Rev. Charles J. Gormly

Assignment History– Rev. Charles J. Gormly

Summary of Case: Born in Ireland, Charles J. Gormly was ordained for the Cheyenne WY diocese in 1935. He left the diocese in the mid-1940s. His whereabouts until 1960 are unclear, but there are indications he was in the Diocese of Crookston MN for at least some of that time, as well as in treatment at Via Coeli in Jemez Springs NM. Letters written by Bishop Francis Schenk in 1960 and 1961 stated Gormly had a history of molesting small girls and that, despite his poor "record in Crookston," he wanted to give Gormly "one more chance." Schenk was bishop in Crookston until 1959, when he was appointed to the Duluth diocese. He allowed Gormly to work under him in Duluth from July 1960 until June 1961, at which time Gormly was removed and sent to a Milwaukee WI hospital for psychiatric treatment. Gormly was thereafter absent on leave. He died in January 1968. In a 2014 lawsuit, Gormly was accused of sexually abusing a girl while assigned to a parish in the Diocese of Duluth during 1960-61.

Ordained: May 26, 1935
Died: January 11, 1968

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1935 Diocese of Cheyenne Bishop was Patrick Aloysius Alphonsus McGovern (1912-1951).	1937
1935	1938	Our Lady of Sorrows	Rock Springs	WY	2/2
1938	1941	St. Paul	Pine Bluffs	WY	1/1
1941	1942	Holy Rosary	Lander	WY	1/1
2/43	5/44	St. Lawrence/Laurence O'Toole	Laramie	WY	2/2
5/44	1946					Gormly is not indexed in the 1945 or 1946 Directories.
1946 Diocese of Cheyenne Hubert Michael Newell succeeded McGovern as bishop (1951-1978).	1960	Absent on Leave
1950s Diocese of Crookston Bishop Francis Joseph Schenk (1945-1960).			• Bishop Schenk wrote in a 1961 letter of Gormly's "problem which prompts him to molest small girls" and that "the same pattern showed up" in Crookston.			Bishop Schenkindicated in letters that Gormly worked under him in the Crookston diocese. Per Schenk's July 6, 1960 letter to Gormly's bishop in Cheyenne WY (Gormly was never incardinated elsewhere), Gormly spent "quite a lot of time" at Via Coeli in Jemez Springs NM [for treatment]. Nonetheless, Schenk wanted to give Gormly "one more chance."
7/23/60 Diocese of Duluth Bishop was Francis Joseph Schenk (1960-1969).	8/18/60	St. James	Duluth	MN		Gormly lived in the parish rectory.
7/23/60	8/18/60	St. Lawrence	Duluth	MN	Assistant Pastor
7/23/60	8/18/60	St. Raphael	Duluth	MN	Assistant Pastor
8/18/60	6/23/61	St. Francis of Assisi	Brainerd • Gormly was accused in a 2014 lawsuit of sexually abusing a 12 or 13-year-old girl while assigned to St. Francis.	MN	4/4	Gormley was removed from this parish and sent to St. Michael's hospital in Milwaukee WI for psychiatric care.
1961 Diocese of Cheyenne Bishop was Hubert Michael Newell succeeded McGovern as bishop (1951-1978).	1968	Absent on Leave				Depsite his work elsewhere, Gormly remained officially a priest of the Cheyenne diocese. He died January 11, 1968.

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, 1938-1967).

• Priest who served at St. Francis in the 1960s accused of sexual misconduct, Brainerd Dispatch, December 14, 2014
• Lawsuit Filed against Duluth Diocese, By Dave Strandberg, KDAL, May 18, 2015
• Woman files sexual abuse lawsuit against Diocese of Duluth, By Eden Checkol, Northlands News Center, May 18, 2015
• Duluth Diocese Sued after Sexual Abuse Allegations, By Avery Neuville, Fox 21, May 18, 2015
• Priest with History of Sexually Abusing Young Girls Worked in Crookston Diocese, By Sarah Volpenhein, Grand Forks Herald, November 19, 2015
• Unsealed Records Show That Priest with History of Sexually Abusing Girls Worked at Crookston Diocese, Crookston Times, November 20, 2015
• Lists of accused ND priests still under wraps, By Archie Ingersoll, InForum, January 24, 2016
• Gormly documents, AndersonAdvocates.com

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 Gormly'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 May 3, 2016.