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John J. Geoghan (; June 4, 1935 - August 23, 2003) was an American Roman Catholic priest who had numerous accusations of sex abuse made against him while he was assigned to parishes in the Boston Archdiocese of Massachusetts. He was reassigned several times to parish posts involving children, including after extensive treatment for pedophilia. The investigation and prosecution of Geoghan was one of numerous cases of priests accused of sex abuse scandal that rocked the Archdiocese in the 1990s and 2000s. This led to the resignation of Boston's archbishop, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, on December 13, 2002, as he was accused of protecting dozens of priests by reassignment, and allowing abuse of additional parish children to take place. He lost the support of his priests and laity.〔("Cardinal Law and the laity" ), ''The Boston Globe,'' retrieved 26 November 2009〕 Geoghan was finally convicted of sexual abuse, laicized, and sentenced in 2002 to nine to ten years in Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, a maximum-security prison. Less than a year later, he was murdered there by an inmate who is serving a life sentence. The Boston Globe's coverage of Geoghan's abuse opened the door for public knowledge of the sexual abuse scandal in the Catholic archdiocese of Boston〔("Church allowed abuse by priest for years: Aware of Geoghan record, archdiocese still shuttled him from parish to parish" )〕 and sexual abuse by priests in the USA in general: this coverage is a key plot element of the movie ''Spotlight'' that was released in 2015. ==Career== Born in Boston in 1935 to an Irish Catholic family, Geoghan attended local parochial schools. Intending to become a priest, he attended Cardinal O'Connell Seminary. An assessment in 1954 noted him as "markedly immature."〔 He graduated in 1962 and was ordained. On February 13, 1962 Geoghan was assigned as an assistant pastor at Blessed Sacrament Parish in Saugus, Massachusetts. That December, Geoghan successfully talked a man out of committing suicide at the Mystic River Bridge, where he was threatening to jump. While Geoghan was assigned to Blessed Sacrament, Rev. Anthony Benzevich allegedly told church officials that the junior priest was observed bringing boys into his bedroom. Benzevich would later deny this allegation. (In 1995 Geoghan admitted to having molested four boys during his assignment years in Saugus.)〔 Geoghan was assigned to St. Bernard’s Parish in Concord starting on September 22, 1966. He was transferred after seven months there; church records offered no explanation for his reassignment.〔 On April 20, 1967, Geoghan was assigned to St. Paul’s Parish in Hingham. Around 1968, a man complained to church authorities that he had caught Geoghan molesting his son. As a result, Geoghan was sent to Seton Institute in Baltimore for treatment for his pedophilia. In the early 1970s, parishioner Joanne Mueller accused Geoghan of molesting her four young boys. Mueller has said that she informed Rev. Paul E. Miceli and he asked her to keep quiet. Miceli disputes her account. The church later reached a settlement with Mueller.〔 Geoghan’s next assignment was at St. Andrew’s Parish in Jamaica Plain, starting on June 4, 1974. On February 9, 1980 Rev. John E. Thomas told Bishop Thomas Vose Daily that Geoghan admitted to molesting seven boys. Daily called Geoghan and told him to go home. Geoghan admitted to the abuse, but said that he did “not feel it serious or a pastoral problem.”〔 He was placed on sick leave three days later and ordered by Archbishop Humberto Medeiros to undergo counseling. Under the care of doctors Robert Mullins and John H. Brennan, Geoghan underwent psychoanalysis and psychotherapy.〔 On February 25, 1981, Geoghan returned to pastoral work at St. Brendan’s Parish in Dorchester. While there, he allegedly raped and fondled a boy. In 1982 the family of seven of Geoghan’s victims complained to Bishop Daily that Geoghan had arranged to meet one of the molested boys at an ice cream shop in Jamaica Plain and was at the time in the company of another boy. On September 18, 1984, Bernard F. Law, the new archbishop of Boston, removed Geoghan from the parish after complaints that he was molesting children.〔 On November 13, 1984, Law assigned Geoghan to St. Julia’s Parish in Weston. He was put in charge of three youth groups, including altar boys. On December 7, 1984, Auxiliary Bishop John Michael D'Arcy wrote to Law complaining about Geoghan’s assignment to St. Julia’s because of his “history of homosexual involvement with young boys.”〔 That same month Dr. Mullins wrote that Geoghan had “fully recovered,” and Dr. Brennan stated that there was no need for restrictions on his work as a priest.〔 In 1986 new allegations of sexual abuse were made against him. From April 3-12, 1989, Geoghan was treated at the Saint Luke Institute in Silver Spring, Maryland. Here he was diagnosed with homosexual pedophilia. On April 28, 1989, Bishop Robert Joseph Banks ordered Geoghan to leave the ministry.〔 He was placed on sick leave on May 24 and from August 10 to November 4, 1989, he was treated at The Institute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut. Upon his release, Geoghan was described as “moderately improved.” Institute officials recommended that he return to assignment. Banks was concerned about the conclusions of the Institute’s Discharge Summary. On December 13, the Institute sent Banks a letter explaining the Discharge Summary, stating that “The probability he () would act out again is quite low. However, we could not guarantee that it would not re-occur.”〔 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.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「John Geoghan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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