1962 — Assistant Headmaster, Erie Cathedral Preparatory, Erie, PA
1950 – 1962 — Chaplain, Mercyhurst College
1962 – 1970 — Pastor, St. Boniface, Kersey, PA
1962 – 1970 — Headmaster, Elk Co. Christian High School, St. Mary’s, PA
1970 – 1974 — Pastor, St. Joseph, Oil City, PA
1974 – 1986 — Pastor, St. George, Erie, PA
1984 — Prelate of Honor, titled Monsignor
1986 – 1987 — Retired, Residence at Mt. Calvary, Erie, PA
1987 — Chaplain, Mercyhurst College for Religious women
2003 — Blessed Sacrament, Residence
Summary:
Monsignor Daniel Martin was a priest the in the Diocese of Erie for 43-three years who faced two known allegations of sexual abuse. The Grand Jury’s review of his files found very little documented evidence of his abuse of a teenager who was an alter server in his parish. That victim would go on to become a priest himself and appeared in front of the Grand Jury to tell his story. Martin’s second victim was a Seminarian who named Martin, along with Bishop Trautman and Fathers Salvatore Luzzi, Leon Muroski and Thomas Kelley, in a civil suit that was settled by the Diocese for $34,500 on October 3, 1995. This Victim (Victim #2) claimed to have been sexually harassed and assaulted by the priests named in his suit.
Victim #2’s abuse occurred at St. Mark’s Seminary in Erie, amidst what he described as a ‘culture of sexuality’ among the priests. He reported to the Diocese that the priests in the seminary have a ‘fierce competition’ among themselves to sexually prey upon kids who had absentee fathers or children who had poor relationships with their fathers. Victim #2 explained that in the Seminary, the priests who acted as spiritual advisors to the seminarians would engage them in sexual misconduct. He reported that one of his spiritual counsellors, Gene Humenay, was upset when he learned that this type of sexual behavior was going on in the seminary, but Humenay did nothing to stop the abuse. Victim #2 believed the Diocese knew that the priests were sexually abusing the seminarians but did nothing about it. In his lawsuit, he named Bishop Donald Trautman, not as an abuser but as an enabler.
Gene Humenay was subpoenaed into the Grand Jury to answer question regarding his knowledge of clergy sex assault. He had left the priesthood in 1987 to get married. One of Victim #2’s demands of the Diocese when he sued was to have all the priests named in his suit removed from ministry and given professional counselling. The Diocesan records did not specify if Martin was sent for treatment, but it was acknowledged in a letter to Victim #2 from the Diocese that Martin was seen at St. Luke’s Institute in September 1995. This information cannot be corroborated by the documents provided to the Grand Jury.
This investigation found a document dated July 24, 1994 and labeled “confidential memorandum for the file, RE: Daniel Martin.” It documents the interaction between Bishop Trautman, Victim #2, and Daniel Martin. It records Trautman confronting Martin about the
allegations of the sexual abuse of Victim #2. In it, Trautman wrote that Martin offered to donate $3,500 towards Victim #2 receiving proper therapy. Martin also apologized to Trautman for the incident. Trautman accepted Martin’s check and forwarded it on to Victim #2.
The first aforementioned accusation of sexual abuse against Martin was much less welldocumented in the Diocese records and only came to light via the cooperation of another victim. Victim #1 contacted the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Catholic Church Hotline to report his story. Victim #1 is also an ordained Catholic priest and has served the Diocese of Erie for many years. He was subpoenaed into the Grand Jury to tell his story. Victim #1 testified that Martin was his parish pastor and a role model for him because he had a dysfunctional family and he felt isolated from his friends. He explained that he felt the church and Martin became his ‘surrogate family’. This gave him access to all parts of the rectory. Victim #1 reported that when he would be upset over the troubles of his life, he would seek Martin’s counsel. It is in these moments of weakness and vulnerability that predators look to exploit their victims, and Martin was no different. Victim #1 testified that Martin sexually fondled him on at least sixteen occasions between the ages of sixteen and nineteen. Victim #1 reported to this investigation that Martin abused him three times at St. George, eight times at Mt. Calvary and five times at Mercyhurst College.
