Rev. Joseph Coonan

February 9, 2008

Accused charismatic priest resigns

By Bronislaus B. Kush TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
bkush@telegram.com

WORCESTER— The Rev. Joseph A. Coonan, the once popular Roman Catholic priest who was suspended from his priestly duties after allegations of bizarre sexual misconduct involving teenagers surfaced in 2002, has ended his long battle to persuade church officials that he should be allowed to resume his ministry.

Raymond L. Delisle, a spokesman for the Diocese of Worcester, said the Rev. Coonan has formally resigned as pastor of St. John Church on Temple Street. That action effectively ends the charismatic priest’s reinstatement efforts.

Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, then head of the Worcester Diocese, removed Rev. Coonan in August 2002 after church officials decided that the allegations against the priest, known for his inspirational sermons and work among the downtown poor, were credible.

Rev. Coonan, however, refused to resign and appealed his case to Vatican authorities. Officials in Rome have yet to rule on the matter.

The allegations stemmed from Rev. Coonan’s work as a camp counselor and teacher in Oxford during the 1970s.

Alleged victims stepped forth and accused Rev. Coonan of touching them sexually and urging them to urinate, defecate or masturbate in his presence.

Rev. Coonan’s removal split parishioners at St. John, with supporters maintaining the charges predated his ordination in 1989 and that he should be judged solely on his actions as a clergyman.

The allegations, however, shocked others who, at one time, packed services officiated by the priest.

Rev. Coonan would often incorporate poetry and music into his sermons.

The priest’s woes continued when he was arrested twice in 2006 on charges of assaulting his mother and sister, with whom he lived in Oxford. The charges were dismissed in both cases.

Bishop Robert J. McManus this week formally appointed the Rev. John F. Madden as St. John’s new pastor. He had been serving for several months as the parish’s administrator.

Rev. Coonan could not be reached for comment yesterday. Rev. Madden did not return a telephone call made by the Telegram & Gazette.

March 2, 2006

Rev. Coonan charged with domestic assaults

DUDLEY— The pastor of St. John’s Church in Worcester, who was placed on administrative leave in 2002, was arrested Tuesday and arraigned yesterday on charges that he assaulted his mother and sister at their Oxford home.

The Rev. Joseph A. Coonan, 58, is charged with domestic assault and battery, assault and battery on a person over 65 years of age, and one count of intimidating a witness. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in the arraignment before Judge Neil G. Snider in Dudley District Court. He was released on bail of $250 and personal recognizance. The case was continued to April 4 for a pretrial conference.

Rev. Coonan was removed from ministry at St. John’s Church on Temple Street in August 2002 by Bishop Daniel P. Reilly, head of the Worcester Diocese at the time, after allegations of sexual misconduct from the 1970s surfaced. Before his removal, 15 men from Oxford told state police that Rev. Coonan did inappropriate things with them when he was a teacher and counselor in Oxford, before he entered the seminary.

He was a teacher at Oxford High School for eight years.

In 2003, the diocese asked Rev. Coonan to resign as pastor. At the time, a spokesman for Rev. Coonan said the priest had hired a canon lawyer and planned to fight his removal “on canonical grounds.”

According to an Oxford police report filed with the Dudley District Court clerk’s office, Rev. Coonan had been drinking at the time of the latest incident in an apartment he shared with his mother and sister at 3 Hope Ave.

Police received a 911 call from Rev. Coonan’s mother, Mabel G. Coonan, 77, who told a dispatcher, “I’m having a problem with my son.” The mother ended the call, but police called the number back and another female answered the phone and said, “I can’t really talk right now.”

The woman then whispered into the phone, but police could not understand what she was saying. The dispatcher instructed the woman to press a key on the telephone pad if she needed the police to come to the apartment. The caller pressed a key and police responded, and also sent an ambulance as a precaution; however, it was not needed.

When police entered the home, Rev. Coonan was standing in the doorway of a bedroom.

Mrs. Coonan told police that her son “had engaged in an argument with her and her daughter, Patricia Loiselle.”

The police report did not indicate what the argument was about. A police spokesman yesterday said he did not know the nature of the argument.

In the police report filed by Oxford Patrolman Christopher D. Hadis, Mrs. Coonan said “that Joseph assaulted her by placing his hand around her throat in a choking motion.”

