John Geoghan

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
John Geoghan
Boston clergy sex abuse scandal
Conviction(s)Indecent assault and battery
Criminal penalty9 to 10 years imprisonment
Ecclesiastical career
ChurchCatholic Church
Ordained1962
Laicized1998
Congregations served
Various, Archdiocese of Boston

John Joseph "Jack" Geoghan (

Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts. He was reassigned to several parish posts involving interaction with children, even after receiving treatment for pedophilia
.

The investigation and prosecution of Geoghan were one of the numerous cases of priests accused of child sexual abuse in a scandal that rocked the archdiocese in the 1990s and 2000s. It led to the resignation of Boston's archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, on December 13, 2002. Law lost the support of fellow clergy and the laity after it was shown that his response to allegations against dozens of priests consisted of assigning them to different parishes, thus allowing sexual abuse of additional children to take place.[1]

Geoghan was convicted of sexual abuse,

Catholic churches nationwide in general. This coverage is a key plot element of Tom McCarthy's film Spotlight
(2015).

Career

John Joseph Geoghan was born in

Irish Catholic family. He lost his father when he was only five years old, and was subsequently raised by his maternal uncle, Mark Keohane, who was a Catholic priest within the archdiocese of Boston. Geoghan attended local parochial schools. Intending to become a priest after his father's death, he attended Cardinal O'Connell Seminary. An assessment in 1954 noted him as having a "very pronounced immaturity".[3]
He graduated in 1962 and was ordained.

On February 13, 1962, Geoghan was assigned as an assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in

molested four boys during his tenure at Blessed Sacrament.[3]

Geoghan was assigned to St. Bernard's Parish in

settlement with Mueller.[3]

Geoghan's next assignment was at

Humberto Medeiros to undergo counseling. Under the care of doctors Robert Mullins and John H. Brennan, Geoghan underwent psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.[3]

On February 25, 1981, Geoghan returned to pastoral work at St. Brendan's Parish in

Archbishop of Boston, removed Geoghan from the parish after complaints that he was molesting children.[3]

Law assigned Geoghan to St. Julia's Parish in

homosexual involvement with young boys".[3] That same month, Mullins wrote that Geoghan had "fully recovered", and Brennan stated that there was no need for restrictions on his work as a priest.[3]

In 1986 new allegations of sexual abuse were made against Geoghan. From April 3–12, 1989, he was treated at the

obsessive-compulsive, histrionic and narcissistic features" but decided he could be safely reassigned.[7]

On November 28, 1990, Banks recommended that Geoghan return to the parish, but left the decision up to Cardinal Law and another bishop. On October 23, 1991, the church received a complaint about Geoghan "proselytizing" with a boy at a pool.[3]

Retirement

In 1993, Geoghan retired from active ministry at the age of 58. He moved into the Regina Cleri residence for retired priests. Three years later, after more allegations surfaced against him, he spent several months in therapy in the Southdown Institute in Ontario, Canada.[3]

Sexual abuse charges

Over a 30-year career in six parishes, Geoghan was accused of sexual abuse involving more than 130 boys.

defrocked in 1998 by Pope John Paul II. He was found guilty on February 21, 2002, of indecent assault and battery for grabbing the buttocks of a 10-year-old boy in a swimming pool at the Waltham Boys and Girls Club in 1991, and was sentenced to nine to ten years in prison.[9]

After initially agreeing to a $30 million settlement with 86 of Geoghan's victims, the Boston archdiocese pulled out of it, finally settling with them for $10 million.[10]

Boston's

without prejudice when the alleged victim decided not to testify. In the second case, a judge dismissed the conviction of Geoghan in two rapes, after hotly contested arguments, because the statute of limitations had run out.[11] The Commonwealth's appeal
of that ruling was active at the time of Geoghan's death. Remaining charges of indecent assault in that case were still pending prosecution.

Murder

Druce in a 1986 arrest photo

On August 23, 2003, while in

life without the possibility of parole
for killing a man who allegedly made sexual advances toward him.

