Rev. James A. Viall

Summary of Case: Viall was placed on Administrative Leave by the diocese due to allegations that he had sexually abused two boys, one in the 1950s and one in the 1970s. Also, two sets of parents in 2002 complained that he had supplied their children with alcohol and taken inappropriate photographs of children.

Ordained: 1954

   

Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1954

Cleveland bishop was Edward Francis Hoban (1945-1966)

1960 St. Jerome's

Cleveland

• Accused by a man in 2002 of having sexually abused him when he was a young altar boy at St. Jerome's in the 1950s. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
September 3, 2002)

OH

4/4 ,3/3, 3/4, 2/4

 

 St. Jerome's had a school with 874-721 students.
1960 1961 St. Monica's Cleveland (Garfield Heights) OH 4/4 St. Monica's had a school with 1,304 students.
1961 1965? St. Raphael's Bay Village OH 2/3

St. Raphael's had a school with 982-1,054 students.

Viall is indexed but not listed at this parish in the 1963-1965 Directories.

1962

Hoban was succeeded as bishop by Clarence George Issenmann (1966-1974)

1974 Chancery: Director of Vocations Cleveland OH    
1965 1973 SS. Philip and James

Cleveland

• In 2002 a man came forward to accuse Viall of having molested him in the early 1970s, when the man was an altar boy at SS. Philip and James. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
September 3, 2002)

OH

3/3

In residence

 

 SS. Philip and James had a school with 556-485 students.
1973 1974 St. Adelbert's Berea OH

2/2

In residence

St. Adalbert's had a school with 253 students.

1974

James Aloysius Hickey replaced Issenmann as bishop (1974-1980), followed by Anthony Michael Pilla (1980-2006)

2002 St. Rose's

Cleveland

• Two sets of parents at St. Rose's reported concerns in 2002 that Viall had provided their children alcohol and taken inappropriate pictures of them. The claims could not be substantiated by county children's services investigators. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
September 11, 2002)

OH 1/4, 1/3, 1/5, 1/2 St. Rose's had a school with 346-138 students.

2002

Richard Gerard Lennon followed Pilla as bishop (2006- )

2009 Administrative Leave       Viall was suspended from ministry in 2002 due to allegations of having sexually abused boys in the 1950s and 1970s. (Plain Dealer [Cleveland, Ohio]
September 11, 2002)


Source: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons, 1955-2009)

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 Viall'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 Oct. 29, 2009