Assignment Record– Rev. Joseph Aloysius Browne

Summary of Case: Browne was accused in a 2003 lawsuit of having sexually abused a teenage girl in the early 1960s, gotten her pregnant, and paid for her to have an abortion. The girl was a resident of a diocesan Children's Home, where Browne was a counselor. He left the priesthood in 1970, married and moved to Canada. Browne died January 13, 2013.

Born: December 31, 1930
Ordained
: 1956
Died: January 13, 2013

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1956

Covington bishop was William Theodore Mulloy (1944-1959).

1957

St. Joseph Heights/Clinic for Retarded Children

Covington

KY

2/2

In residence.

This was the Provincialate and Novitiate of the Sisters of Notre Dame.

The clinic had 42 pupils.

1957

Mulloy was succeeded by Richard Henry Ackerman, C.S.Sp. (1960-1978).

1961 St. Patrick's Maysville KY 2/2 Parish had a grade school with 109-131 boys and 102-115 girls, and a high school with 46-47 boys and 34-42 girls.
1957 1960 Chapel of the Infant Jesus Morehead KY   This was a mission of St. Patrick's in Maysville.
1960 1961 Our Lady of Lourdes Glen Springs KY   This was a mission of St. Patrick's in Maysville.

1961

Cincinnati archbishop was Karl Joseph Alter (1950-1969).

1962 The Fenwick Club Cincinnati OH   Browne is indexed in the 1962 Directory as at 435 Commercial Square, Cincinnati, which was the address for the Fenwick Club. The Fenwick was a Catholic organization which provided rooms for men ages 18-40, per a 2010 google search.

1962

Columbus bishop was Clarence George Issenmann (1957-1964).

1963 Our Lady of Peace Columbus OH Browne obtained a Master of Social Work degree from Ohio State University in 1963.

Browne is indexed in the 1963 Directory as at 60 Dominion Blvd., Columbus, which was the rectory for Our Lady of Peace. However, he is not listed as there in the Columbus diocesan pages.

The parish had a school with 400 students.

1963 1964 Mount St. Martin Institute for Young Women and Home For Working Girls Newport KY In residence. The Home had 23 resident women.
    Diocesan Children's Home

Ft. Mitchell

Browne was accused in a 2003 lawsuit of having sexually abused a teenage female resident of the Children's Home. She lived at the home from 1963-1966. Browne's accuser stated that she became pregnant and that Browne arranged for her to have an abortion. (Associated Press State & Local Wire
April 24, 2003)

KY counselor This assignment is per news reports.
1964 1967   Covington KY   Browne is indexed in the 1966, 1967 and 1968 Directories as at 15 E. 11th St., Covington. This was very near Covington Latin School (a boys advanced placement high school), and around the corner from the Cathedral.
    Catholic Social Services Covington KY assistant director This assignment is per news reports. (Cincinnati Enquirer
April 25, 2003)
    St. Vincent DePaul Society     co-chair This assignment is per news reports. (Cincinnati Enquirer
April 25, 2003)
1967 1969 St. Anthony's Latonia KY 2/2 Parish had a school with 152-119 boys and 173-136 girls.
1969 1978 Absent on Leave   Ontario, Canada  

Browne is last indexed in the 1978 Directory.

Browne left the priesthood, married, and moved to Canada.

He died in Canada January 13, 2013.


Source
: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1957-1978)

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 Browne'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 September 19, 2016.