Rev. Thomas J. Hidding, s.j.-Assignment Record

Assignment Record – Rev. Thomas J. Hidding, s.j.

Summary of Case: Rev. Thomas J. Hidding, s.j. was accused in 2002 of having sexually abused a Florida high school student between 1980-1982, when he was a Jesuit seminarian and teacher. He was ordained in 1986, and spent his career in Louisiana and Florida. Hidding was removed from active ministry after the accusation surfaced in May 2002. He died Oct. 12, 2005.

Ordained: 1986

Start	Stop	Parish/Assignment	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1980 St. Petersburg bishop was William Thomas Larkin (1979-1988)	1982	Jesuit High School	Tampa • Hidding was accused in 2002 of having sexually abused a Jesuit High student sometime between 1980-1982. Hidding was a Jesuit seminarian at the time. The allegations were deemed "credible" by Jesuit superiors.	FL	English teacher; Jesuit seminarian
Dallas archbishop was Thomas Ambrose Tschoepe (1969-1990)		Jesuit College Prep.	Dallas	TX	teacher; seminarian	This assignment is per news reports.
1986 Oakland bishop was John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003)	1987	The Jesuit Community in Berkeley	Berkeley	CA
1987 New Orleans archbishop was Philip Matthew Hannan (1965-1988), followed by Francis Bible Schulte (1988-2002).	1992	Loyola University	New Orleans	LA	campus minister
1992	1993					Hidding is not indexed in the 1993 Directory.
1993 St. Petersburg bishop was John Clemente Favalora (1989-1994), who was succeeded by Robert Nugent Lynch (1995-).	1997	University of Tampa	Tampa	FL
1993	1997	Sacred Heart	Tampa	FL	2/4	Sacred Heart had a school with 207-235 students and a religious education program with 26-32 students.
1997	1999	Immaculate Conception	New Orleans	LA	2/3
1999	2000	Jesuit Provincial Office	New Orleans	LA
2000 Miami archbishop was John Clement Favalora (1994-2010).	2002	Jesu Church	Miami	FL	7/7, 5/5	Jesu had a religious education program with 45 students. Hidding was removed from active ministry in May 2002 after an accusation surfaced that he had sexually abused a high school student in the early 1980s.
2002	2005					Hidding died October 12, 2005.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1987-2002)

• Abuse Charges against Jesuit Teacher 'Credible', By John Wing, Tampa Tribune [Florida], May 10, 2002
• Jesuit High Ex-Teacher Accused of Sex Abuse, By Graham Brink, St. Petersburg Times [Florida], May 10, 2002
• Sex Scandal Apology Sent to Jesuit Parents, By Michelle Bearden, Tampa Tribune (Florida), May 11, 2002

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 Hidding'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 April 10, 2013