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Assignment Record– Rev. Richard J. Barry, O.M.I.

Summary of Case: A priest of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (Missionary Oblates) ordained in 1978, Barry worked in the archdioceses of Boston MA and Washington DC, as well as the dioceses of Harrisburg PA and Grand Rapids MI. In 2002 an accusation emerged that Barry raped and assaulted a youth at a Tewksbury MA parish, where he was assigned in the late 1970s-early 1980s. Barry's accuser said the abuse occurred over a three-year period, and started when he went to Barry for counseling as a 16 or 17-year-old boy. The abuse allegedly occurred at the parish, at a cabin in NH and in the boy's bedroom. Barry was transferred in 1981 to Dallastown PA. His name was included in the March 2003 NH Attorney General's report on abusive priests. Barry is said to have been defrocked sometime before 2002.

Ordained: 1978

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1978

Boston archbishop was Humberto Sousa Medeiros (1970-1983).

1981 St. William's

Tewksbury

Barry was accused in 2002 of having sexually abused a 16 or 17- year-old boy at St. William's, in the boy's bedroom, and in a New Hampshire cabin. The boy is said to have gone to Barry for counseling, and the abuse allegedly occurred over a three-year period.

MA

3/3

 

1981

Harrisburg bishop was Joseph Thomas Daley (1971-1983).

1983 St. Joseph's Dallastown PA

3/3

In residence

St. Joseph's had a school with 204 students.

1983

Washington archbishop was James Aloysius Hickey (1980-2000).

1984 Oblate College Washington DC    

1984

Harrisburg bishop was William Henry Keeler (1983-1989).

1986 St. Margaret Mary of Alacoque Harrisburg PA 3/3

Parish had a school with 233-235 students.

1986

Grand Rapids bishop was Joseph Matthew Breitenbeck (1969-1989).

1988 Immaculate Heart of Mary Grand Rapids MI 2/3 Parish had a school with 439-437 students.
1988 1989 Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Provincial Residence Washington DC    
1989 1991         Barry is not indexed in the 1990 or 1991 Directories.
1991 1992 Oblate College Washington DC  

The 1992 Directory is the last in which Barry's name appears.

Barry was defrocked by the time of the 2002 complaint.


Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: Kenedy & Sons, 1979-1992).

Letters to Cambridge DA and to Cardinal Law, Barry personnel file, February-March, 2002
Newly Released Files Identify More Alleged Abusive Priests, By Robin Washington and Marie Szaniszlo,, Boston Herald, December 17, 2002
AG's Report Names 35 NH Priests, Union Leader [Manchester NH], March 4, 2003
The Missing Names from Cardinal O'Malley's List of Accused Clerics, Boston Globe, November 20, 2011



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 & 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 was last updated August 30, 2015.

 
 

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