Father Joseph Mullany
“Father Joe”
Father Joe Mullany
Joseph Stephen Mullany
Irish-born Oblate priest. Ordained in Ireland 21 December 1929. Around 1931 came to Canada.
Allegations of sexual abuse of a seven year-old girl and teenage boy while Father Mullany was filling on for the parish priest at Our Lady of Sorrows Roman Catholic Church in Petawawa, Ontario (Diocese of Pembroke) from around 1976 to approximately 1983. Bishop Windle was told, probably sometime in the late 80s or early 90s. An email sent by me (Sylvia) in late 2010 to Father Proulx asking questions regarding Father Mullany went unanswered. (Father Proulx was then the diocesan contact for issues of sexual misconduct)
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Bishop of Pembroke Diocese while Father Mullany was filling in in the diocese: Joseph Raymond Windle (08 February 1971 – 05 May 1993)
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The following information is drawn from those copies of the Canadian Catholic Church Directory (CCCD) which I have on hand, the 1980 Ontario Catholic Directory (OCD80), the Obituary (Obit) and personal information (P) – other sources are provided by links.
24 June 2003: funeral at Canadian Martyrs Roman Catholic Church, Ottawa, Ontario. Buried in the Oblate cemetery in Arnprior, Ontario (Obit)
OBITUARY for Father Joseph Stephen Mullany
21 January 2003: Died at Springhurst Residence, Ottawa, Ontario (age 97) (Obit)
Dean of Oblates in St. Peter’s Province
2002, 2000, 1992: 130 Springhurst Residence, Ottawa (this is an Oblate residence) (CCCD)
Mid 70s to mid `80s: still filling in for priests in the Pembroke Diocese (P)
during this period Father Mullany filled in at various parishes in the Pembroke Diocese while the parish priest was away – he is known to have filled in on a number of occasions at Our Lady of Sorrows in Petawawa (P) It is known that while relieving at Our Lady of Sorrows Father Mullany sexually abused a seven-year-old girl on two occasions and a teenage boy numerous times (P)
1985-86: Not listed in index of directory (CCCD)
1980: Springhurst Residence, Ottawa, Ontario (OCD80)
1975: Retired at age 70 . Living at Springhurst Residence on Ottawa, Ontario (Obit)
1969-1975: retreat work and supplying in the Pembroke Diocese (Obit)
as you see above, Father Mullany continued to supply in the Pembroke Diocese into the 80`s (P)
1973-74: Listed in index at both St. Leo’s Provincial House, Ottawa and Arnprior Renewal House, Arnprior, Ontario (this I believe is the facility now known as Galilee?) (CCCD)
1971-72: Not listed in index of directory (CCCD)
1961-1969: according to obituary, teaching at St. Patrick’s College, Ottawa and serving as Retreat Master at Villa Madonna House, Orleans, Ontario (Obit)
1968-69: address listed as St. Joseph’ Roman Catholic Church, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan (CCCD) (Pastor Father A. Bergin omi)
1967: St. Patrick College, Ottawa, Ontario (CCCD)
1955-1961: according to obituary was appointed to parish work in British Columbia and returned to the East to teach at St. Patrick’s School and serve as a Retreat Master at Villa Madonna House in Orleans (The directories and media articles show him as back int he Ottawa area in January 1959)
23 January 1959: announcement of appointment as Retreat Master at the new Villa Villa Madonna Retreat which is described as being “directly across the highway from Holy Rosary Scholisticate on the Montreal Road near Orleans.”) (External link to article in Ottawa Citizen)
1959: address given as St. Leo’s Provincial House, Ottawa, Ontario (CCCD)
1955: “appointed to parish work in British Columbia”) (Obit)
1946: after military service returned to St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Ottawa, Ontario (Obit), (“showed a particular interest and involvement in parish liturgical music”)
1940: enlisted as a Canadian Army Chaplain.(Obit)
Landed with the troops in Sicily (Obit)
approx. 1933-1939: Lethbridge, Alberta
19 December 1939: article in Lethbridge Herald announcing Father Mullany’s departure after nearly six years in the the city. For four of those years he assisted at St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church and was then appointed parish priest ( Lethbridge Herald 19 December 1939)
Approx. 1931: St Patrick’s College, Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA (Obit)
21 December 1929: ORDAINED in Ireland (Obit)
20 September 1923: First vows (OMI Information # 407 – December 2001)
20 December 1905: Born in County Leitrim, Ireland (Obit). Seems to have had an affiliation with the Diocese of Kilmore in Ireland?. (Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Necrology O.M.I, Ango-Irish Province, 2007)
Well he’s dancing with the devil now…good riddance.
This reply is in connection with the Canadian Church Directories that was mentioned in Sylvia’s response to the Irish born Oblate cleric, Mullany.
The Church directories are often the only real data many have when pursuing and unravelling the lives of clerical paedophiles; such is the determination of diocese’ and religious orders/congregations to prevent disclosure of their members criminality.
