Father John Doyle
Diocese of Buffalo
Ordained: 1929
Died: 1977
Assigned as follows:
- Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish (Orchard Park, NY)
- St. John de LaSalle (Niagara Falls, NY)
- Our Lady of Victory Church (Lackawanna, NY)
- St. Patrick Church (Randolph, NY)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father John Doyle:
In 1949, Father John Doyle was appointed founding pastor of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, which formerly was a mission of Our Lady of Victory Basilica. He remained there for 28 years guiding the parish in the construction of a church, rectory and school. He died in January 1977.
According to media reports, in 2018, a woman reported an allegation of sexual abuse against Father Doyle to the Diocese of Buffalo. She said he abused her in the 1960s, when she was a fifth-grade student at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in Orchard Park. She said she was disappointed with how her claim was handled.
“What a nightmare,” she said. “The whole thing is just a huge nightmare.”
Her claim was denied and she was excluded from the Diocese of Buffalo’s compensation program because she didn’t report the abuse years earlier. Father Doyle’s name was confidential until now because of the bishop’s policy of only revealing priests with more than one allegation.
“And now, I feel totally slapped in the face,” she said, holding back tears. “I think if they weren’t gonna follow through with this, then I think they should have not said anything at all. Because for me, it was reliving it. And it’s not fair…it’s not fair to all the people who got kicked out because it was only one person who said this priest did this.”
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo and throughout New York. The Diocese of Buffalo filed for federal bankruptcy protection in February 2020. Anyone sexually abused by a priest or employee of the Diocese of Buffalo may be entitled to file a claim against the Diocese in these bankruptcy proceedings, but very strict filing deadlines apply. Most victims of abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo will never be able to take action against the Diocese of Buffalo if they miss this bankruptcy filing deadline, so it is important that you contact us immediately to discuss your potential case.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your legal options today.