Mrs. Coonan showed no visible signs of injury, police said.

“Mrs. Coonan stated that this has been an ongoing problem. She stated that (it) escalates when Joseph consumes alcohol,” the report said.

The report said Rev. Coonan had been drinking beer that night.

Police spoke to Rev. Coonan, and he told them that “this was just an ongoing family problem and that no physical violence had occurred.” He told police that “a verbal argument had occurred.”

Patricia A. Loiselle told police the argument between mother and son started in the kitchen. She was in the living room recovering from recent surgery. She told police she did not see any physical violence between her brother and mother, but then her brother “involved her in the argument.”

According to Ms. Loiselle’s statement to police, her brother “became so enraged that (he) grabbed hold of her hair and pulled.” She got a cordless telephone and threatened to call the police and Rev. Coonan “forcefully removed the phone from her hand.” He then took the battery out of the phone so it would not work.

After police arrested Rev. Coonan and brought him to the police station for booking, he was released on personal recognizance and $250 bail.

Police said both the priest’s mother and sister were hesitant about completing victim statements for police. Also, police said both women did not seek assistance in obtaining a court order to prohibit Rev. Coonan from contacting them. After his release, police advised him that it was in his best interest not to return to the apartment. Police said Rev. Coonan agreed and that he “had no intention of returning.”

Raymond L. Delisle, a spokesman for the Worcester Roman Catholic Diocese, said yesterday that Rev. Coonan remains on administrative leave and has not resigned his pastorship. Mr. Delisle added that Rev. Coonan has no public ministry.

Mr. Delisle said he was not aware of the status of Rev. Coonan’s opposition to being placed on leave. That process takes place in Rome, Mr. Delisle noted.

The removal of Rev. Coonan, who was ordained a priest at age 43, sparked considerable vocal opposition from some parishioners, many of whom urged the diocese to reinstate him.

Gerard F. Russell of the Telegram & Gazette staff can be reached by e-mail at grussell@telegram.com.

March 1, 2006

Priest arrested on assault charges

By Gerard F. Russell

DUDLEY— The pastor of St. John’s Church in Worcester, who was placed on administrative leave in 2002, was arrested Tuesday and arraigned today on charges he assaulted his mother and sister at their Oxford home.

Rev. Joseph A. Coonan, 58, is charged with domestic assault and battery, assault and battery on a person over 65 years of age and one count of intimidating a witness.

A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf in the arraignment before Judge Neil G. Snider. He was released on a bail of $250 and personal recognizance. The case was continued to April 4 for a pretrial conference.

Rev. Coonan was removed from ministry at St. John’s Church on Temple Street in August 2002 by then-Bishop Daniel P. Reilly after allegations of sexual misconduct from the 1970s surfaced. Prior to his removal, 15 men from Oxford told state police that Rev. Coonan did inappropriate things with them when he was a teacher and counselor in Oxford, prior to his entering the seminary. He was a teacher at Oxford High School for eight years.

In 2003, the diocese asked Rev. Coonan to resign his position as pastor.

At the time, a spokesman for Rev. Coonan said the priest had hired a canon lawyer and planned to fight his removal “on canonical grounds.”

According to an Oxford Police report filed with the Dudley District Court clerk’s office, Rev. Coonan had been drinking at the time of the incident in an apartment he shared with his mother and sister at 3 Hope Avenue.

A police report on file in the court alleges Rev. Coonan attempted to choke his mother and pulled his sister's hair during a family argument.

April 2, 2004

We’ll always have the parish

The diocese appoints a replacement for Fr. Coonan, the subject of contested charges

By Taryn Plumb

After more than a year and a half, it appears that St. John’s Catholic Church in Worcester has waited long enough. In a move suggesting that there won’t be a resolution of charges against resident priest Rev. Joseph Coonan anytime soon, an interim church pastor and administrator has been appointed to run the parish in his absence. (Coonan has been suspended from St. John’s for an indefinite period of time.)

The pastor/administrator is Rev. John Madden, former principal of Worcester’s Holy Name Catholic Junior Senior High School. Madden assumed his post at the church on Feb. 20, performing masses that weekend. He declined to comment for this story. “Unfortunately, in the past, doing interviews hasn’t turned out to be a positive thing in this particular case,” says Pat McGrath, spokesperson for St. John’s, explaining Madden’s refusal to comment. “In the meantime, we just keep praying for Fr. Joe’s return.”