Victim #1 testified that Martin was friends with several other priests that were known pedophiles. He said that on a number of occasions, Martin’s friend, Father Gary Ketcham (see Father. Gary Ketcham narrative), invited him to play racquetball or took him to nice dinners. When he did play racquetball with Ketcham, he would always be instructed to bring a towel because Ketcham would insist on taking a shower with Victim #1 and the other boys he took to the racquetball court. Another known pedophile priest with whom Martin would often associate was Father Robert Hannon (see Rev. Robert Hannon narrative). Victim #1 testified that Hannon retired early and relocated to Hawaii. Victim #1 reported that Hannon retired early due to inappropriate behavior with children and he would often return to the Erie area to visit with Martin. Victim #1 told the Grand Jury that Hannon’s way of befriending the altar boys was to hand out cash. Victim #1 testified that he personally experienced Hannon handing out money. He said Hannon would call it “green” and give it to any boy working the rectory. He added that Hannon and Martin were old friends from when they both worked in Oil City.
Victim #1 went on to report that from his personal experience he did not see the problems in the Catholic Church to be one of clergy sex abuse or an issue of gay men. He testified that the real issue is that of power and the ability to force your will over those under you. He informed this investigation that he believes that the Diocese knew full well what Martin was and that he had been preying upon Victim #1 for some time. He said the rumors of his abuse at the hands of Martin were openly talked about with his spiritual advisors while he was in the seminary in 1989-1990.
A review of the subpoenaed files supplied to the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General found little to no mention of Martin’s molestation of Victim #1. What can be determined is that approximately the same time Victim #1 was in seminary openly decrying Martin’s conduct, the Diocese had Martin assigned to Mercyhurst College. The Diocese would later restrict Martin’s ministry at the college to dealings only with the Catholic nuns at the school.
REVEREND JOHN L. MURRAY
YEAR OF BIRTH: 1922
YEAR OF DEATH:
ORDINATION: May 15, 1947
Employment/Assignment History:
5/31/1947 – 5/28/1955 — Sacred Heart, Parochial Vicar with Residence, Sharon, PA
5/28/1955 – 6/11/1960 — St. Paul, Parochial Vicar with Residence, Erie, PA
8/25/1959 – 6/11/1960 — St. Paul, Parochial Vicar with Residence. Special Duties, Part-Time Faculty, Erie Cathedral Preparatory, Erie, PA
6/11/1960 – 8/01/1966 — Special Ministry, Erie Cathedral Preparatory, Erie, PA
8/27/1966 – 1/31/1969 — Special Ministry, DuBois Central Catholic HS, Special Duties, Headmaster, DuBois, PA
6/16/1967 – 10/15/1968 — St. Bernard, Administration with Residence, Falls Creek, PA
10/15/1968 – 5/26/1972 — Health Leave
5/26/1972 – 1/04/1974 — Special Ministry, Vicar Assistant with Residence, Our Lady Queen of the Americas, Conneaut Lake, PA
1/04/1974 – 6/01/1979 — Pastor with Residence, Our Lady Queen of the Americas, Conneaut Lake, PA
6/01/1979 – 10/15/1985 — Pastor with Residence, St. Matthew in the Wood, Erie, PA
10/15/1985 – 6/01/1987 — Sick Leave
6/01/1987 — Restricted, Erie, PA
Summary:
The Diocese of Erie received reports that Father John L. Murray sexually molested young boys in a church rectory before serving mass, as well as in recreational settings such as the lake shore. A review of his Diocesan file revealed that, as a result, the Diocese paid thousands of dollars in therapy fees and civil settlements. Two of his victims each received monetary settlements in the amount of $25,000 each.
The first allegation of sexual abuse against Murray was made in 1967. In was reported that in the summer of 1966, Murray, while in a social setting with the victim’s family at the shore, allegedly fondled the young boy in the water and on shore. This incident was brought to the attention of the boy’s parents and Bishop John F. Whealon in 1967. There was no indication in the file that law enforcement was notified. Whealon’s personal notes revealed that he confronted Murray with the accusation and spoke with the victim’s father on a number of occasions. Murray partially denied the allegation by telling the Bishop that the victim has “an overactive imagination,” and that any touching was accidental due to normal roughhousing with the boy. The notes further indicated that the victim’s father met with Murray and Murray apolog
