Rev. Edward P. Kuczynski

Summary of Case: Kuczynski was accused in 2005 of molesting a boy over a three year period, beginning when the boy was a fifth grader at the parish school. Per the archdiocese, police investigated and found the claims to be unfounded. The family filed suit in 2006.

Ordained: 1977

     

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1977

Philadelphia archbishop was John Joseph Krol (1961-1988)

1982 St. Adalbert (Polish) Philadelphia PA 4/6 Parish had a school with 607-584 students.
1982 1983 St. Mary's (Polish) Conshohocken PA 2/2 Parish had a school with 100 students.
1983 1984 St. John Cantius (Polish) Philadelphia PA 2/4 Parish had a school with 598 students, and a kindergarten with 55 students.
1984 1987 Our Lady Help of Christians Abington PA 3/3 Parish had a school with 197-185 students.

1987

Krol was succeeded by Anthony Joseph Bevilacqua (1987-2003)

1989 St. Josaphat (Polish) Philadelphia PA 2/2 Parish had a school with 247-244 students.
1989 1990 St. Cecilia's Philadelphia PA 4/4 Parish had a school with 1,023 students.
1990 1995 St. Hedwig's (Polish) Philadelphia PA 1/3, 1/2, 1/1  
1991 1992 Philadelphia Community College Philadelphia PA 1/3 Newman apostolate

1994

Justin Francis Rigali replaced Bevilacqua as archbishop (2003- )

2006 St. Peter's

Pottstown

• Kuczynski was accused in a 2006 lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy between 2002-2005. The boy was a student at St. Peter's School and said that the abuse began when he was fifth grade. The archdiocese stated that police investigated in April 2005 and determined that the allegations were unfounded. The lawsuit claimed that the boy ran to the school principal's office to report abuse, but that she told him "nothing happened" and that he should forget it.

PA 1/1

Parish had a school with 195-200 students and a religious education program with 95 students The religious ed. program is listed only in the 2001-2006 Directories during Kuczynski's time at St. Peter's. The parish closed in 2006.

The archdiocese said in a statement, "An affidavit dated April 20, 2005, stated that police had already interviewed upwards of 20 people and no one had corroborated any of the family’s allegations,""Before the end of April 2005, Father Kuczynski and the archdiocese were informed by Pottstown Police that they found the allegations against Father Kuczynski to be unfounded and that their investigation turned its focus to whether the complainant had made a false report."
2006 2009 St. Philip Neri's Philadelphia PA

3/3

In residence.

Parish had a religious education program with 46-12 students.
2007 2009 St. Monica Manor Philadelphia PA Chaplain  
2009 2011 St. Charles Borromeo Philadelphia PA Pastor This assignment is per the archdiocesan website.


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1965-2009)

• New Lawsuit Alleges Priest Sex Abuse at Montco School, By Pervaiz Shallwani, The Morning Call [Pennsylvania], April 19, 2006
• Priest Abused Boy, Lawsuit Claims, By Pervaiz Shallwani, The Morning Call [Pennsylvania], April 20, 2006
• Lawsuit Accuses Priest of Abuse, By Mike Castiglione, The Mercury, April 20, 2006

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 Kuczynski'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 Dec. 17, 2011