Father Norman Donohue
Diocese of San Jose (Jesuits)
Ordained: 1939
Died: 1983
Assignment History:
- 1939-1940: Alma College (Alma, CA)
- 1940-1941: Manresa Hall (Port Townsend, WA)
- 1941-1943: Holy Cross Mission (Holy Cross, AK)
- 1943-1946: St. Mary’s (Akulurak, AK)
- 1946-1950: Chapel of St. Raphael and Mission Day School (Black River, AK)
- 1950-1957: Immaculate Conception (Bethel, AK)
- 1950-1957: Church of the Little Flower (Aniak, AK)
- 1950-1952: St. Joseph’s (Kalstag, AK)
- 1950-1957: Superior Regular Pro-vicar (AK)
- 1950-1963: Bishop’s Council (AK)
- 1953-1966: Council of Vigilance (AK)
- 1957-1964: Little Flower of Jesus (Hooper Bay, AK)
- 1964-1966: Holy Rosary (Dillingham, AK)
- 1965-1966: Commission for Liturgy, Sacred Music and Sacred Art (AK)
- 1966-1967: Cooper Valley School (Glennallen, AK)
- 1967-1969: Little Flower of Jesus (Kaltag, AK)
- 1969-1974: Our Lady of the Snows (Nulato, AK)
- 1974-1975: St. Joseph’s (Tununak, AK)
- 1975-1983: St. Catherine’s (Chefornak, AK)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Norman Donohue:
Fr. Norman Donohue was ordained a Jesuit priest of the Oregon Province in 1939. He spent most of his priesthood in Alaska, but served briefly in the Diocese of San Jose. According to media reports, in 2006, Donohue was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing boys as young as 5 years-old in Nulato and Kaltag, Alaska in the 1960s and 1970s. According to the plaintiffs, Donohue would invite them to his living quarters after catechism classes where he would perform sexual acts.
In 2009, Donohue was accused in another lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy starting from when he was 11 years old to 14 in Kaltag, Alaska from 1965-1968. The abuse is said to have occurred in the Little Flower of Jesus rectory. Additionally, there were two or more pending claims shown in the bankruptcy reorganization documents for Fairbanks Diocese in 2010.
In 2018, Donohue was included on the Jesuits West Province list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It noted allegations reported in 2006 and 2009 in reference to abuse that took place in 1971-1972.
Donohue died in 1983.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of San Jose in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of San Jose now have legal options due to a temporary change in the law, 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 California and nationwide. We can help.
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