Father Vance Zebulon Thorne
Diocese of Trenton/Society of the Divine Word
Ordained: 1954
Removed: 1987
Died: 2004
Assigned as follows:
- 1954: Unknown
- 1955-1957: Holy Ghost (Jackson, MI)
- 1958-1959: St. Leo’s (Los Angeles, CA)
- 1960-1961: St. Mary’s (Vicksburg, MI)
- 1962-1971: St. John the Baptist (Waco, TX)
- 1972-1980: St. Bartholomew’s (Little Rock, AK)
- 1981-1986: Holy Ghost (Jackson, MI)
- 1987: Tougaloo College (Tougaloo, MS)
- 1988: Unknown
- 1989: Divine World Seminary (Bay St. Louis, MS)
- 1990-2004: Society of the Divine World (Bordentown, NJ)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Vance Zebulon Thorne:
Fr. Vance Zebulon Thorne was a priest of the Society of the Divine Word. He worked in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, as well as the dioceses of Austin, Jackson, and Trenton. According to media reports, at least three civil suits and two criminal indictments were filed in Mississippi in 1986 and 1987. One plaintiff claimed abuse by Thorne from 1980 through 1986 beginning when he was 14 years old. The alleged abuse occurred at Holy Ghost church in Jackson, Mississippi. Another plaintiff alleged abuse at the same parish when he was a 9-year-old student at Holy Ghost School.
According to the Archdiocese of Los Angeles’ report in 2004, Thorne was accused of sexual abuse in the early 1970s.
In March 2019, Thorne’s name appeared on the Diocese of Jackson’s list of clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors. It noted an allegation reported in 1986, and that he was removed from the diocese in 1987.
Thorne died in 2004.
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