Father Michael Buckley
Ordained: 1955
Removed: 1994
Died: 2007
Assigned as follows:
- 1956 Los Nietos (Santa Fe Springs, CA)
- 1957 Visitation (Los Angeles CA)
- 1958-1959 Sacred Heart (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1960-1962 St. Charles Borromeo (North Hollywood, CA)
- 1963-1965 Immaculate Conception (Monrovia, CA)
- 1966 St. Philomena (Carson, CA)
- 1967-1970 St. Francis Hospital (Lynwood, CA)
- 1971-1975 Immaculate Heart of Mary Church (Santa Ana, CA)
- 1976-1977 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque Catholic Church (Lomita, CA)
- 1978 St. Augustine Catholic Church (Culver City, CA)
- 1979-1994 Immaculate Conception Catholic Church (New Cuyama, CA)
- 1995 Carmelite Monastery, Novitiate (San Jose, CA)
- 1996-1997 Sick Leave
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Michael Buckley:
Father Michael Buckley was ordained a priest in 1955, who served in the Diocese of Orange. According to media reports, he was accused of engaging in sexual misconduct with eight children between approximately 1965 and 1975 while at Immaculate Heart of Mary in SanTana. In 1959, a father of two boys alleged that Father Buckley exposed himself to both of his sons. In 1965, an anonymous letter was sent to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles requesting that be removed due to moral unfitness.
In 1983, the Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles received an anonymous phone message indicating that Father Buckley had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with children.
In the early 1990s, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles received several more allegations of child sexual abuse against Father Buckley, including a report by one man in February 1994, that he and his brothers were sexually abused by Father Buckley over a five-year period from 1971 to 1975. His priestly faculties were revoked.
In 1995, Father Buckley was living in the Diocese of San Jose at a Carmelite Monastery. A civil lawsuit filed against him was settled as part of the 2007 $660 million settlement with 508 plaintiffs. He retired in April 1997 and died in May 2007.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles released Father Buckley's file in January 2013. His name was included in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles' list of priests accused of sexual misconduct involving minors.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Orange in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California's Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Orange now have legal options due to a temporary change in California law, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in California and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.