Father William E. Finger
Diocese of Brooklyn
Ordained: 1962
Laicized: 2002
Assigned as follows:
- 1963-1965: St. Mary Queen of Heaven (Brooklyn, NY)
- 1966: St. Catherine of Sienna (Manhattan, NY)
- 1966-1979: St. Albans (Queens, NY)
- 1980-1993: St. Mary Star of the Sea (Far Rockaway, NY)
- 1994-1996: Released from Diocesan Assignment
- 1997-2019: Unknown
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father William E Finger:
Fr. William E Finger worked as the Center Chaplain at Kings County Hospital in Brooklyn, New York, and at Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens. He was laicized in January 2002. In 2012, Finger became licensed as a psychologist in Alabama.
According to media reports, in November 2017 his name was added to the diocesan website as a priest of the Diocese of Brooklyn laicized by the Vatican office “authorized to deal with cases involving sexual abuse of minors by a cleric.” Claims of child sexual abuse against Finger were included in the diocese’s 2017 Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP).
In January 2019, a woman told Finger’s employer that when he was a priest, he sexually abused her from age 12 over a 10 year period and that he abused her sister and cousin. Finger was fired and the allegations were reported to the state’s licensing board.
In February 2019, Finger‘s name appeared publicly on the Diocese of Brooklyn’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. As of October 2019, he remains a licensed counselor and hypnotherapist in Florida.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Brooklyn. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Brooklyn, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Brooklyn 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.