Rev. Kenneth J. Cabral

Assignment Record– Rev. Kenneth J. Cabral

Summary of Case: Kenneth Cabral was ordained for the Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1950. He became a priest of the Diocese of Oakland when it was established in 1962. Cabral served in parishes in Tracy, San Jose, Oakland, Martinez, Berkeley, Walnut Creek, Lafayette and San Leandro. He appears to have been active until 1986, after which the Official Catholic Directory shows a year where he does not appear at all, followed by sick leave status and then retirement. He is reported to have died in March 1996.

Cabral was publicly named a child sex offender in the diocese's October 2004 apology service for abuse perpetrated at St. Catherine of Siena in Martinez during 1964-1965.

Ordained: 1950
Retired: 1991
Died: 1996

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1950 Archdiocese of San Francisco Archbishop was John Joseph Mitty (1935-1961).	1953	St. Bernard's	Tracy	CA	2/2
1953	1954	St. Leo's	San Jose	CA	2/2	St. Leo's had a school with 244 boys and 195 girls.
1954 Archdiocese of San Francisco until 1962, when the Oakland Diocese was established. Oakland's first bishop was Floyd Lawrence Begin (1962-1977).	1963	St. Lawrence O'Toole's	Oakland	CA	2/2	St. Lawrence O'Toole's had a school with 253-218 boys and 224-184 girls.
1963	1965	St. Catherine of Siena	Martinez • Cabral was named publicly as a child sex offender by Bishop Vigneron in the diocese's October 2004 Apology Service. The abuse was said to have taken place at St. Catherine's during 1964-1965.	CA	3/3	St. Catherine's had a school with 216-191 boys and 217 girls.
1965	1967	St. Joseph the Worker	Berkeley	CA	4/4, 2/4	St. Joseph's had a grade school with 166-154 boys and 189-195 girls, and a high school with 325-363 girls.
1967	1970	St. Mary's	Walnut Creek	CA	4/4, 2/2	St. Mary's had a school with 181-133 boys and 190-135 girls.
1970	1971	St. Columba's	Oakland	CA	1/1	St. Columba's had a school with 118 boys and 105 girls.
1971	1975	St. Perpetua's	Lafayette	CA	2/3, 2/2	St. Perpetua's had a school with 223-285 students.
1975 Begin was succeeded as Oakland bishop by John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003).	1984	St. Margaret Mary's	Oakland	CA	1/1
1984	1986	St. Alphonsus Liguori	San Leandro	CA	2/2
1986	1987					Cabral is not indexed in the 1987 Directory, nor is he listed in the diocesan pages as at his previous assignment.
1987	1991	Absent on Sick Leave
1991	2000	Retired				Cabral is not indexed beyond the 2000 Directory. Although the Directories list him until 2000, Cabral reportedly died March 2, 1996.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1951-2000).

• Diocese of Oakland Apology Services, Diocese of Oakland, 2004
• Connections, Bay Area News Group, April 1, 2008
• Accused Clerics, Contra Costa Times, April 1, 2008

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Cabral's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on December 20, 2016.