Father Charles M. Kavanagh
Ordained: 1963
Removed: 2002
Laicized: 2010
Assignment History:
- 1965-1966: Sacred Heart (Bronx, NY)
- 1967-1968: Holy Innocents (New York, NY)
- 1968-1971: Woodstock Jesuit Community, New York, NY (NY)
- 1972-1984: Cathedral Preparatory Seminary (New York, NY); Bishop Ford Residence (New York, NY)
- 1986-1988: National Catholic Education Association (Washington, DC)
- 1989-2002: St. Raymond's (Bronx, NY)
- 1995-220: Archdiocesan Office of Development (New York, NY)
- 1996-2003: Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation, Inc. (New York, NY)
- 1999-2002: Partnership for Quality Education, Inc. (New York, NY)
- 2004-2019: Unknown
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Charles Kavanagh:
In 2002, Msgr. Charles Kavanagh was accused of sexually abusing a minor high school student from 1978-1982 at Cathedral Preparatory Seminary in Manhattan, New York. The accuser claimed that one of the incidents occurred on a school trip to Washington DC, where Kavanagh inappropriately touched him and pressed on him in bed.
In 2006, Kavanagh was found guilty and convicted in a canonical trial. An appeal to a second church tribunal also found him guilty in 2010. The Vatican reviewed the case and Kavanagh was ultimately laicized in 2010. Kavanagh sued the survivor and the Archdiocese of New York for libel in 2011 and 2012, respectively.
In 2012, Kavanagh's accuser told the judge that he made a false claim about what went on between them. Kavanagh then filed a lawsuit against the accuser. The courts stated, "It should be noted that Mr. Kavanagh was found guilty by a church court of multiple counts of sexual abuse of a minor and that this particular trip to Washington D.C. was not the basis for the court's decision. Changing this one fact will not have any bearing on the court's original ruling, or on its penalty that Kavanagh is removed from the priesthood and returned to the lay state".
Kavanagh is named on the Archdiocese of New York's 2019 List of Archdiocesan Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor or the Subject of Eligible IRCP Compensation Claims. He currently resides in Florida.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of New York. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest or other Catholic clergy in New York State, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of New York 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 York and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at (888) 283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your options today.