Fr. Joseph V. Messer
Archdiocese of Baltimore
Ordained: 1961
Died: 2014
Assignment History:
- 1961-1970 Associate Pastor, St. Clare, Essex, MD
- 1970-1982 Associate Pastor, St. John the Evangelist Church, Severna Park, MD
- 1982-1986 Associate Pastor, St. William of York, Baltimore, MD
- 1986-1994 Associate Pastor, Church of the Good Shephard, Glen Burnie, MD
- 1994-2007 Retired & in residence, Church of the Good Shephard, Glen Burnie, MD
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations:
Fr. Joseph V. Messer was one of the 156 priests identified by the Maryland Attorney General as having been accused of sexually abusing minors during their tenure with the Archdiocese of Baltimore.
According to the Attorney General’s report, a victim reported in 2008 that he had been sexually abused by Fr. Messer in approximately 1975, when the victim was 16 or 17 years old. Fr. Messer would bring the victim into his office in the rectory at St. John in Severna Park, where Fr. Messer would sexually abuse the victim. The abuse took place every Saturday over the course of approximately one year.
Fr. Messer’s name does not appear on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s list of priests credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
According to the Attorney General’s report, Fr. Messer died in 2014.
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.