Father Francis (John) Ford
Archdiocese of San Francisco/Franciscans
Ordained: 1951
Went on Leave: 1979
Dead: 1984
Assignment History:
- 1949-1950: St. Francis (Spoke, WA)
- 1950-1953: St. Elizabeth’s (Oakland, CA)
- 1953-1958: U.S. Air Force Chaplain
- 1960: St. Elizabeth’s (Oakland, CA)
- 1960-1963: Ascension (Portland, OR)
- 1963-1967: St. Paul of the Shipwreck (San Francisco, CA)
- 1967-1971: (Santa Rosa, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Francis Ford:
In 1951, Fr. Francis Ford, also known as John E. Ford, was ordained for the Franciscans. He left the order and was incardinated into the Diocese of Santa Rosa in 1971.
In 2002, Ford was accused in a lawsuit against the Portland Archdiocese and the Franciscans of sexual abuse towards a minor. According to media reports, in 1961, Ford abused a 12-year-old former altar boy for two years while assigned to Ascension parish in Portland, Oregon. One of the sexual abuse incidents occurred during a trip to the World’s Fair in Seattle, Washington. Ford apparently moved back and forth between the Portland Archdiocese and positions in California. In 2002, the lawsuit was settled for $3.8M.
According to media reports, Ford spent time in the U.S. Air Force and then served briefly at St. Anthony parish in San Francisco, California before he was assigned to Ascension parish in Portland, Oregon in 1961. He left Portland in 1964 to serve at St. Paul of the Shipwreck in San Francisco, California before returning to Oregon in 1967 to serve in Astoria. Ford returned to California in 1969 to work at St. Apollinaris parish in Napa, and then apparently left the Franciscan Order, but still served as a priest until his death in Santa Barbara, California.
In 2019, Ford was included on a list of priests in the Diocese of Santa Rosa, the Santa Barbara Province Franciscans, and the Diocese of Oakland’s list, named as being credibly accused of child sex abuse.
The Diocese of Santa Rosa notes abuse in the diocese in 1974 and that Ford went on leave in 1979.
Ford died in 1984.
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