Rev. Richard L. Thomas

Assignment History– Rev. Richard L. Thomas

Summary of Case: Richard L. Thomas was ordained for the Diocese of Green Bay WI in 1966. He assisted in a number of parishes throughout the diocese until 1992, then served as Administrator for an Oneida Township parish for a decade. Thomas also held the position of Port Chaplain for the diocese's Apostleship of the Sea. From 2002-2010 he was on an unspecified "Special Assignment," residing most of that time at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral. He retired in 2010 and went to live at the Grellinger Hall priests' retirement facility in 2012.

In April 2016 Thomas was arrested and charged with four felony counts of exposing himself to a minor. A 16-year-old boy reported that on several occasions in March 2016, as he was walking to school past Grellinger Hall, Thomas stood naked in a window and "flashed him." Thomas was restricted from public ministry pending a police investigation. He reportedly told police he was "already seeking treatment." Per October 2016 news reports, Thomas was arrested twice before on charges of exposure. One of the arrests was in 1990, and the other in 1993 when police "found him running around naked looking for other people." After a "not guilty" plea in May 2016 Thomas pleaded "no contest" in September 2016. He was sentenced October 28, 2016 to four months in jail and three years' supervised released. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender.

After a canonical process, Thomas was ordered to a life of prayer and penance. He was laicized in 2018.

Ordained: 1966
Retired: 2010

Start	Stop	Assignments	Town/Accusations	State	Position	Notes
1966 Diocese of Green Bay Bishop was Stanislaus Vincent Bona (1945-1967).	1967	St. Mary's	Menasha	WI	4/5	St. Mary's had a grade school with 516 boys and 470 girls, and a high school with 283 boys and 342 girls.
1967 Bona was succeeded by Aloysius John Wycislo (1968-1983).	1972	Holy Cross	Kaukana	WI	3/3	Holy Cross had a school with 298-258 boys and 299-267 girls.
1972	1976	St. Mary's	Kaukana	WI	2/2	St. Mary's had a school with 293-232 students.
1976	1980	SS Peter and Paul	Green Bay	WI	3/3	SS Peter and Paul had a school with 420-334 students.
1980 Adam Joseph Maida followed Wycislo as Green Bay bishop (1983-1990).	1989	St. Agnes	Green Bay	WI	2/3, 2/2	St. Agnes had a school with 542-502 students.
1989 Maida was succeeded by Robert Joseph Banks (1990-2003).	1991	St. Francis Xavier Cathedral	Green Bay	WI	2/3 In residence.	Thomas was arrested in 1990 for exposure.
1989	1995	Dept of Refugee, Migration and Hispanic Services: Apostleship of the Sea	Green Bay	WI	Port Chaplain 1989-1993 (Green Bay '90-'91, Appleton '91-'92, De Pere '92-'93); Director 1993-1995
1991	1992	St. Bernard	Appleton	WI	2/3	St. Bernard had a religious education program with 869 students.
1992	2002	Immaculate Conception	Oneida Township	WI	1/1 Administrator	Immaculate Conception had a religious education program with 83 students. Thomas was arrested in 1993 for exposure after police "found him running around naked looking for others."
2002 David Allen Zubik replaced Banks as Green Bay bishop (2003-2007).	2005	Special Assignment				The 2003 Directory shows the address P.O. Box 23825 Green Bay. He is not listed in the diocesan pages as at his next assignment.
2005 Zubik was succeeded by David Laurin Ricken (2008-).	2010	Special Assignment/St. Francis Xavier Cathedral	Green Bay	WI	3/3, 4/4, 2/2 In residence.	The Cathedral also served SS Peter and Paul in Green Bay. The Cathedral had a religious education program.
2010	2012	Retired/St. Francis Xavier Cathedral	Green Bay	WI	2/2 In residence.	The Cathedral also served St. John's in Green Bay. The Cathedral had a religious education program.
2012	2016	Retired/Grellinger Hall	Allouez • Thomas was arrested April 27, 2016 and charged with four felony counts of exposing himself to a minor. A 16-year-old boy reported that on several occasions in March, as he was walking to school past the priest's residence, Thomas would stand naked in a window, get the boy's attention, then "flash" him.	WI		Grellinger Hall is a retirement home for priests. Thomas was restricted from public ministry pending a police investigation. He told police during his arrest that he was "already seeking treat-ment." Pleaded "not guilty" in 5/16. Pleaded "no contest" in 9/16. Sentenced to four months in jail and three years' supervised release. Ordered to register as a sex offender.
2016	2018					Thomas' name was included on the diocese's list 1/17/19. It notes he was ordered after a canonical trial to a life of prayer and penance, and that he was laicized in 2018.

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, 1967-2014).

• Retired Priest Accused of Exposing Himself to a Minor, Charged, Fox 1, April 28, 2016
• Priest Accused of Flashing Teenage Boy, By Jorge Rodas and Emily Matesic, WBAY, April 28, 2016
• Priest Suspended after Flashing Teen, WHBY, April 29, 2016
• Retired Priest Accused of Flashing Teen Bound over for Trial, By Rhonda Roberts, WBAY, May 9, 2016
• Retired priest to return to court on flashing charge, By Andrew Lacombe, Fox 11, May 23, 2016
• Retired Priest Pleads Not Guilty to Flashing Charges, WBAY, May 23, 2016
• Retired priest convicted in flashing case, Fox 11, September 7, 2016
• Retired Priest Convicted of Flashing Child, By Jeff Flynt, WSAU, September 7, 2016
• Retired Wisconsin Priest Gets Jail Time for Exposing Himself, West Plains Daily Quill, October 28, 2016
• Retired Priest Sentenced to Jail for Exposing Himself to Teen, WISH, October 28, 2016
• Retired Priest Sentenced to Jail for Exposing Himself to Teen , By Rhonda Roberts, WBAY, October 28, 2016
• Former Priest Gets Jail Time in Exposure Case, Wisconsin Public Radio, October 28, 2016
• Priest Gets Jail for Flashing Teen, By Paul Srubas, Green Bay Press-Gazette, October 28, 20
• Diocese of Green Bay List: Thomas, January 17, 2019

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 Thomas' 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 January 29, 2019.