Northeast Jesuits List Members Credibly Accused of Abuse of Minors

Northeast USA Jesuit Provincial Fr. John J. Cecero, S.J.has released a list of fifty Jesuits of the Province who since 1950 have been credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. The Society's full statement is HERE. 

Fr. Cecero writes:

At the heart of this crisis is the painful, sinful and illegal harm done to children by those whom they should have been able to trust. We did not know any best practices to handle these violations many decades ago and regrettably made mistakes along the way. What winds up being a very shameful history for the Church at large was made clear by investigative reporting in Boston in 2002. It was the subsequent Dallas Charter that was accepted by the US Bishops that allowed us to codify and implement best practices. Under the watchful eye of our accreditation agency, Praesidium, Inc., we have implemented these best practices for more than fifteen years and can be grateful, although no less vigilant, that there have been no new cases of abuse of minors or vulnerable adults in the Northeast Province.Changed practices do not erase past history. The list I publish today notes criminal and sinful failures in the pastoral care of children. 

I looked, of course for the names of my many Jesuit teachers at my high school Brooklyn Prep, and college - Holy Cross.  The only one was my high school French teacher the late Fr. John Farrand, S.J. - a favorite.  Off duty he wore a jaunty beret as I recall.  We rode the IRT with him to Greenwich Village.  I remember going to the Fat Black Cat and other coffee shops,  and a play in a little west village theatre.  And I remember him staging Tartuffe, a  Moliere comedy - in French, of course.

A little research disclosed that the accusation against him was  for an offense in 1961.  His first at Prep, my junior year, perhaps when I was in his class.  I don't know, of course, what pain he caused to my aggrieved classmate.  But it is a sad report for me.  I know that sexual sins are common, not limited to celibates who have taken vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience.  And I know that a breach of student-teacher trust is a very serious sin.  But it makes me sad because John Farrand was a bright spot in a Jesuit education that I treasure.  He served me and many others well.  I am sorry for him and any others against whom he sinned. - gwc