Rev. Donald J. O'Shaughnessy, S.J.

Assignment Record– Rev. Donald J. O'Shaughnessy, S.J.

Summary of Case: Donald J. O'Shaughnessy was ordained for the Chicago Province of the Society of Jesus in 1955. Much of his career was spent in the Chicago archdiocese, where he was a Loyola Academy faculty member in WiIlmette IL. He was also assigned to Cincinnati, Cleveland and Milford OH, Indianapolis IN, Oakland CA and Clarkston MI. O'Shaughnessy was removed from ministry in 2004 after credible accusations were reported that he perpetrated sexual abuse while working at Loyola Academy. One former student who came forward said O'Shaughnessy, who was his advisor, pulled him out of class daily to abuse him beginning when he was a 15-year-old sophomore,1977-1979. The Jesuits have settled with at least three fomer students with claims of abuse. O'Shaughnessy died in July 2013, at age 89.

Born: 1923
Ordained: 1955
Died: July 8, 2013

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1955	1956					O'Shaughnessy is not indexed in the 1956 Directory.
1956 Diocese of Cleveland OH Bishop was Edward Francis Hoban (1945-1966).	1957	St. Stanislaus Novitiate	Cleveland	OH		Tertianship of the Chicago Province, Society of Jesus
1957 Archdiocese of Cincinnati OH Archbishop was Karl Joseph Alter (1950-1969).	1958	Novitiate of the Sacred Heart	Milford	OH	Novice
1958 Archdiocese of Chicago IL Archbishop was Albert Gregory Meyer (1958-1965).	1964	Loyola Academy	Wilmette	IL	teaching faculty	Loyola Academy was a high school with 924-1,579 students, all male.
1964	1965					O'Shaughnessy is indexed in the 1965 Directory as at Loyola Academy, but he is not listed as there in the Chicago pages.
1965 Archdiocese of Indianapolis IN Archbishop was Paul Clarence Schulte (1946-1970).	1967	Brebeuf Preparatory School	Indianapolis	IN		Brebeuf Prep was a high school with 630-653 students, all male.
1967 Archdiocese of Chicago IL Archbishop was John Patrick Cody (1965-1982).	1980	Loyola Academy	Wilmette • A former Loyola student received a settlement in 2013, related to accusations that O'Shaughnessy sexually abused him 1977-79, beginning when he was a sophomore at the school. His accuser said O'Shaughnessy, who was his advisor, pulled him out of class daily. • Another former Loyola student received a settlement in 2015, based on claims that O'Shaughnessy sexually abused him as a boy. The time-period of the abuse is unclear. • A third man who alleged repeated abuse by O'Shaughnessy while he was a Loyola student received a settlement in May 2017. The man said he had suppressed his memories of the abuse until he saw the movie "Spotlight."	IL	teaching faculty; minister	Loyola Academy had 1,723-1,591 students, all male.
1980 Diocese of Oakland CA Bishop was John Stephen Cummins (1977-2003).	1981	Jesuit School of Theology	Berkeley	CA
1981 Archdiocese of Chicago IL Joseph Louis Bernardin succeeded Cody as Chicago archbishop (1982-1996).	1992	Loyola Academy	Wilmette	IL	teaching faculty	Loyola Academy had 1,708-1,450 students, all male.
1992 Archdiocese of Detroit MI Archbishop was Adam Joseph Maida (1990-2009).	1997	Colombiere Center	Clarkston	MI
1997 Archdiocese of Cincinnati OH Archbishop was Daniel Edward Pilarczyk (1982-2009).	2008	Faber Jesuit Community	Cincinnati	OH		O'Shaughnessy was removed from public ministry in 2004 after accusations of sexual abuse were reported to his Order. Per the Jesuits' Chicago-Detroit Province, the allegations were reported to civil authorities.
2008 Archdiocese of Detroit MI Allen Henry Vigneron succeeded Maida as archbishop (2009-).	2010	Colombiere Center	Clarkston	MI
2010	2013					O'Shaughnessy is not indexed in the 2011-2013 Directories. He died July 8, 2013 at Colombiere Center in Clarkston MI.

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, 1957-2014).

• Chicago Jesuits Settle Abuse Claim for $950,000, By Kathy Schiffer, patheos.com, June 30, 2015 - Updated
• Hastert Case Brings up Painful Memories for Priest Sex Abuse Victim, By Brad Edwards, CBS Chicago, April 13, 2016
• Illinois AG Madigan Calls for Elimination of Child Sex Crimes Statute of Limitations, By Sarah Schulte, WLS, April 28, 2016
• Alleged victim of sexual abuse by Jesuit priest settles for $925K, Fox 32, May 10, 2017

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 O'Shaughnessy'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 16, 2017.