Rev. Edmund W. Netter– Assignment History

Summary of Case: Edmund Netter was a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, ordained in 1951. He assisted in Haverstraw, Yonkers and Manhattan parishes through the 1950s, with the exception of two years as an Army chaplain. In 1960 he was assigned to a Bronx parish, transferring in 1963 to Garnersville. There is an unexplained gap in his career trajectory 1967-1968. Netter was named pastor in of a Nanuet parish in 1968, a role he held for eighteen years. He served during 1986-1987 on the "Parish Mission Team" in Suffern, achieving 'monsignor' status the same year. For the following eleven years Netter lead a parish in Nyack. He died in April 1998.

Netter was accused in a 2004 lawsuit of having sexually abused a girl from approximately 1973 to 1979, when the girl was nine to sixteen years-old. The abuse was said to have taken place weekly or bi-weekly in the rectory of St. Anthony's in Nanuet, and at a house during vacations with the girl's family when all but the two of them were at the beach.

Born: November 4, 1925
Ordained: 1951
Died: April 11, 1998

1951

Archdiocese of New York

Archbishop was Francis Joseph Spellman (1939-1967).

St. Peter's had a grammar school with 109 boys, and a primary school with 124 boys and 169 girls.

1967

Terence James Cooke succeeded Spellman as New York archbishop (1968-1983).

Netter is not indexed in the 1968 Directory, nor is he listed in the New York pages as at his previous or next assignments.

1968

John Joseph O'Connor replaced Cooke (1984-2000).

Nanuet

• Netter was accused in a 2004 lawsuit of sexually abusing a girl from about 1973 to 1979, when the girl was ages 9 to 16. The abuse was said to have occurred weekly or bi-weekly at St. Anthony's rectory, and at a house during vacations with the girl's family while everyone else was at the beach.

St. Ann's had a school with 206-75 students, and a CCD program with 184-195 students.

Netter died April 11, 1998.

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.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1987-1996).

• Complaint, Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York, February 26, 2004


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 Netter'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 April 24, 2017.