Father George J. Callaghan
Diocese of Brooklyn
Ordained: 1956
Died: 2008
Assigned as follows:
- 1956-1957: Augustinian College (Washington, DC)
- 1957-1959: Augustinian Preparatory Seminary (Staten Island, NY)
- 1959-1964: Holy Rosary (Lawrence, MA)
- 1964-1966: St. Nicholas of Tolentine (Jamaica, Queens, NY)
- 1966-1970: Immaculate Conception (Hoosick Falls, NY)
- 1970-1976: St. Augustine (Troy, NY)
- 1976-1978: St. Augustine (Lawrence, MA)
- 1978-1982: Holy Rosary (Lawrence, MA)
- 1982-1984: Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary (Lawrence, MA)
- 1984-1987: Austin Preparatory School (Reading, MA)
- 1989-1993: St. Mary Immaculate Conception (Lawrence, MA)
- 1994-1996: St. Joseph Villa (Flourtown, PA)
- 1995-2008: St. Thomas Monastery (Villanova, PA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father George J Callaghan:
Fr. George J Callaghan was ordained an Augustinian priest. According to media reports, in December 2002, Callaghan's personnel file was released. It showed he had been accused of making sexual advances toward a 17-year-old boy at St. Mary's in Lawrence, Massachusetts in 1983. Callaghan was said to have been drinking Scotch whiskey when he lured the boy to his rectory bedroom and told him that in order to be "closer to God" the boy needed to take off his clothes and lie down next to him. The boy is said to have fled. The Augustinians settled with the boy in 1992.
Callaghan is alleged to have abused another boy in Boston in 1983. Ten years later in 1993, the Augustinians also settled with a 22-year-old male employee of St. Mary's, who claimed Callaghan sexually harassed him. The man said Callaghan made lewd comments and groped him. He received a $17,000 settlement. Records indicate Callaghan denied both claims.
In 2011, after the Archdiocese of Boston omitted the names of religious order priests from its list of credibly accused clerics because he was an Augustinian Order priest, The Boston Globe included Callaghan on a list of priests and other clerics who "faced at least one unresolved allegation of sexual abuse in the Boston Archdiocese against someone under the age of 18, even if the accusation did not result in a lawsuit or settlement."
Callaghan died in December 2008.
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 adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.