Coonan is appealing a November 2003 request from the Roman Catholic Diocese that he resign from his position as pastor. Since his suspension in August 2002, based on allegations dating back almost 30 years and before his days as a seminarian, he has remained pastor of St. John’s. However, he has not lived on the premises nor performed religious services.

Coonan has denied all allegations against him and has hired Rev. Peter Gori, a lawyer with specific training in the laws that govern the Catholic Church. Gori is helping Coonan make a canonical appeal to Rome. “Fr. Coonan is co-operating with the diocese investigation,” comments attorney Joseph Early, who previously represented the priest. “And Fr. Gori is representing [him] at every step of the proceedings.”

A potential reason for the long wait in Coonan’s case, speculates Raymond Delisle, spokesman for The Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, could be the large number of cases currently filed against priests and the Catholic church. “A system that was designed to handle 70 cases,” he explains, “is now handling hundreds.”

Photo/Jeff Loughlin

Every action taken against a priest and every appeal made by a priest, explains Delisle, is automatically reported to Rome. There, the actions are reviewed by The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF), a commission dedicated to promoting and safeguarding Church doctrine. The CDF determines how, when and where a formal hearing will be held.

The process concerning Coonan’s case “has simply been responding right now to inquiries from Rome,” Delisle comments. “We wait to hear from Rome [as to] what they want us to do. We really have no idea what kind of time frames we’re working with, with Rome.”

The Coonan case has drawn vehement reactions from his supporters, who, even after a year and a half of suspension, allegations and printed articles which they claim have defamed the priest’s character, have wholeheartedly banded together for his cause. Eager for their pastor’s return, Coonan’s supporters at St. John’s have held prayer vigils and requested private meetings with Rev. Daniel Reilly, the retiring Bishop of Worcester. They have even held bake sales to help defray Coonan’s expenses in the canonical appeal process.

Worcester School Committee member Kate Toomey, a St. John’s parishioner and supporter of Coonan’s cause, explains that the priest had the ability to impact every one of his parishioners with his speeches, which always involved a modern twist on the Bible. She recalls a “suitcase” sermon the priest gave on a hot, mid-summer afternoon, shedding layers of jackets and sweaters as a metaphor for the physical and spiritual instances that weigh people down. “His sermons were phenomenal,” she explains. “He had the ability to connect modern day issues with the Bible and Jesus’s message.”

Brian O’Connell, another school committee member and St. John’s parishioner, says that Coonan’s charm, along with his understanding and caring nature, attracted individuals to St. John’s. “In the time he’s been at St. John’s parish,” he says, “he has done much ... in terms of adding to its vitality and invigorating it.”
A lifetime parishioner of St. John’s, O’Connell contends that to date, actions taken by the church and diocese have neglected due process, not yet allowing the pastor a chance to defend himself. “Decisions made to suspend a priest from active ministry should be made after both sides have been fully heard,” O’Connell explains. “A tribunal has [to have] a chance to consider both sides and determine whether suspension of the ministry is ... appropriate. That’s true due process.”

Coonan’s case, he comments, should be looked at differently because the allegations date back to a time when Coonan was a lay person, before his priesthood. “Those allegations need to be seen in a different light,” O’Connell comments. “That does not mean they can be ignored ... but it does mean that they can be treated in a different manner. I felt that the diocese should draw a distinction.”

Yet lines are still drawn in the sand, as Coonan’s critics argue. Some say those parishioners, blinded by Coonan’s charm, place misguided trust in the hands of such a priest. Likewise, they complain, bishops are non-discriminating in the selection of priests, failing to perform routine background checks.

Bryan Smith, Worcester victim’s advocate for The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), an independent national support group with headquarters in Chicago, disagrees that Coonan’s case should be distinguished from other abuse cases. “I definitely agree that he should be suspended,” he comments. “There have been plenty of victims who have come forward whose stories have been deemed credible.”

Both sides agree that the case should be settled in a timely, effective manner. “I was very concerned as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and now months have turned into years,” comments O’Connell. “For a [member of the] clergy, justice delayed is justice denied. A rapid process is in everybody’s best interest.”