Geoghan was trapped in his cell by Druce, who jammed the door closed so correction officers could not reach him. Druce then strangled and stomped Geoghan to death. An autopsy revealed Geoghan's cause of death to be "ligature strangulation and blunt chest trauma."

Druce was said to have planned the murder of Geoghan for more than a month, considering him a "prize". Druce was sexually abused in a boarding school as a child. Also, since Geoghan had taught another inmate how to sexually abuse children, Druce's crimes were partly due to the fact that he felt he had to take revenge on all child sexual abusers.[14][15] The press raised questions about prison officials' judgment in placing these two men in the same unit for protective custody. In addition, they had been warned by an inmate that Druce intended to attack Geoghan.[16] It was noted while two guards are normally stationed in the unit where Geoghan and Druce were being held, there was only one officer in the unit at the time – one had left temporarily to escort another inmate to a medical station. Union officials had noted there were staffing cuts previously at the prison, which they feel led to the prison being a more dangerous and volatile place.[17] It has also been suggested Druce had been offered money to kill Geoghan, or Druce thought he would gain prestige from fellow prisoners for doing so.[1]

A Worcester jury found Druce guilty of

first-degree murder on January 25, 2006, after the jury rejected his insanity defense. During the trial Druce was seen with a black eye he received from an individual who surprised him in his cell. The man who had surprised Druce was reported to have been wearing corrections officer pants, suggesting a reprisal by prison staff for the embarrassment surrounding Geoghan's murder. Druce was sentenced a second time to life in prison without the possibility of parole.[18][19]

In June 2007,

The Boston Herald received a handwritten letter signed "Joseph Lee Druce", stating "The truth about officer involvement in John Geogan's (sic) death", along with an address for a YouTube video. The address contained a video taken by security cameras inside of Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, made during the murder. The 10-minute video shows the attempts made by correctional officers to open the cell door (as many as five pulling at one time)[20][21] along with videos showing resuscitation efforts on Geoghan by emergency personnel. Inmates at Souza-Baranowski do not have Internet access
. Department of Correction officials were investigating who posted the video, as it is from an internal security camera.

A video showing several corrections officers trying to open Geoghan's cell door, which Druce had wedged shut while he attacked the former priest, was released on YouTube in June 2007. Officials claimed not to know how the videos, recorded by the prison surveillance systems, were made public.

Geoghan was buried in Holyhood Cemetery in Brookline, Massachusetts, on August 28, 2003.[22]

Effects of the Geoghan case on other church leaders

Robert Joseph Banks

Robert Joseph Banks, then an auxiliary bishop in Boston, had recommended in 1989 that Geoghan remain as a parish priest despite receiving an assessment that he would likely continue to act on his pedophilia. Banks was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Green Bay in 1990.[23] He retired in 2003, having reached the church's mandatory retirement age of 75 years.[23] Banks remains Bishop Emeritus of Green Bay.[24]

John Michael D'Arcy

John Michael D'Arcy, who had written an unheeded letter of warning to Cardinal Law about Geoghan's behavior, was transferred from Boston to Indiana on February 26, 1985, and ended his career as bishop of the Diocese of Fort Wayne–South Bend.[25] D'Arcy retired in 2009 and died in 2013.[26]

Bernard Francis Law

After Cardinal Law resigned as Boston's archbishop in December 2002, he relocated to

Basilica of St. Mary Major, the largest Catholic Marian church in Rome.[27] It was "commonly believed that he would live out his retirement in Rome" after he retired at age 80 in 2011.[28] Law died in Rome on December 20, 2017.[29]

In popular culture

Canadian punk-rock band Billy Talent's song "Devil in a Midnight Mass" from the album Billy Talent II (2006) addresses Geoghan's story from a victim's perspective.[30] Bob Rivers recorded a parody of "Keep Your Hands to Yourself", originally by The Georgia Satellites, about Geoghan.[31]

The 2015 film Spotlight depicts the Boston Globe investigation into the Boston Archdiocese, spurred by Geoghan's trial that would lead to his eventual imprisonment. Geoghan is briefly depicted in the film in a scene taking place in 1976 at a Boston police station, played by an uncredited actor.

