Fr. Gerard Bugge – Archdiocese of Baltimore

On Behalf of | Apr 25, 2023 | Abuser Profiles, Catholic Church, Firm News

Father Gerard “Gerald” Bugge (Serafin)

Archdiocese of Baltimore/Harrisburg/Redemptorist 

Gerard Bugge Horowitz Law

 

Ordained: 1969

Removed: 1985

Died: 2004

Assignment History:

  • 1970: Mt. St. Alphonsus Seminary (Esopus, NY)
  • 1972: St. James and St. John (Baltimore, MD)
  • 1973-1977: St. Mary Church (Annapolis, MD)
  • 1978-1985: Holy Redeemer College (Washington, D.C.)
  • 1985-1987: St. Mary Church (Annapolis, MD)
  • 1986-1988 St. Anthony of Padua (Lancaster, PA)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Gerard (Gerald) Bugge:

Father Gerald Bugge, also known as “Gerard” in the Catholic Directories, was ordained a Redemptorist priest in 1969 and worked in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the Diocese of Harrisburg. In 2002, Fr. Bugge was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list and the 2018 Diocese of Harrisburg List of Clergy & Seminarians Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Child under the subsection “Cases Where Abuse was Alleged to Have Occurred in Another Diocese.” In April 2023, Maryland’s Attorney General released a report alleging 156 Catholic clergy members sexually abused at least 600 children over six decades. The report lists the names of the abusers, including Father Bugge. 

According to the AG’s report, in 1985, Fr. Bugge was arrested for driving while intoxicated and sexually abusing a minor (a 15-year-old boy) while he was hitchhiking, which he admitted to. The accusations were then reported to the Redemptorists, where Bugge was a member of the order. His faculties were officially removed that year. 

However, in June 1987, Archbishop William D. Borders permitted Bugge to administer a baptism and to officiate at least two weddings. In the course of granting these requests, Archbishop Borders admonished Bugge, “I do expect you to ask for permission in each instance when you wish to engage in ministry here in the Archdiocese of Baltimore. I would also say that I do not think that it is wise for you to be doing this too often in the next year or two.” 

In 1993, Bugge was again convicted of driving while intoxicated in Baltimore County, for which he served some time in jail. Gerard Bugge died in November 2004.

In 2018, a victim informed the Archdiocese that he had been raped by Bugge in approximately 1975 when the victim was about 8 years old. The victim was in Bugge’s Sunday school class at St. John’s in Severna Park, Maryland, when Bugge took him out of class, brought him into a closet, and forcibly raped the young boy. The victim remembered Bugge saying, “If you tell anyone, you will go to hell.” The Archdiocese made the mandatory report of the abuse to authorities. In 2019, the Archdiocese agreed to a mediated settlement with the victim. 

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Maryland, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse nationwide. We can help. Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.