Publicly Accuseda

This category includes priests, seminarians, or other religious who were either incardinated in the Diocese of Fall River or who were assigned to public ministry in the Diocese of Fall River, and have been publicly named in media reports, third party lists prepared by advocacy groups and/or other dioceses and religious orders, as having allegations against them involving sexual abuse of a minor. The individuals included are clergy or other religious against whom a publicized accusation was made, but for whom the Diocese lacks sufficient information at this time to make its own determination whether the accusation was credible. In some cases, a religious order or other diocese may have determined that the priest was credibly accused after investigation or upon admission of the priest.

It is important to note that just because a name appears on the publicly accused list, that does not necessarily mean that the individual was accused of abusing a child in the Diocese of Fall River. For example, a priest may have been publicly accused of abuse in another diocese or may appear on a credibly accused list for a religious order for allegations unrelated to the Diocese of Fall River. If we were able to confirm that the priest also worked in the Diocese of Fall River at some point in his career, we have included the priest on the publicly accused list even if the Diocese did not itself receive an allegation regarding that priest.

Note also that, for priests who were incardinated in another diocese or were members of a religious order, the Diocese often lacked complete information about the priest, including assignment history. However, the Diocese has included assignments within the Diocese of Fall River and other information about the priest, based on the records and information from official sources available to the Diocese.

a Monsignor Albert Berube was publicly accused in 2002, after his death, but the allegations were not substantiated after an investigation. For this reason, he is not included on the publicly accused list; he is mentioned here only to explain this outcome, because the determination that the allegations were unsubstantiated was not previously made public.

NameYear of
Birth
Year of
Ordination
Diocese of IncardinationReligious OrderAssignment History in the Diocese of Fall RiverStatus
Acres, John H.1See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall RiverLeft order
Brinker, Brian19571988Diocese of Rockville Centre,
New York
n/aLimited faculties granted for family baptism at St. George, Westport
Suspended
Byrne, Joseph19431969Archdiocese of Bostonn/aSt. Patrick, Falmouth
St. Anthony, Falmouth
Removed from ministry;
Deceased (2014)
Cavanagh, Charles19491980UnknownGreek-Melkite Catholic ChurchCorpus Christi, East Sandwich
Current location unknown
Cullen, William2See note ** below.1965n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River
Our Lady of Victory, Centerville
Removed from ministry;
Deceased (2010)
Dawber, Stephen F.3See note ** below.1969n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall River
Our Lady of Victory, Centerville
St. John Neumann, East Freetown
Impeded;
Deceased (2010)
Delgado, Alexander41967n/an/an/aCathedral Camp, East Freetown
Not incardinated;
Current whereabouts unknown
Donachie, Adrian5See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aOrder of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) Our Lady's Chapel, New Bedford Deceased (1979)
Fredette, Alfred19261952n/aMissionaries of Our Lady of La Salette (M.S.)National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette, AttleboroDeceased (2000)
Hession, Mark R.619581984Diocese of Fall Rivern/aSt. Patrick, Wareham
St. Joan of Arc, Orleans
Holy Name, Fall River
St. Mary, New Bedford
Charlton Memorial Hospital, Fall River
St. Joseph, Taunton
Holy Rosary, Fall River
St. Patrick, Falmouth
Our Lady of Victory, Centerville
Our Lady of the Assumption, Osterville
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, Seekonk
Faculties Suspended
Kossak, Michael J.7See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall RiverDismissed
Lima, Jose Alfonso19621991Diocese of São João del-Rei,
Brazil
n/aSt. Francis Xavier, Hyannis
St. Anthony, Falmouth
Good Shepherd Parish, Martha's Vineyard
St. Pius X, South Yarmouth
St. Mary's Cathedral, Fall River
Faculties within the Diocese of Fall River removed
Motherway, Thomas F.19421969Archdiocese of Bostonn/aOur Lady of Victory, CentervilleDeceased (2003)
O'Dea, Thomas19341960Diocese of Fall Rivern/aSt. James, New Bedford
St. Lawrence, New Bedford
St. Francis of Assisi, New Bedford
Sacred Heart, New Bedford
Deceased (1999)
Orteneau, Eugene F.8See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall RiverLeft order;
Deceased (2009)
Rancourt, Henry J.19301957n/aMarist Fathers (S.M.)Immaculate Conception, North Easton
Our Lady of Fatima, New Bedford
Good Shepherd, Vineyard Haven
See note ** below.
Roos, Richard H.9See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall RiverImpeded
Spagnolo, NicholasSee note ** below.1953n/aStigmatine Fathers & Brothers (C.S.S.)Limited faculties to assist in charitable work on Cape CodDeceased (2013)
Walsh, James P.10See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Round Hill retreat house, Dartmouth Impeded;
Deceased (2009)
Wolf, Richard J.11See note ** below.See note ** below.n/aSociety of Jesus (S.J.)Bishop Connolly High School, Fall RiverDeceased (1986)

** Because certain individuals were not incardinated in the Diocese of Fall River, the Diocese lacked complete information for many of these individuals, including assignment history. That information has been included where it was available from official sources.


1 Fr. Acres is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having admitted to a credible allegation of abuse of a minor occurring in 1987, during which time he was assigned to Boston College High School in Boston, MA. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)
2 Fr. Cullen is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having a credible allegation of abuse of a minor occurring between 1995-1996, during which time he was assigned to Nativity Prep in Boston, MA. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)
3 Fr. Dawber is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having a credible allegation of abuse of a minor occurring between 1970-1976 during which time he was assigned to Boston College High School in Boston, MA. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)
4 Seminarian.
5 Fr. Donachie is listed by the Franciscan Friars Holy Name Province as having a substantiated allegation against him. (https://hnp.org/protecting-gods-children/list-of-friars-with-substantiated-allegations/)
6 On December 11, 2020, Fr. Hession was indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury. While criminal proceedings continue, his faculties remain suspended and review by the Diocese is on hold.
7 Fr. Kossak is listed by the Jesuit West Province for the Society of Jesus as having a credible allegation of abuse of a minor occurring in 1980. (https://www.jesuitswest.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2020/07/ JW_List_0720_EnglishR11.pdf)
8 Fr. Orteneau is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having a credible allegation of sexual abuse of a minor occurring between 1992-1995, during which time he was assigned to the parish of St. Thomas Aquinas in Storrs, CT. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)
9 Fr. Roos is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having admitted to abuse of a minor occurring in the 1980s. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)
10 Fr. Walsh is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having a credible allegation of abuse of a minor occurring between 1984-1985, during which time he was assigned to Boston College High School in Boston, MA. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)
11 Fr. Wolf is listed by the USA Northeast Province of Jesuits as having a credible allegation of abuse of a minor occurring between 1979-1981, during which time he was assigned to Bishop Connolly High School in Fall River, MA. (https://www.jesuitseast.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2020/07/ Jesuits_Northeast_List.pdf)