See also

References

  1. ^ Paulson, Michael (December 14, 2002). "A church seeks healing". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 26 November 2009.
  2. ^ Rezendes, Michael (January 6, 2002). "Spotlight Church abuse report: Church allowed abuse by priest for years". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Geoghan's troubled history". The Boston Globe. 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  4. ^ "Timeline: Geoghan's career history". Boston Herald. January 25, 2002.
  5. ^ "Saugus Curate Foils Leap Off Mystic Bridge". The Boston Globe. December 26, 1962.
  6. ^ Haley, Colin C.; Klemovich, Della (June 4, 1998). "Former priest says he warned of acts against children". The Patriot Ledger. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  7. ^ Belluck, Pam (January 25, 2002). "Papers in Pedophile Case Show Church Effort to Avert Scandal". The New York Times. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  8. ^ "The John Geoghgan Case". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 26, 2009.
  9. ^ Ferdin, Pamela (February 22, 2002). "Ex-Priest Gets Maximum Sentence in Abuse Case". The Washington Post. Washington D.C.
  10. ^ Robinson, Walter V.; Rezendes, Michael (September 19, 2002). "Geoghan victims agree to $10m settlement". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
  11. ^ Burge, Kathleen (September 27, 2003). "Geoghan ruling sparks anger: Alleged victims protest erasure of conviction". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, L.P. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  12. ^ McElhenny, John (26 August 2003). "Alleged Geoghan killer led troubled life, records show". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, L.P. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  13. Boston Globe
    . Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. January 12, 2006. Retrieved September 17, 2013.
  14. ^ "Former priest's alleged killer testifies about childhood abuse". USA Today. fosters. 25 January 2006. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  15. Turner Broadcasting Systems. August 26, 2003. Retrieved March 23, 2013.[permanent dead link
    ]
  16. ^ Butterfield, Fox (August 26, 2003). "Long Planning Is Cited in Death Of Former Priest". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  17. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette
    . August 27, 2003.
  18. ^ "Inmate found guilty of murdering Geoghan in prison". USA Today. Mclean, Virginia: Gannett. 25 January 2006. Retrieved 30 July 2017.
  19. ^ McElhenny, John (26 August 2003). "Alleged Geoghan killer led troubled life, records show". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, L.P. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  20. ^ "Prison kill scene gets on YouTube". New York Daily News. New York City: Tribune Publishing. July 8, 2007. Archived from the original on September 18, 2008.
  21. ^ "Joseph Druce #1". YouTube. June 12, 2007. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved October 29, 2010.
  22. ^ Redd, C. Kalimah (August 29, 2003). "Former priest slain in prison is buried in Brookline cemetery". The Boston Globe. Boston, Massachusetts: Boston Globe Media Partners, L.P. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  23. ^ a b "Green Bay's Bishop Banks submits letter of resignation". The Journal Times. Wire-Data Stream. February 6, 2003. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  24. ^ "Bishops and Dioceses by State | USCCB". www.usccb.org. Retrieved 2023-06-27.
  25. ^ Lawrence, J. M. (5 February 2013). "Bishop John M. D'Arcy, 80; warned against transfer of pedophile to new parish". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
  26. ^ "Bishop Emeritus John D'Arcy dies at 80; he warned about sex abuse". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  27. ^ Hanna, Jason; Gallagher, Delia (20 December 2017). "Cardinal Bernard Law to be honored Thursday with Vatican funeral". CNN. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  28. ^ Arsenault, Mark (November 22, 2011). "Law retires from post in Rome". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 5, 2013.
  29. ^ "Cardinal Bernard Law Fast Facts". CNN. 21 January 2013. Retrieved December 20, 2017.
  30. ^ "Billy Talent Interviews - Devil In A Midnight Mass (Ben & Aaron)". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  31. ^ "Catholic Priest Song, The".

External links