Herlihey: Father Patrick Herlihey

“Father Pat”

Father Patrick Joseph Herlihey

Priest. Diocese Peterborough, Ontario.  Ordained 1981. 2001 GUILTY.  Sentenced to 18 months house arrest and to let the community know about his crimes.  2003 ACQUITTED on second set of charges by a different judge who said the victim’s credibility was damaged by, amongst other things, the 15-year-delay in coming forward.   Father Herlihey seems to have disappeared after his acquittal.  He is not listed in any of the directories I checked.  A blogger advised that he is now working as a handyman the Kawartha lakes area (scroll to comments)

(Somewhere I have a clipping stating that when a family reported Herlihey to Bishop Doyle in 1988 he, Doyle,  left it up to the family to decide if they wanted to go to police.  I am still looking for it.)  Served as Chaplain at Bowmanville High School.

Bishops of Peterborough Diocese from time of Father Russell’s ordination: James Leonard Doyle  (24 May 1976 – 28 December 2002 ); Nicola de Angelis, C.F.I.C. (28 December 2002  – )

Archbishop of Ottawa Archdiocese in mid 80s: Joseph-Aurèle Plourde (2 January 1967 — 27 September 1989)

Auxiliary Bishops Ottawa Archdiocese:  Gilles Bélisle  (11 May 1977 to 19 Aug 1993); John Michael Beahen  (11 May 1977 – 14 March 1988)

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04 December 2003: Patrick Joseph Herlihey:  ”Decision Summary” & “Revocation of status” (as teacher)

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The following information is drawn from Canadian Catholic Church Directories (CCCD) of that date, media (M) and personal knowledge (P).  Further dates and information will be added if and when it becomes available.

June 2011: according to a blogger (scroll down) is working as a handyman in the Kawartha Lakes area.

2011, 2004, 2005, 2006:  not listed (CCCD)

04 December 2003:  found guilty of professional misconduct.  Status with Ontario College of Teachers revoked

2003:  ACQUITTED on second set of charges (CCCD)

2003, 2002, 2000:  729 St. Luke’s St., RR # 5, Lindsay, Ontario (CCCD) (can anyone tell me what is at this address?)

May 2001:  GUILTY (M)

2000:  729 St. Luke’s St., RR # 5, Lindsay, Ontario (CCCD)

1999:  charged first time (M)

1999, 1998, 1996:  St. Stephens High School, Bowmanville (CCCD) Chaplain.

1995, 1994, 1993, 1992:  Pastor, St. Thomas More, Millbrook, Ontario (CCCD)

1991:  St. Ann Roman Catholic Church, Peterborough,  (Pastor Father Garry Leahy) (CCCD)

1988:  not listed in index (CCCD)

Master of Arts, Saint Paul University, Ottawa, Ontario (OCT)

 1986-1987:  academic year:  chaplain at Immaculata High School, Ottawa, Ontario.  He may have been there one more year, but most definitely was there ’86-’87.  I am told that  serving as chaplain Father Herlihey acted ‘hip’ and ‘cool.’  He was an avid body builder with bulging biceps -  I am told he liked to wear tight shirts (muscle shirts) which showed them off.

It is recalled that Herlihey was a great advocate of general absolution.

Herlihey used to tell the “Mac” students that before he became a priest he was into drugs and sex, and that he was an example of how a person can be redeemed.  During a retreat in Aylmer, Quebec he approached a group of students with the query:  “How the F—- are you?”

1985-86:  index lists St. Francis of Assisi RC Church Newcastle, Ontario.  (Pastor Father Jos. Collins) (CCCD)

1983-1985:  St. Francis of Assisi RC Church, Newcastle, Ontario (M)

was sexually abusing a boy during this time frame at St. Francis Assisi (M)

1983-84:  St. Francis of Assisi RC Church Newcastle, Ontario (CCCD)

1983:  Immaculate Conception RC Church, Peterborough Ontario (CCCD)

1982-83:  Immaculate Conception RC Church, Peterborough Ontario (CCCD)

1981:  ORDAINED (CCCD)

Master of Divinity, University of St. Micheal’s College, Toronto, Ontario

1976:  certified to teach (OCT)

Bachelor of Arts, University of Western Ontario (OCT)

Bachelor of Education, University of Western Ontario (OCT)

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Priest not guilty of sexually abusing second boy

Convicted of sex-assaults on teen in 2001

durhamregion.com 

Feb 12, 2003 – 12:00 AM

Stephen Shaw, Staff Writer

WHITBY – A Catholic priest convicted two years ago of sexual abuse wept in court after being acquitted Tuesday of similar sex offences involving a second young boy, dating back to the 1980s.

“It’s been a lot, I’m going home,” a relieved-looking Father Patrick Herlihey said after the judgement.

The court decision marked the end of three years of criminal proceedings against the former parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi church in Newcastle.

Fr. Herlihey, 50, of Emily Township, was originally charged by Durham Regional Police in 1999 with sexually assaulting a teenaged boy in the 1980s.

He was convicted by Justice Alf Stong following a trial held in Whitby’s Superior Court in 2001, and was sentenced to 18 months’ house arrest, which he has since completed.

