Father Christopher Clay
Diocese of Scranton (Society of St. John)
Ordained: June 1998
Leave of absence: 2003
Suspended from ministry: 2012
Permanently dispensed from priesthood: July 24, 2026
Assigned in the Diocese of Scranton as follows:
- 1998-2000: Notre Dame High School (East Stroudsburg, PA)
- 2000-2002: Bishop Hafey High School (Hazleton, PA)
- 2002-2003: Removed from active ministry
- 2003-2003: St. Thomas More (Lake Ariel, PA)
- 2003: Leave of Absence
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Christopher Clay:
Father Christopher Clay was removed from active ministry and his position as a teacher at Bishop Hafey High School in 2002 when a victim in a Society of St. John case abuse case against other priests alleged that Clay had molested him after dinner in Monroe County.
Civil authorities investigated but never charged him in the allegation. Nevertheless, he was placed on leave in 2003 by the Diocese of Scranton. It was discovered in July 2004 that he was still actively ministering to congregants at St. Mary the Virgin Catholic Church in Arlington, Texas.
There was confusion surrounding Clay's ministry status, with one Bishop saying he was cleared to work, while Bishop Martino of Scranton told media that Clay was suspended pending an investigation. According to the Diocesan chancellor, Clay had told Diocese of Scranton officials he had a job in Texas reviewing medical insurance claims and was not actively ministering to parishioners.
In 2012, Bishop Vann of Ft. Worth (Texas) sent out a formal decree informing the community that Clay was suspended by the Diocese of Scranton and prohibited from representing himself as a Catholic priest in the Diocese of Fort Worth, and from setting foot on the property of any Catholic entity of the Diocese. Despite the ban, in 2024, Clay was discovered to have illicitly celebrated an unauthorized mass for the Arlington Carmelite nuns without permission of the Bishop of the Diocese of Scranton or the Bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth.
Christopher Clay lives in Dallas, Texas. He is no longer affiliated with the Diocese of Scranton.
His name was included in the 2018 PA Grand Jury Report.
In March 2026, Clay submitted a petition to Pope Leo XIV, requesting dispensation from the clerical state, which has been granted and is final.
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