Assignment Record– Rev. Joseph D. Maurizio

Summary of Case: A priest of the Altoona-Johnstown diocese ordained in 1987, Maurizio worked in a number of parishes as an assistant, and was made pastor of a Central City parish in 2003. He also worked as a college and hospital chaplain. From 1999-2014 he directed Humanitarian Interfaith Ministries, through which he traveled often to Central and South American countries to visit and provide 'relief work' to orphanages. In 2009 a staff member at a center for homeless children in Honduras is said to have overheard children arguing over whether to report that Maurizio had solicited them for sex. The agency overseeing the center investigated, and a number of boys allegedly disclosed sexual abuse by the priest. The board's chairwoman said she confronted Maurizio, who denied the allegations. She reportedly also informed the Altoona-Johnstown diocese, the FBI and the Attorney General's office. On September 12, 2014 Homeland Security agents raided Maurizio's rectory and his residence on a Pennsylvania farm. He was placed on leave by the diocese. On September 26 Maurizio was arrested on charges of engaging in illicit sex in foreign countries and possession of child pornography. At a September 29 detention hearing, prosecutors cited new allegations by two Pennsylvania boys, ages 5 and 7. Maurzio was convicted September 22, 2015 of illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, possession of child pornography and international money laundering. Sentenced March 2, 2016 to 16 years, 8 months in prison, and lifetime probation upon release. The sentence was to be reduced by 17 months for time served.

Ordained
: 1987

   

Start Stop Parish/Assignment Town/Accusations

State/Country

Position Notes

1987

Altoona-Johnstown bishop was Joseph Victor Adamec (1987-2011).

1988 St. Rose of Lima Altoona PA 3/3 St. Rose's had a school with 155 students.
1988 1990 Our Mother of Sorrows Johnstown PA 2/2 Our Mother of Sorrows had a school with 346-350 students.
1989   St. Michael's Johnstown PA   This assignment is per the PA Attorney General's March 1, 2016 Grand Jury Report.
1990 1991 St. John Cantius (Polish) Windber PA 2/2 St. John's had a religious education program with 187 students.
1990 1995 Juanita College Huntingdon PA Director of Campus Ministry/Chaplain  
1990 1993 University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Johnstown PA Director of Campus Ministry/Chaplain  
1993 1995 Lock Haven University Lock Haven PA Chaplain  
1991 1993 St. Casimir's (Polish) Johnstown PA 3/3  
1991 1993 St. Emerich's (Hungarian) Johnstown PA 2/2  
1993 1997 St. Andrew's Johnstown PA 2/2 St. Andrew's had a school with 225-170 students, and a religious education program with 78-126 students.
    St. Mary's Windber PA   This assignment is per the diocesan newspaper in 2012. Time-frame not specified.
1996   Conemaugh Health System (Good Samaritan Medical Center and Memorial Medical Center) Johnstown PA   This assignment is per the PA Attorney General's March 1, 2016 Grand Jury Report.
1997 2003         Maurizio is not indexed in the 1998-2003 Directories, nor is he listed in the Directories' Altoona-Johnstown diocesan pages for those years.
1999 2009 Humanitarian Interfaith Ministries

Johnstown

In 2009 a staff member at a center for homeless children in Progreso Honduras is said to have overheard children arguing over whether they should report that Maurizio had solicited them for sex. The children then allegedly disclosed sexual abuse by the priest. Per an affidavit by a Homeland Security officer, the chairwoman of a nonprofit in Honduras that ran the orphanage confronted Maurizio, who denied the allegations. She is said to have also reported the allegations to the Altoona-Johnstown diocese and contacted the FBI and the Attorney General's office.

PA Director Under the auspices of H.I.M., Maurizio traveled to orphanages in Honduras, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama, Mexico, Bolivia, and Peru. Contributions were handled by the Independent
Catholic Foundation for the Catholic Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown
, which was established by Maurizio.

2003

Adamec was succeeded by Mark Leonard Bartchak (2011-).

Sept 2014 Our Lady Queen of Angels

Central City

At Maurizio's September 29, 2014 detention hearing prosecutors cited new allegations against the priest, by two Pennsylvania boys, ages 5 and 7.

PA 1/1

Our Lady Queen of Angels had a religious education program with 94-33 students.

