Father Aloysius Vath
Archdiocese of Philadelphia
Ordained: 1940
Retired: 1979
Died: 1992
Assigned as follows:
- St. Thomas the Apostle (Chester Heights)
- U.S. Army
- St. Francis Xavier Church (Philadelphia)
- Padua Retreat House (Pocopson)
- Sacred Heart Church (Allentown)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Aloysius Vath:
Father Aloysius Vath was ordained a priest in 1940 and served in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, his name appeared on a February 1994 memo from William Lynn, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Secretary for the Clergy, to James Molloy, the Vicar for Administration for the Archdiocese. The purpose of the memo was to catalog the sexual abuse allegations kept in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Secret Archives, which are files traditionally accessible only by the archbishop and, sometimes, one of his designees. Under Canon Law, the Archdiocese is required to maintain any potentially scandalous information in the Secret Archives. Of the summaries Lynn wrote, “only basic information is contained in this report so as not to have too much in writing on this matter.”
Vath’s name appears in the section labeled “Guilty of Sexual Misconduct with Minors.” According to the summary, there were multiple allegations “with young boys over a period of eighteen years.” No additional information about the allegations is publicly available.
Vath died in 1992. It appears from his listings in The Official Catholic Directory that he was Pastor Emeritus of St. Francis Xavier parish in Philadelphia until his death. He was residing at Villa St. Joseph, a retirement home in Darby, Pennsylvania when he died.
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