It wasn’t until the end of the first trial that the second complainant came forward and told authorities he also was sexually abused at the priest’s hands during roughly the same period, prompting police to file new charges.

After a second trial, which began late last year, Justice Michelle Fuerst found Fr. Herlihey not guilty of gross indecency and sexual assault.

In a lengthy decision, Justice Fuerst said several inconsistencies in the testimony of the alleged victim, now 28, made her question his credibility.

The man claimed he was sexually assaulted by Fr. Herlihey in the living quarters of the rectory five times between 1983 and 1985, when he was a 10-year-old student at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic School, located on church property.

The first attack, he alleged, occurred after Fr. Herlihey’s dog, King, ate his lunch in the schoolyard, and Fr. Herlihey invited him up to his apartment.

He detailed a “progression” of sexual activity during three later visits to Fr. Herlihey’s apartment, and alleged he was brutally raped on the fifth.

During both his trials, Fr. Herlihey, 50, took the witness stand and denied the allegations of sexual misconduct.

In court he was described as an unconventional priest – ordained in 1981 – who was unusually affectionate with parishioners, preferred “group absolution” to one-on-one confession and dressed in street clothes.

Justice Stong rejected Fr. Herlihey’s testimony at the first trial, where he admitted sleeping naked with the boy and smoking pot with family members.

In the second trial, Justice Fuerst said Fr. Herlihey “struck me as forthright.” In contrast she said, the allegations made by the second complainant were “implausible” in many ways. The judge gave a list of examples.

As well as discrepancies in the complainant’s evidence, Justice Fuerst said his credibility was damaged by the 15-year delay in bringing forward charges and their timing, after Fr. Herlihey’s 2001 trial and conviction.

Fr. Herlihey lost his job as pastoral care worker at Bowmanville’s St. Stephen’s Catholic School in 1999, after being charged.

Now that the cases are over, he is looking forward to “getting on with his life,” said defence counsel Richard Evenson.

“His life has been in suspension for a long time.”

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Catholic priest denies assaulting boy

Father Pat Herlihey takes the stand

Newsdurhamregion.com

Dec 22, 2002 – 12:00 AM

STEPHEN SHAW, STAFF WRITER

DURHAM – A Catholic priest, convicted last year of sexually abusing a teenager in the 1980s, has denied he also fondled and raped a 10-year-old boy during the same period.

“That did not happen,” Father Patrick Herlihey, 50, testified.

He has pleaded not guilty to committing gross indecency and sexual assault.

Fr. Herlihey, a former Newcastle parish priest and Bowmanville high school chaplain, was found guilty last year of sexually assaulting a teenaged boy between 1984-1988, Superior Court Justice Michelle Fuerst was told Thursday during the priest’s testimony.

He received an 18-month conditional sentence, known as ‘house arrest.’

His second trial has heard allegations he abused another young boy on five occasions between 1983 and 1985, also while he was parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church in Newcastle.

The alleged victim, now 28, testified he was a Grade 4 student at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic school, on church property, when he was invited into the rectory to have lunch with Fr. Herlihey in his second-floor apartment.

Fr. Herlihey led him to a couch after lunch and fondled him, he said.

The priest allegedly sexually assaulted the child on four other subsequent occasions during visits to the rectory. During the fifth incident, Fr. Herlihey forced intercourse and encouraged him to perform fellatio, the man testified.

“Did you at any time under any circumstances sexually assault (the complainant)?” defence lawyer Richard Evenson asked Fr. Herlihey.

“Never,” Fr. Herlihey responded in a soft-spoken voice.

“Did any of these incidents occur?”

“No, they did not.”

Of the alleged fifth attack, which the complainant described in court as causing unbearable pain, Fr. Herlihey insisted: “That never happened.”

Fr. Herlihey agreed with prosecutor Jinwon Kim he was an “unconventional” priest as spiritual leader of St. Francis of Assisi until 1985.

He regularly dressed in sandals and jeans, rather than his religious robe.

He also was unusually “affectionate,” greeting parishioners and children with hugs and kisses, court also heard.

Fr. Herlihey said he kept a busy schedule, as he was active in the school activities, organized weekend retreats for the church youth groups, and juggled marriage, student and family counselling with his regular responsibilities and commitments to the Peterborough Diocese.

In cross-examination by the Crown, Fr. Herlihey acknowledged students on occasion visited him at his apartment alone.

Fr. Herlihey said he vaguely recalled the alleged victim and, while “it’s possible” he invited him to have lunch in his apartment, he doesn’t remember.

There were times his dog, ‘King,’ tore students’ lunch bags outside the church, where children left them on the ground while playing before classes.

The priest then gave teachers cash to buy students food, or he invited the students up to his apartment to have lunch with him.

“I don’t remember it being (the alleged victim)… that is possible,” he said in reply to Mr. Kim’s questions.

The Crown suggested students would also regularly visit Fr. Herlihey in the rectory living quarters just to talk over lunch, and the defendant agreed.

