Father Neil Cawlings
Diocese of Albany
Ordained: 1980
Assigned as follows:
- Saint Francis de Sales Church (Troy, NY) (Visited from England)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Neil Cawlings:
Fr. Neil Cawlings was ordained a priest in 1980. He was an English priest working as an extern in the Diocese of Albany in the 1970s. According to media reports, in May 2003, Cawlings was one of four priests accused of “improper sexual advances” in the late 1970s. The accuser said one of the priests “date raped” him at age sixteen, and the other two made improper sexual advances. Cawlings was visiting from England when the alleged abuse occurred.
The suit alleges Father Alan Jupin, brought the teen to parties, introduced him to the other priests, and plied him with gin. Allegedly, the abuse took place in the rectory at St. John the Baptist in Schenectady, where Jupin was pastor. The Diocese of Albany did not take any immediate action against the priests but was ultimately removed from active ministry.
The alleged victim also said that Jupin stalked him in 2002 and 2003 to persuade him from filing a complaint. In July 2003, he filed a suit accusing the Diocese of Albany of slandering him, claiming church officials wrongly vilified him when they publicly said they did not believe his story. The suits were dismissed in January 2004 without determining the validity of abuse charges. The accused priests were reinstated.
Cawlings’ whereabouts are unknown.
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