Father John H. Duggan
Diocese of Camden
Ordained: 1957
Removed: 2002
Died: 2004
Assigned as follows:
- 1957-1958: Western College (Boston, MA)
- 1958-1959: Our Lady of Martyrs (Aurlesville, NY)
- 1959-1970: Scranton Preparatory School (Scranton, PA)
- 1971-1972: Loyola Blakefield High School (Baltimore, MD)
- 1972-1978: St. Agnes Hospital (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1979-1980: Old St. Joseph’s (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1980-1981: Faber House (Chicago, IL)
- 1981-1983: (Jos, Nigeria)
- 1983-1984: Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital (Camden, NJ)
- 1984-1989: Scranton Preparatory School (Scranton, PA)
- 1989-1993: St. Paul’s (Scranton, PA)
- 1994-1995: Jesuit Fathers and Brothers Maryland Provincial Curia (Baltimore, MD)
- 1995-2004: University of Scranton (Scranton, PA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father John H Duggan:
Father John H Duggan was ordained a Jesuit priest of the Maryland Province. He worked in high schools and parishes in the Archdioceses of Baltimore, Philadelphia, Chicago, Nigeria, and the Diocese of Camden, before returning to Scranton where he first started his career. According to media reports, in 1993, he was sent for a psychological evaluation and admitted to sexually abusing young children in his early priesthood. He denied any of the abuse that occurred within the Diocese. Upon release, he was reinstated to supervised ministry and required to meet regularly with his aftercare counseling team.
In December 1996, a man reported that he was sexually abused by Father Duggan in the 1970s when he was a teenager getting spiritual counseling at the Jesuit house in Scranton. In 1999, the same man reported Father Duggan was participating in unsupervised ministry. The Diocesan Review Board recommended that the only ministries open to him were the celebration of mass and the administration of sacraments in correctional facilities, nursing homes, and convents.
In May 2002, the man contacted the Diocese again and requested assurances that Father Duggan was no danger to children. He was removed from ministry. The victim reported his sexual abuse to the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office but no charges were brought because the statute of limitations had expired. The paperwork of the report indicated the Jesuit Community provided free tuition to the victim’s children and transferred Father Duggan from the Jesuit Community in Scranton.
In 2002, a man reported to the Archdiocese of Baltimore that his son was sexually abused by Father Duggan in the late 1960s to early 1970s. He worked at Loyola Blakefield High School during those years. At the time of the report, Father Duggan was working at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
In September 2002, Father Duggan’s name appeared publicly on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s list of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse of minors. In August 2018, his name appeared on the Diocese of Scranton’s list. That same month his name was included in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report as John H. Duggan. He died in January 2004.
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