Father Stephen Kain
Diocese of Orange (Franciscan)
Ordained: 1974
Removed: 1993
Assignment History:
- 1975-1982: Unknown
- 1983-1987: St. Anthony’s Seminary High School (Santa Barbara, CA)
- 1988-1996: Unknown
- 1997-2002: St. Boniface (San Francisco, CA)
- 2003-2018: San Damiano Retreat (Danville, CA)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Stephen Kain:
Fr. Stephen Kain was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1974, who served in the Diocese of Orange. According to media reports, in 2001, an allegation was reported that Fr. Kain sexually abused a minor while working at St. William’s in Los Altos, CA. Another priest testified that even though multiple Franciscans knew about Fr. Kain’s history of child sexual abuse prior to St. William’s, nothing was ever done about it and there were never any warnings to Fr. Kain’s parishioners.
Fr. Kain was named in a 2004 civil lawsuit alleging he assaulted at least one student while he worked at St. Anthony’s Seminary High School in Santa Barbara, CA, during the mid-1980s. As a result of the allegations of child sexual abuse, Fr. Kain was removed from ministry in 1993, living under restrictions, at St. Boniface in San Francisco. The suit was settled in 2006 for more than $28 million.
Fr. Kain was named in another civil lawsuit against the Franciscan Order in Santa Barbara in 2018. He is named publicly on the Franciscans’ Santa Barbara Province 2019 list and on the Oakland Diocese’s list of Archdiocesan Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. It notes allegations reported in 1993, 2004, 2006 and 2008 of sex abuse of minors 1981-87. On the Oakland diocese’s list in 2019.
It is believed Fr. Steven Kain is currently working at San Damiano Retreat in Danville, CA. Whether he has access to children is unknown.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Orange in California. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in one of California’s Catholic dioceses, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Diocese of Orange now have legal options due to a temporary change in California law, 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 California and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.