Assignment Record– Rev. Alexander R. Anderson

Summary of Case: A priest of the St. Louis archdiocese ordained in 1975, Anderson assisted at several parishes before being named pastor of a parish in Eureka, was chaplain of St. Joseph's Home for Boys, and served on the archdiocesan Marriage Tribunal. In 2002 Anderson was accused publicly of child sexual abuse by a man in his 20s who said the abuse occurred when he was a young resident of the boys' home in the 1980s. Anderson denied the abuse and sued his accuser. The accuser countersued. In 2004 both suits were dropped and the archdiocese gave the former boys' home resident a settlement of $22,500 for counseling, admitting no wrongdoing and saying the money was "an act of kindness." Also in 2004 a second man accused Anderson of sexually abusing him as a boy, in 1988, at the boys' home. The archdiocese believed Anderson's denials, and he was kept in ministry.

Ordained: 1975

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1976-2009 )

• Activists Will Challenge Church over Priest, by William C. Lhotka, Post-Dispatch, January 17, 2004
• Priests Sue over Allegations, by Guy Kovner, Press Democrat, downloaded March 22, 2004
• Priest's Life Turned Upside down by Abuse Charge Judged 'Unfounded', by Joseph Kenny, Catholic News Service, April 8, 2004
• St. Louis Archdiocese to Settle 18 Abuse Cases, Associated Press, August 26, 2004
• Diocese Settles 18 Abuse Suits, by Tim Townsend, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, August 26, 2004
• Problem Priests: Settling and Spinning, Post Dispatch, downloaded September 7, 2004
• Complex Struggle: Prelate's Record in Abuse Crisis, by Serge Kovaleski, New York Times, May 16, 2010

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.

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 Anderson''s career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation 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 28, 2015.