Father Eugene O’Sullivan
Diocese of Metuchen
Ordained: 1960
Laicized: 2005
Assigned as follows:
- 1960-1962 St. John Vianney (Revere, MA)
- 1962-1963 Our Lady Comforter of the Afflicted (Walham, MA)
- 1963-1965 St. Ann’s (Marshfield, MA)
- 1965-1970 Our Lady of the Assumption (Boston, MA)
- 1970-1984 St. Agnes (Arlington, MA)
- 1984-1985 Absent on Sick Leave
- 1985-1987 St. Joseph’s (North Plainfield, NJ)
- 1987-1989 Unknown
- 1990-1991 Mary Mother of God (Hillsborough Township, NJ)
- 1991-1992 St. Bartholomew (East Brunswick, NJ)
- 1993-1997 Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Eugene O’Sullivan:
Father Eugene O’Sullivan was ordained a priest in 1960 and served in the Diocese of Metuchen. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, in 1984, he pleaded guilty to raping a 13-year-old altar boy for two years at St. Agnes in Arlington. He was convicted and sentenced to five years probation on the condition that he have no contact with young people. Less than a year later, Cardinal Law sent him to the Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey instead, where he worked in four more parishes over the next seven years. He was involved in parish religious education and a youth group. Pastors of three of the four parishes, who were directly responsible for his supervision, said that they were never told Father O’Sullivan had a history of sexual abuse or that he was on probation.
In July 1992, he was recalled to Boston during a review by the Archdiocese of Boston of past sexual abuse cases. He was banned from all priestly activities. In 1993, Father O’Sullivan’s nephew revealed that he sexually abused him for nine years, when he was nine years old, in approximately 1971. He also abused his brother for years before that, when the boy was six years old.
Father O’Sullivan’s nephew said, “I want to help people understand how important it is to resolve these issues, and how important it is for parents to listen to their children when these issues come up, and to see how truly life-threatening denial and avoidance can be.”
Father O’Sullivan was sent to Canada for treatment. He retired in 1997 and made a senior priest. In June 2002, internal church records made public, revealed that church authorities knew Father O’Sullivan was molesting altar boys as early as 1964. A memo in his personnel file acknowledges multiple accusations made against him. A letter dated in 1964, revealed a complaint from the parents of 12-year-old altar boy that Father O’Sullivan had molested him and other boys at St. Ann’s in Marshfield. They also wrote that “Father Finn, the pastor at St. Ann’s refused to do anything.” He had told the boy’s parents that he would notify the archdiocese of their concerns, but they found out he had not followed through. Father O’Sullivan was transferred to Our Lady’s Parish in Waltham. According to a 1984 letter in his personnel file, within months there were “reports of incidents with a couple of altar boys.” The files suggest he sexually abused even more boys there before being transferred to St. Agnes in Arlington.
In 2005, Father O’Sullivan was laicized. His current whereabouts are unknown. His last known address was in Arlington, MA.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in New Jersey, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Metuchen now have legal options, 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 New Jersey and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.