In my own diocese I have been met with stonewalling regarding a deceased cleric who had been transferred from the diocese he was incardinated in to the diocese I resided in and then on to an Australian diocese. I met with denials that this cleric ever lived in the receiving diocese- the reply of the Vicar General. When challenged with Catholic newspaper reports and data from the Church Directories confirming my version of events I met with silence. It appears that this deceased clerics diocese’ is now the subject of an legal action from an albeit alleged victim many years after the sexual abuse had taken place. My point with the Vicar General being that a clerical paedophile rarely has one victim- there are many victims and attempting to determine the extent of this criminality is hard when faced with silence- the natural default position of the Roman hierarchy. I simply requested information as to the nature and extent of the deceased clerics activities in the new diocese, the reasons why he left his former diocese and why he was moved to an Australian diocese. The three diocese’ being Diocese of Leeds where he was ordained as a”late vocation” in1974; the diocese of Arundel and Brighton where he was transferred in 1979 and later in the 1980’s the Archdiocese of Perth in Australia where he died some 18 months ago.
Two points to close;
One; It surprises me that the Roman Church continues to produce its Church Directories as its an invaluable resource document for those determined to expose the extent of this clerical criminality and exposes those who as their formal religious superior have acted as inindicted co- conspiritors in this enterprise.
Two; Why is it that so many of thse paedophiles are Irish or of Irish descent? Is there a sensible and non racial response to this question? I would be interested to know as it is I believe part of a national pathology.
Tanya, this is excellent.
Yes, the directories are an invaluable resource Tanya, particularly when, as you and countless others have discovered, most diocesan officials refuse to divulge such information.
Re so many clergy who are Irish or of Irish descent, I don’t know the stats there to make a sensible comment.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but my understanding is that the directories are a requirement I order to keep their tax free status.
I don’t know about maintaining a tax free status, but there has to be a means for clergy to contact and stay in touch with each other, and for officials in one diocese to know who the officials are in another diocese and how to contact them.
Tanya,
From your post, above:
“Two; Why is it that so many of these pedophiles are Irish or of Irish descent? Is there a sensible and non racial response to this question? I would be interested to know as it is I believe part of a national pathology.”
A short answer…probably the “fervor” of their faith combined to the historical “financial struggles” made them a target…every family wanted to have a “religious” member of the family and it was one less mouth to feed in a large family: a bit of practical spirituality!
I have thought about this very same question since I mentioned it to Sylvia, in a phone conversation some time ago, although my question was about why there seemed to be so many french-canadian priest who were abusers! Just look at the names in the accused list. The same explanation applies to the Irish as would apply to the french-canadian. Too much blind faith, late education, poverty…and the predators smelled the flesh!…Take your pick around the world with similar conditions and years down the road you will record the names of new predators from Africa, South America, Indonesia perhaps…It doesn’t matter what kind of apple basket you drop a rotten specimen into, eventually the rot will spread…
The predators look for the right victims and some in turn become predators.
It is not a national pathology, it is a “religious manipulation” pathology…Very much the contrary to any Christian belief and devotion where the poor, the weak, the trusting innocent is sacrificed.
That can happen to any nationality.
That is the cycle that needs to be broken as all can be targeted. Nothing to do with nationality and everything to do with “vulnerability”…
jg
Thank you Sylvia, Tim, JG and Leona for your interesting replies.
As to the French-Canadian dimension to these crimes I suspect that a good many of these clerics may have come from or are descended from families that came from Brittany. These Bretons like their Irish counterparts are first and foremost Celts…I may be wildly off target at even making such a connection but if someone had the inclination and time to determine whether a substantial number of these abusing French -Candadian priests were from or descended from Bretons it would be interesting.
Abusers are a result of of some genetic background????….That is not being off target and more like being “prejudiced”!!!
jg
Thank you JG for your reply.
I am interested to see whether those clerics from a French and French-Canadian background are from Brittany or have Breton ancestry.
Tanya,
I’m not sure why you are interested in these child molesters’ genealogy, more specifically to a specific region of France. I would say that, with many French Canadians having ancestors from 10 generations ago coming from northern France, any genetic theory would be so diluted that it would have little or no scientific merit.
Looking at the number of clerical abusers in the USA, Australia, and around the world, I fail to see any sort of link to a particular ethnicity. Am I missing something here???
jj
Tanya,
It could take you forever to figure it out…
jg
The man who molested me, although not a priest, was Irish. He had turned completely against the Catholic faith in which he was brought up, and I have wondered whether that was because he was abused as a child by a priest.
Tanya, I understand that the methods of teaching used by Catholic priests and nuns in Ireland were frequently extremely harsh and emotionally damaging, and demanded complete obedience and often punishment. In such a climate, especially one in which adults felt they had to respect “father” above all, it must have been easier for clerical abusers to pursue their evil pleasures, because for anyone to speak up against a priest was considered sacrilegious.
In addition, I have heard (but have no idea whether scientists still support this concept) that the Irish were more susceptible to alcoholism than many nations because of their brain wiring (dopamine receptors and all that)–were you thinking that other addictive behaviours like being a child sex predator might be included in this propensity to addiction?
The man who abused me also drank excessively. And despite some social awkwardness, he had a charm and charisma (especially towards children) that made it hard to believe he had a dark side.
He drank, was awkward, and all this was because he was a sexual deviate.
It is not necessary for you to try to excuse him because of his sinful ways.
He was a deviate-full stop!
I’m not in any way trying to excuse him.