Father William Walsh
Archdiocese of Washington
Ordained: 1954
Removed: 1996
Died: 2018
Assigned as follows:
- 1956 – 1961 Maryland Province Office (Baltimore, MD)
- 1961 – 1965 Bishop’s Latin School (Pittsburgh, PA)
- 1966 – 1967 Georgetown University (Washington, DC)
- 1967 – 1978 Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues (Wernersville, PA)
- 1971 – 1978 Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, PA)
- 1978 – 1985 Maryland Province Office (Baltimore, MD)
- 1986 – 1991 St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1991 – 1996 Xiamen University (Fujian, China)
- 1996 – 1998 Woodstock Theological Center (Washington, DC)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father William Walsh:
According to media reports, in 1996, five of Father William Walsh’s nieces told the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus officials that their uncle, Father Walsh sexually abused them hundreds of times as children in the 1940s-60s, when they were ages 5-14 after their father passed away.
At the time the allegations were reported, Father Walsh was teaching in China. The women were prompted to act when he wrote to a relative that he had befriended a 3-year-old girl there. Until then, each of the sisters thought she was Father Walsh’s only victim.
Father Walsh was removed from the ministry that year and sent to treatment. He was then transferred to the Woodstock Theological Center, a Jesuit-run research facility at Georgetown University,
In April 1998, unsatisfied with the Jesuit officials’ response, the women made their allegations public and called for Father Walsh’s expulsion from the priesthood. He was placed on administrative leave, and transferred to the Jesuit’s Ferdinand Wheeler House in Baltimore, MD.
One of the sisters said, “….Father Walsh sexually abused me more than 200 times, usually wearing his white collar. I can still see his hands trembling as he was touching me. Somehow I felt it was my fault.”
In 2010, he was moved to the Jesuits’ Colombiere Community in Baltimore. In December 2018, Father Walsh died at age 95.
In December 2018, Father Walsh’s name appeared on the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus list of Jesuits with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors since 1950.
In February 2019, Father Walsh’s name first appeared publicly on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Washington, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.