Taryn Plumb may be reached at editorial@worcestermag.com

By Herbert J. Andrews, Douglas

In these troubled times for our Catholic Church, I feel we need strong, timely and courageous decisions from our church. To wait over a year to ask the Rev. Joseph Coonan to resign from St. John's Church, I feel, showed little courage of conviction.

It seems that neither the secular, nor the church's legal systems wanted to prove Rev. Coonan's guilt or innocence concerning something that supposedly happened before he became a priest.

As a member of St. John's Parish, I feel we have waited long enough for the bishop's decision, and it would be nice if that decision were now explained to the people of St. John's, in detail.

Friday, December 26, 2003

Rev. Coonan is still capable to minister

By Denise Boucher Garofoli, Worcester

This concerns Bishop Daniel P. Reilly and the board of pastors who decide if the Rev. Joseph A. Coonan is still capable to minister effectively to St. John’s Parish.

Rev. Coonan has greatly multiplied his God-given talents, as seen in the numerous number of people (many of whom are high school and college students) who returned to church and the sacraments because of his honest, direct and sincere homilies. We are taught to live the gospel message and that God loves us and invites all of us to know him.

Rev. Coonan has many talents and as a servant, shepherd, preacher, teacher and priest of God, he lives the message he taught.
Who would dare to interfere with God’s plan?

October 24, 2003

Oxford man warns diocese on priest

Alleged sexual-touching victim opposes Coonan reinstatement

Kathleen A. Shaw, TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WORCESTER- Todd Hammond, an Oxford resident who said he was a victim of the Rev. Joseph A. Coonan during the 1970s, said yesterday he was astonished to find that the priest is still trying to be reinstated at St. John's parish.

"If the diocese ever lets him back in, they are leaving themselves wide open," Mr. Hammond said. Bishop Daniel P. Reilly removed Rev. Coonan from St. John's parish in August 2002 after allegations of misconduct surfaced, and, despite supporters' requests that he be reinstated, has asked the priest to resign.

Mr. Hammond, who operates a landscaping business, is one of about 20 men who gave statements to state police in 2002 saying that Rev. Coonan had engaged in inappropriate conduct with them when he was a teacher and counselor and they were students at Oxford High School. He alleges that Rev. Coonan, who was not a priest at the time, touched Mr. Hammond's genitals while they were riding through Worcester looking for prostitutes addicted to heroin. Rev. Coonan was not ordained until 1989.

Rev. Coonan has hired a canon lawyer, a specialist in church law, and is seeking redress through the church court. He said he was never given anything in writing saying why he was being removed from his pastorate, according to his civil lawyer, Joseph D. Early Jr. No civil suits or criminal charges have ever been filed against Rev. Coonan.

Nicolas O. Ledu, who said he refused Rev. Coonan's request to masturbate in front of him during a counseling session in the 1970s, questioned whether Rev. Coonan should "ever serve in any authoritative position, particularly where he will have influence over young teenage boys."

He was among those who filed reports with state police attached to the office of District Attorney John J. Conte.

ORDINATION DATE

He noted Rev. Coonan's supporters argue that any incidents during that time occurred before he was ordained a priest. "The date of Coonan's ordination has never been the issue," Mr. Ledu said. "The deviant, perverted sexual practices Coonan is alleged to have practiced with young teenage boys in Oxford during the '70s is the issue."

The debate on Rev. Coonan has been an active topic among people signing onto the discussion board operated by Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests at www.snapnetwork.org. Postings have been made by people who oppose Rev. Coonan being retained in the priesthood as well as by those who support the priest.

Mr. Ledu said he believes Rev. Coonan's supporters have moved from flatly denying the charges against the priest to now "reluctantly admitting that some of the charges may be true. Then they quickly move away from the actual sexual activities in question and hop on attempting to convince us that such things shouldn't matter since those crimes took place before Coonan was ordained as a priest."

Despite comments from the accusers, Rev. Coonan retains a following in his parish and among other area Catholics. More than 200 attended a meeting last Sunday night at St. John's in support of their pastor.

Denise Garofoli, who is holding a rosary vigil at 7:45 a.m. Thursdays in front of the Worcester Diocese offices on Elm Street, said the Catholic Church is "a church of forgiveness."