As result of his conviction last year, Fr. Herlihey was stripped by the church of his “religious faculties” and lost his job as pastoral care worker at St. Stephen’s Catholic Secondary School in Bowmanville, court was told.

He revealed during his testimony he breached his conditional sentence.

Justice Fuerst reserved her judgment after hearing closing arguments.

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Priest on trial for assault

newsdurhamregion.com

December 18, 2002

Stephen Shaw, Staff Writer

WHITBY – A 10-year-old boy suffered excruciating pain while being sexually abused at the hands of a Catholic priest, Superior Court has heard.

The alleged victim, who’s now 28, testified he was sexually assaulted between 1983 and 1985 on five separate occasions by Father Patrick Joseph Herlihey, former parish priest at St. Francis of Assisi church in Newcastle.

During the attacks the priest told him “God loves you,” he testified.

The abuse began when he was aged nine with fondling, he said. It progressed to fellatio and forced intercourse when he was 10, court was told.

“I just recall this horrid pain inside of me… very sharp, invasive, severe (pain),” said the complainant, detailing how Fr. Herlihey raped him during the fifth and final incident, which occurred in the church rectory like the others.

“I remember it hurting just as much when it stopped,” he said.

“I just felt totally, totally confused… I remember I was just crying.”

Father Herlihey, 50, has pleaded not guilty to committing gross indecency and sexual assault.

Justice Michelle Fuerst Monday began hearing evidence in the trial, which is being held without a jury in the Superior Court of Justice in Whitby.

The alleged victim said he met ‘Father Pat’ while a Grade 3 student at St. Francis of Assisi school, located beside the church on the same property.

The priest played an active role in school activities, often visiting classrooms, while students attended regular lunch-hour masses at the church.

Fr. Herlihey was popular with parishioners, who included the alleged victim, his mother and siblings. “Everybody liked him,” the man said, describing the priest as “friendly, affectionate, soft-spoken and outgoing.”

One day his lunch bag ripped and Fr. Herlihey sent him an invitation, delivered through his teacher, to have lunch with him in the church rectory.

At the time he thought “it was quite the honour” to be summoned to Fr. Herlihey’s second floor church living quarters, where they had lunch together.

After they ate, Fr. Herlihey took his hands, led him to the living room couch and started rubbing his leg while telling him: “I was special, loved,” he said.

Fr. Herlihey reached into his pants and began “touching my private area,” while encouraging him to do the same to the accused.

Three future visits followed where similar mutual fondling took place, he said, adding he felt safe and comfortable when he was with the priest.

Each time Fr. Herlihey told him, “I was special and that God loved me.”

After the painful fifth attack, where he was allegedly encouraged to perform oral sex on Fr. Herlihey and then raped, he said he ran back into school.

The victim, a university graduate with a masters degree, said he bottled the memories of the abuse for years until he finally went to police in 2001.

“I was able to push them out of my mind for a long time. Denial is a very powerful thing,” he said.

He considered coming forward two years earlier, after hearing Fr. Herlihey had been charged in 1999 with sexually assaulting another child in the 1980s.

“I was very afraid of consequences, breaching trust. I felt as though I’d be going against God,” said the man, explaining why he did not report earlier.

When asked by prosecutor Jinwon Kim what eventually led him to file the complaint in 2001, the complainant testified he felt a moral obligation.

“I was ready. I needed to do this. I felt I had a social responsibility.”

Years of therapy, eating disorders and “self-hate” also led to the decision.

The trial is continuing.

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Judge orders ex-priest to tell about sex crimes

Toronto Star

28 May 2001

Stan Josey

A former Catholic priest has been sentenced to 18 months of house arrest and ordered to let the community know about his crimes after being convicted of sex crimes against a teenage parishioner.

Rev. Patrick Herlihey, 48, of Lindsay, was found guilty in Whitby Superior Court of “touching, groping and kissing” the teenage boy whose family had approached the popular priest for counselling.

Mr. Justice Alfred Stong ordered Herlihey to write three letters to newspapers in the Peterborough area outlining his crimes, the impact of the judicial process on him and the resources available for sex offenders in the area.

The priest also has been ordered to organize a discussion for priests and teachers about detecting sex abuse.

During his 18-month sentence, Herlihey must remain in his Lindsay home except for one hour every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for shopping, personal business and exercise.

Evidence showed the assaults occurred when the victim, now 30, was age 14 to 17. They occurred at the victim’s Orono home, during a camping trip and in the rectory of St. Francis of Assisi Catholic church in Newcastle where Herlihey was the parish priest from 1983 to 1985.

In passing sentence, Stong stressed the prevention of abuse by people in positions of authority. “He was as every 14-year-old boy, experiencing the maturation process. He and all teenagers like him must be protected and offered a safe environment to enjoy their maturation. They must not be subjected to intrusive abuse.”

Evidence showed Herlihey often hugged and kissed the victim on the lips and coaxed him to remove his clothes while sleeping nude in the same bed.

Herlihey, 48, who admitted in court he had slept with the teenager, denied any sexual connotation to the acts.

He is awaiting trial on sex-related charges relating to a second victim.

With files from Torstar news service

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