Easton, Pennsylvania, located on the Delaware River across from New Jersey, is a town of about 30,000 people. It is home to five Catholic parishes, a surprisingly large number given the small size of the town. It is also the home of Notre Dame High School, one of the largest schools operated by the Diocese of Allentown. The parishes and schools draw people from the surrounding Lehigh River Valley and northern New Jersey.
Easton also has the dubious distinction of being "ground zero" of the child sexual abuse crisis in the Diocese of Allentown. The August 2018 grand jury report identified more than a dozen priests who have been assigned to the parishes of Easton throughout the history of the Diocese, which was formed in 1961.
Through our own investigation, we have identified 54 priests accused of abuse in the Diocese of Allentown - and discovered that almost half of those men were assigned to one or more parishes in Easton at some point during their career, and as recently as 2014. Most of these 26 men appear on the Diocese of Allentown's list of credibly accused priests.
St. Anthony of Padua
- Fr. Thomas Bender
- Fr. Richard T. Ford
- Fr. Stephen Forish
- Fr. Joseph Gausch
- Fr. Edward Graff
- Fr. Joseph Hulko
- Fr. Michael Lawrence
- Fr. Paul Puza
- Fr. John Pascal Sabas
- Fr. Gregory Uhrig
- Fr. Ronald Yarrosh
St. Bernard
- Fr. Thomas Benestad
- Fr. Joseph Galko
- Fr. Joseph Hulko
- Fr. Paul Puza
- Fr. Henry Strassner
- Fr. Ronald Yarrosh
St. Jane Frances de Chantal
- Fr. James Gaffney
- Fr. Francis Gillespie
- Msgr. William Jones
- Fr. Joseph Kean
- Fr. Michael Lawrence
- Fr. Kevin Lonergan
- Fr. Francis McNelis
- Fr. Gerald Royer
- Fr. Ronald Yarrosh
St. Joseph
St. Michael
Notre Dame High School
- Thomas Benestad (1970-1973)
- Robert Cofenas (1975-1979)
- Richard Guiliani (1970, 1973-1974)
- Leo Houseknecht (1973-1976)
- William Jones (1970-1972)
- Michael Lawrence (1974, 1984)
- Henry Strassner (1963-1964)
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Allentown. 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 Allentown may have legal options against the Diocese of Allentown.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com today.