Fr. Jonathan Franklin (Benedictine)
Diocese of Baton Rouge
Ordained: 1956
Removed: 1959
Death: 1986
Assigned as Follows:
- Ascension of Our Lord (Donaldsonville, LA)
- St. Gabriel (New Orleans, LA)
- St. Mary’s Assumption (Cottonport, LA)
- St. Anthony (Cottonport, LA)
- St. Joseph Church (Tensas, LA)
- St. Louis Church (Glenmora, LA)
- Holy Trinity (Shreveport, LA)
- St. Anne Catholic Church (Pensacola, FL)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Jonathan Franklin:
Father Jonathan Franklin was ordained a Benedictine order priest in 1956, and served in the Diocese of Baton Rouge, the Diocese of Savannah, Georgia, and under the Archdiocese of New Orleans. According to media reports, in 2018, he was included on the Archdiocese of New Orleans’ list of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse. It states the allegation against Father Franklin was received in 1959, and referred to abuse that occurred in the late 1950’s. It also notes that Franklin was removed the year the allegation was received.
Father Franklin then moved to St. Bernard Abbey in Cullman, Alabama in 1975. A decade later, he was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy altar boy in 1985 when he was temporarily assigned to St. Anne’s in Pensacola, Florida.
According to bishopaccountability.com, Father Franklin has had multiple allegations of abuse made against him that stretch over three decades. He worked at several locations in Louisiana, Georgia, Florida, and Alabama during his priesthood. He has also been accused specifically of abuse in Louisiana in 1966 that eventually settled in 2005.
According to media reports, Father Franklin committed suicide in August of 1986, just before his trial for sexually assaulting the 12-year-old boy was about to begin.
His name has been included on multiple dioceses lists of clergy credibly accused of child sexual abuse including: Baton Rouge in 2019, Birmingham in December 2018, Alexandria in February 2019, and Pensacola-Tallahassee in April 2021.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Baton Rouge in Louisiana. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Louisiana, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Baton Rouge may now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Louisiana and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.