Maurizio was placed on leave by the diocese after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents searched Our Lady Queen of Angels' rectory and the priest's farm in Windber, PA September 12, 2014. Maurizio was arrested September 25 and charged with engaging in illicit sex in foreign countries and possession of child pornography.

Sept 2014 Mar 2016         Maurizio was convicted September 22, 2015 of illicit sexual conduct in foreign places, possession of child pornography and international money laundering. He was sentenced March 2, 2016 to 16 years, 8 months in prison and lifetime probation upon release.

 

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1988-2014)

Priest Agrees to Step down in Altoona-johnstown Diocese, We Are Central PA, September 16, 2014
Five Priests Celebrating Jubilees of Ordination, The Catholic Register, May 21, 2012
Affidavit in USA v Maurizio, Sept. 25, 2014
Johnstown-area Priest Accused of Sex Tourism, By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Sept. 25, 2014
Pennsylvania Priest Held on Sex Tourism Charges, By Joe Mandak of Associated Press, Sept. 25, 2014
Somerset County Priest Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation Involving Orphanages, By Richard Gazarik, Sept. 25, 2014
Pennsylvania Priest Charged with Child Sexual Exploitation Crimes, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, September 25, 2014
Pennsylvania Priest Charged After Allegedly Using ‘Missionary’ Trips to Honduras to Have Sex With Children, By Darren Boyle, Mail Online, Sept. 26, 2014
Pennsylvania Priest Accused of Abuse Was Reported 5 Years Ago, Records Show, By Trip Gabriel, New York Times, Sept. 26, 2014
Somerset County Priest Accused of Sex with Central American Children, WTAE, September 26, 2014
Pennsylvania Priest Ordered Detained Until Trial, By Joe Mendak, Associated Press, Sept. 29, 2014
Priest Detained On Child Sex Abuse Charges, by Danielle Krout, wearecentralpa.com, Sept. 29, 2014
Bishop Mum on Accused Priest, By Liz Zemba, Triblive.com, Sept. 30, 2014
Fourth Youth Implicates Somerset Priest in Sexual Abuse, Prosecutors Claim, By Liz Zemba, The Tribune-Review, September 2, 2015
Maurizio Child Sex Case: Judge May Allow Prosecution’s Expert Witness, By David Hurst, The Tribune-Democrat, September 3, 2015
Judge Oks Testimony of Former Honduran Orphan in Priest Abuse Case, By Liz Zemba, The Tribune-Review, September 4, 2015
Defense Objects to Expert Testimony at Trial Of..., By Maria Miller, WJAC, September 5, 2015
Sex Abuse Trial to Begin for Johnstown-area Priest, By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 8, 2015
Maurizio child sex trial: 45 potential jurors excused but no jury seated after ‘long’ first day, By David Hurst, Tribune-Democrat, September 08, 2015
Witness Says He Saw Priest Molest Three Other Boys, By Dave Sutor, The Tribune-Democrat, September 11, 2015
Honduran Orphan Tells Jury of Somerset County Priest's Molestation of Teens, By Paul Peirce, The Tribune-Review,
September 11, 2015
Prosecution Rests in Sex Abuse Trial against Windber Priest, By Paul Peirce, The Tribune-Review, September 16, 2015
Maurizio Attorney: Dismiss Charges, By Phil Ray, The Altoona Mirror, September 17, 2015
Priest on Trial: Witness Says Maurizio Is ‘a Great Person’; Honduran Woman Excused after Brief Testimony, By Kecia Bal, The Tribune-Democrat, September 17, 2015
Jury Finds Central City Priest Guilty of Sex Tourism, Daily American, September 22, 2015
Suspended Pennsylvania Priest Convicted of Charges Including Molesting Poor Honduran Children, Daily Reporter, September 22, 2015
Somerset County Priest Found Guilty of Molesting Honduran Orphans, By Torsten Ove, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, September 22, 2015
Somerset County Priest Found Guilty of Sexually Abusing Three Honduran Orphans, By Paul Peirce, The Tribune-Review, September 22, 2015
Priest Found Guilty, We Are Central, September 22, 2015
PA Grand Jury Report on Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown, PA Attorney General's Office, March 1, 2016
Former Central City priest sentenced to 16 1/2 years behind bars and probation for life, By David Hurst, Tribune-Democrat, March 2, 2016

 

 

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 Maurizio'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 March 8, 2016.