Father William Walsh
Archdiocese of Washington/Baltimore/Jesuits
Ordained: 1954
Removed: 1996
Died: 2018
Assignment History:
- 1949-1951: St. Joseph’s Preparatory School (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1956-1961: Maryland Province Office of the Society of Jesus (Baltimore, MD)
- 1961-1965: Bishop’s Latin School (Pittsburgh, PA)
- 1966-1967: Georgetown University (Washington, DC)
- 1967-1978: Novitiate of St. Isaac Jogues (Wernersville, PA)
- 1971 – 1978: Lancaster Theological Seminary (Lancaster, PA)
- 1978-1985: Maryland Province Office of the Society of Jesus (Baltimore, MD)
- 1986-1991: St. Joseph’s University (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1991-1996: Xiamen University (Xiamen, China)
- 1996-1998: Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University (Washington, DC)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father William Walsh:
Father William Walsh was a Jesuit priest who worked in multiple parishes in the Archdiocese of Washington and Baltimore. In December 2018, Father Walsh’s name appeared on the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus list of Jesuits with credible allegations of sexual abuse of minors since 1950. In 2019, Fr. Walsh was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list. In April 2023, Maryland’s Attorney General released a report alleging 156 Catholic clergy members sexually abused at least 600 children over six decades. The report lists the names of the abusers, including Father Walsh.
According to the report, in 1996, five of Father William Walsh’s nieces told the Maryland Province of the Society of Jesus officials that their uncle, Father Walsh, sexually abused them hundreds of times as children in the 1940s-60s when they were ages 5-14 after their father passed away. At the time the allegations were reported, Father Walsh was teaching in China. The women were prompted to act when he wrote to a relative that he had befriended a 3-year-old girl there. Until then, each of the sisters thought she was Father Walsh’s only victim.
Father Walsh was removed from the ministry that year (1996) and sent to St. Luke Institute for treatment. He was then transferred to the Woodstock Theological Center, a Jesuit-run research facility at Georgetown University, In April 1998, unsatisfied with the Jesuit officials’ response, the five women made their allegations public and called for Father Walsh’s expulsion from the priesthood. He was placed on administrative leave and transferred to the Jesuit’s Ferdinand Wheeler House in Baltimore, MD.
One of the sisters said, “….Father Walsh sexually abused me more than 200 times, usually wearing his white collar. I can still see his hands trembling as he was touching me. Somehow I felt it was my fault.”
In 2010, he was moved to the Jesuits’ Colombiere Community in Baltimore. Father Walsh died at age 95 in December of 2018.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Washington, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.