SCHOOL SILENCE

"If I am astounded at what he is doing, I am even more astounded at the attitude of the Oxford School Department. They have remained absolutely silent," Mr. Hammond said. Several of the incidents were reported back then to the school department, he said.

Mr. Early said Rev. Coonan denies the allegations and said he has an explanation for everything that happened.

August 8, 2002

Coonan gets more support

By Richard Nangle, Telegram & Gazette Staff

WORCESTER-- Two local political leaders, John R. Sharry and Brian O'Connell, have spearheaded the effort by St. John Church parishioners to reinstate Rev. Joseph A. Coonan, who was placed on administrative leave last week by Bishop Daniel P. Reilly because of allegations of sexual misconduct.

Meanwhile, Todd Hammond of Oxford, one of Rev. Coonan's alleged victims, spoke out yesterday, saying that while he was a student at Oxford High School in the 1970s, Rev. Coonan, then a teacher there, grabbed the youth's genitals during a ride through Worcester in search of prostitutes.

Mr. Hammond, a landscaper, said he and four others were interviewed by state police investigating Rev. Coonan several months ago. Mr. Hammond said he and the other alleged victims are not after money, but simply want Rev. Coonan to acknowledge being a sexual abuser.

According to diocesan spokesman Raymond L. Delisle, District Attorney John J. Conte offered the diocese few details of the allegations, other than that there were more than one of them. Rev. Coonan has said the allegations, which he denies, stem from his work with heroin addicts at a crisis center serving Webster, Dudley and Oxford in 1977, 12 years before his ordination as a priest.

Last night, for the second time this week, St. John parishioners attended a meeting in the church. Mr. Sharry, a former Worcester county commissioner living in Spencer, and Mr. O'Connell, a Worcester School Committee member, outlined a strategy designed to pressure the diocese to return Rev. Coonan to his post as soon as possible. Worcester School Committee member Kate Toomey also attended the meeting.

Mr. Sharry passed out copies of a letter to Bishop Reilly that read in part: “Ironically, Father Coonan, as an example of his own faith, has told his congregation during his weekly homilies that for many years before his ordination he was not even a practicing Catholic, missing Sunday Mass on a regular basis, about as far removed from the laws of the Catholic Church as a lay person could possibly be. ... I urge you to reinstate Father Coonan to his ministerial duties as soon as Mr. Conte informs the diocese that as a result of a thorough investigation by the office of the district attorney, no criminal charges will be filed against Father Coonan.”

Mr. Sharry urged parishioners, many of whom were wearing green ribbons in support of Rev. Coonan, to send copies of that letter to Bishop Reilly or write their own. He said he will be asking for a meeting with Bishop Reilly as early as Friday and said he wants others from the parish to attend.

If Rev. Coonan is not reinstated in a timely manner, he said, the parish might consider boycotts, petitions, withholding contributions, going to the press and “going on the offensive,” he said.

“We are not going to stop until Father Coonan comes back,” he said as parishioners cheered.

Mr. Hammond said he and others found it difficult to come forward, but were spurred on by the continuing revelations of sexual abuse by priests and evidence that the church hierarchy participated in a cover up by shuttling accused priests to other assignments.

He said he wrote to Rev. Coonan several months ago asking only that he acknowledge that he was a sexual abuser. Somehow, Mr. Hammond said, the letter found its way to the state police and he was contacted for an interview.

Mr. Hammond said that in the late 1970s Rev. Coonan, then a psychology teacher, asked him and other students to accompany him on a trip to Worcester to lure prostitutes into selling them drugs.

He said Mr. Coonan was anti-drug, and billed the trip to Worcester as an attempt to get “bad drugs” off the street and counsel prostitutes.

He said Rev. Coonan told the boys they had to expose themselves to the prostitutes to entice them to approach their vehicle. At one point during the evening, he said, Rev. Coonan grabbed his genitals. He said Rev. Coonan also told the boys they could urinate in the car if they wanted to.

“Every year he seemed to get friendly with two or three kids,” Mr. Hammond said.

Mr. Hammond said he wanted to come forward to clear up any misconceptions about the alleged victims because Mr. Coonan said the allegations were connected to his work with heroin addicts.