Bishop Joseph Sullivan

Diocese of Baton Rouge

Ordained: 1946

Installed as Bishop of Baton Rouge: 1974

Died: 1982

Assigned as follows:

1946-1948: Catholic University (Washington D.C.)
1948-1951: Holy Cross (Kansas City, MO)
1951-1953: St. Aloysius (Kansas City, MO)
1951-1953: Assistant Superintendent of Schools (Kansas City, MO)
1953-1957: St. Joseph Hospital (Kansas City, MO)
1953-1957: Superintendent of Schools (Kansas City, MO)
1957-1967: Old St. Patrick (Kansas City, MO)
1957-1974: Diocesan Consultors (Kansas City, MO)
1957-1964: Diocesan School Board (Kansas City, MO)
1957-1967: Chancellor (Kansas City, MO)
1959-1966: Bureau of Information (Kansas City, MO)
1959-1967: Liturgical Commission (Kansas City, MO)
1959-1967: Vice President for The Catholic Reporter (Kansas City, MO)
1967-1974: Auxiliary Bishop (Kansas City, MO)
1959-1974: Council Administration (Kansas City, MO)
1959-1974: St John's Seminary Board (Kansas City, MO)
1962-1974: Parochial Consultors (Kansas City, MO)
1967-1974: Vicar General (Kansas City, MO)
1967-1974: Our Lady of Good Counsel (Kansas City, MO)
1974-1982: Bishop of Baton Rouge (Baton Rouge, LA)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Bishop Joseph Sullivan:

Bishop Joseph Sullivan was ordained a priest in 1946, and served in multiple parishes in the Diocese of Baton Rouge. According to media reports, in 2004, the Diocese of Baton Rouge settled a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by Bp. Sullivan. The alleged incident occurred in 1975 when the victim was 17 years old. As a result of this lawsuit, the Diocese of Baton Rouge renamed a high school bearing Bp. Sullivan's name.

In a 2005 lawsuit, a former seminary student accused Bp. Sullivan of repeatedly molesting him between 1978-1982 while he was a teenage seminary student at Corpus Christi Minor Seminary. The alleged abuse took place at the seminary and at the bishop's condominium in Hawaii.

In 2007, a Houston man filed a lawsuit alleging that Bp. Sullivan sexually abused him from 1978-1982 while he was a teenage seminary student at Corpus Christi Minor Seminary. The alleged abuse took place at the seminary and on trips the victim took with Bp. Sullivan to New York and Hawaii.

The Diocese of Corpus Christi publicly named Bp. Sullivan in January of 2019 on its list of "Roman Catholic clerics who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing a minor within the Diocese of Corpus Christi."

In January of 2019, the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph listed Bp. Sullivan on its list of clergy with "substantiated abuse of minors allegations."

As a result of the three lawsuits filed between 2004-2007, the Diocese of Baton Rouge included Bp. Sullivan's name on its list of credibly accused clergy in February of 2019.

Bp. Sullivan died in 1982 at the age of 62.

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Louisiana, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Baton Rouge may 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 Louisiana and nationwide. We can help.

Bishop Joseph Sullivan – Diocese of Baton Rouge