Father Barry Hudock (Author)
Diocese of Erie
Ordination: 1996
Laicization: Unknown
Assigned as follows:
- 1996 – 1997: Mercyhurst Preparatory High School (Erie, PA)
- 1997: Catholic University, Faculty (Washington D.C.)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Fr. Barry Hudock:
Fr. Barry Hudock was ordained a priest in 1996, who served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Erie. According to media reports, in 2008, a young woman came forward to report to the Diocese of Erie that she was sexually abused by Father Barry M. Hudock during her junior year at Mercyhurst Preparatory High School. According to the grand jury report, Bishop Donald Trautman personally authored several documents in Hudock’s personnel file in 1997 that indicated Hudock and his victim had kissed prior to a trip to Washington D.C. with the girl in the summer of 1997. According to Bishop Trautman’s notes, a “major episode occurred” in Washington D.C. with the girl in a hotel room that he shared with her and another female student. Additional records reflect that Hudock kissed and hugged the girl on numerous occasions, showed her pornographic videos, and sexually assaulted her in church rectories and in several different states.
By the time the victim came forward in 2008, Trautman had already left the priesthood and relocated to Syracuse, New York, with his wife and seven children. He took a job as a teacher at Christian Brother Academy, another Catholic Preparatory school. Hudock was terminated from his position when the allegation was transmitted by the Diocese of Pittsburgh.
It is not clear whether these allegations were transmitted to law enforcement by the Diocese of Erie; transporting the girl across state lines to abuse her would constitute not just a state crime, but a federal crime.
According to the Diocese of Erie, Hudock was laicized (removed from the priesthood), but the date of his laicization is unknown. We do know that he was not assigned to ministry after he was sent to Catholic University of America for further studies in 1997.
In 2018, he was first named publicly as accused in the PA Grand Jury report.
Hudock is now working for the Liturgical Press at St. John’s Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota. According to the Diocese of Erie, which includes Hudock on its list of credibly accused priests, he now resides in Albany, Minnesota. Hudock also writes under the pen name “Barry Michaels.”
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Erie. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Pennsylvania, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Erie may have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so please do not delay in reaching out to us.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.