Rev. Daniel R. Pater

Assignment Record– Rev. Daniel R. Pater

Summary of Case: Daniel Pater was ordained for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1979. He was an assistant priest at St. Charles Borromeo in Kettering OH until 1982, when he went to Rome to study. He joined the Vatican diplomatic corps, serving in Burundi and Zaire in Africa, Australia, Vatican City, and in New Delhi, India.

In 1992 a woman reported to the Cincinnati archdiocese that Pater had sexually abused her, beginning when she was 14-years-old in the early 1980s and continuing until late 1990 or early 1991, during his trips back to OH. Pater had stepped in to counsel the girl after the accidental death of her brother. The girl was a St. Charles Borromeo parishioner and a student at Alter High School, which was adjacent to St. Charles. Pater admitted to the abuse. The girl sued in 1993 and received a settlement in 1995. Pater was sent to treatment at St. Luke's Institute in MD, then returned to ministry.

In 2004 Pater's victim again sued, along with another woman, claiming the Church did not protect children overseas from Pater. The other woman claimed, too, that Pater sexually abused her as a teenager at St. Charles in the early 1980s. The suit was withdrawn in 2006 due to a ruling by the OH Supreme Court that victims must file before age 20.

Pater resigned from his post in India in 2003, and stated he was "very sorry for what happened." He was thereafter on Administrative Leave. In February 2014 the Vatican announced that Pater was permanently removed from ministry and commended to a "life of prayer and penance."

Ordained: 1979

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State/ Country	Position	Notes
1979 Archdiocese of Cincinnati Archbishop was Joseph Louis Bernardin (1972-1982).	1982	St. Charles Borromeo	Dayton (Kettering) • A woman reported to the archdiocese in October 1992 that Pater sexually abused her beginning when she was a 14-year-old St. Charles parishioner in the early 1980s. Pater stepped in to counsel the girl after her brother died in an accident. The abuse continued until late 1990 or early 1991 during the priest's trips back to Dayton from his work abroad. Pater acknowledged the abuse, which included intercourse.It occurred in the St. Charles rectory, at Alter High School (where the girl was a student) and in a parked car. Pater sometimes plied the girl with wine. • A second woman filed suit in 2004 with Pater's first accuser, claiming the Church failed to protect children overseas from Pater. This second accuser claimed also that Pater sexually abused her in the early 1980s when she was a young teen and a St. Charles' parishioner.	OH	3/3, 3/4	St. Charles had a school with 703-639 students.
1982 Bernardin was succeeded as Cincinnati archbishop by Daniel Edward Pilarczyk (1982-2009).	1986	On Duty Outside the Archdiocese: Pontificia Academia Ecclesiastica	Rome	Italy		The Vatican knew of Pater's sexual abuse history.
1986	1987	On Duty Outside the Archdiocese: Nuziatura Apostolica	Bujumbura	Burundi, Africa
1987	1990	On Duty Outside the Archdiocese: Apostolic Nunciature	Manuka, Canberra	A.C.T., Australia
1990	1993	On Duty Outside the Archdiocese: Apostolic Nunciature	Kinshasa-Gombe	Zaire, Africa		Pater's victim was not satisfied by the archdiocese's response to her disclosure. She filed suit in 1993.
1993	1994	Administrative Leave of Absence				Pater underwent treatment at St. Luke's Institute in MD.
1994	2000	On Duty Outside the Archdiocese: Nunciature Apostolic Au Carrie	Vatican City	Italy	Secretariat of State	The 1993 lawsuit against Pater was settled in 1995. Cincinnati priest Rev. Lawrence Breslin twice alerted his friend, Vatican official Bishop James M. Harvey, to the allegations against Pater. Harvey stated in 2003 that he was aware of "some problems" but that he "presumed everything was OK, that there wasn't anything to it or the accusations were false." Pater 's work for the Vatican continued.
2000	2003	On Duty Outside the Archdiocese:Apostolic Nunciature	Niti Marg Chanakyapuri, New Delhi	India
2003	2007					Pater is not indexed in the 2004-2007 Directories. Pater resigned from his assignment in India in 2003, and stated that he was "very sorry for what happened." The 2004 lawsuit was withdrawn in 2006 due to a ruling by the OH Supreme Court that victims must file before age 20.
2007 Dennis Marion Schnurr replaced Pilarczyk as Cincinnati archbishop (2009-).	2014	Priests on Administrative Leave
2014	2016	Priests Commended to a Life of Prayer and Penance				The Vatican announced in February 2014 that it permanently removed Pater from ministry and that he was to "lead a life of prayer and penance."

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, 1980-2016).

• Church, Archdiocese, School out of Sex Lawsuit, Dayton Daily News , July 14, 1994
• Women's Suit Against Former Kettering Priest Settled Dayton, By Gillian Gaynair, Dayton Daily News, July 11, 1995
• Vatican Elevated Abusive Priest, By Reese Dunklin, Dallas Morning News, August 31, 2003
• Vatican Promoted U.S. Priest Despite Warnings of Abuse, Chicago Sun-Times, September 1, 2003
• Abuser's Exit from Vatican Pleases Victim, By Kristin McAllister, Dayton Daily News, September 1, 2003
• 10 Area Priests to Be Reviewed, Dayton Daily News, September 18, 2003
• Archbishop Places Abusive Priests on Leave, By Tom Beyerlein, Dayton Daily News, September 23, 2003
• A Milestone in Catholic Abuse Crisis, By Susan Hogan, Dallas Morning News, November 21, 2003
• Archdiocese Sued over Priest, By Dan Horn, Cincinnati Enquirer, March 24, 2004
• Woman Sues Catholic Church Again, By Tom Beyerlein, Dayton Daily News, March 24, 2004
• In the Shadow of the Vatican, By Reese Dunklin, Dallas Morning News, September 12, 2004
• Archdiocese of Cincinnati Status Report, accessed February 7, 2006
• Lawsuits in Sex-Abuse Case by Priests Withdrawn, By Ben Sutherly, Dayton Daily News, June 23, 2006
• Victims, Church Still Trying to Pick up Pieces, By Tom Beyerlein, Dayton Daily News, April 22, 2007
• Statement by Archdiocese of Cincinnati, February 21, 2014
• Former Kettering Priest Disciplined for Child Abuse, By Jill Drury, WDTN, February 21, 2014
• Vatican Removes Area Priest after Sexual Assault Admission, Cincinnati Enquirer, February 22, 2014

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 Pater'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 January 31, 2017.