Fr. Theodore Feely - Diocese of Fresno

Father Theodore Feely

Diocese of Fresno (Franciscan)

Ordained: 1958

Died: 1991

Assignment History:

1959-1961: St. Thomas (Arlington, CA)
1962: St. Paul the Apostle (Pismo Beach, CA)
1963: St. Bronislava (Chicago, IL)
1964-1968: Queen of Angels (Riverside, CA)
1969-1973: St. Anthony of Padua (Rockford, IL)
1974-1975: Our Lady of Guadalupe (Riverside, CA)
1976: St. Thomas (Riverside, CA)
1977-1978: Queen of Angels (Riverside, CA)
1979-1980: St. John of God (Norwalk, CA)
1979-1981: CA Youth Authority, Southern Reception Center & Clinic, (Norwalk, CA)
1982: St. George (Stockton, CA)
1983-1988: Queen of Angels (Riverside, CA)
1984-1986: Riverside County General (Riverside, CA)
1987-1988: Riverside General Hospital; Riverside County Jail (Riverside, CA)
1989-1991: St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral (Reno, NV)

Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations Against Father Theodore Feely:

Fr. Theodore “Ted” Feely was ordained a Franciscan priest in 1958, who served in Nevada as well as in the Diocese of Fresno. According to media reports, in 2002, he was accused by two men of sexually abusing them from 1968 to 1972 when they were 13 years old at St. Anthony of Padua in Rockford, Illinois.

In 2006, one of the men filed a civil lawsuit against the Diocese of Rockford. He alleged the abuse by Fr. Feely started on a four-day trip to the Wisconsin Dells. He said he was awakened by the priest choking him, was then sodomized, and was fed drugs and alcohol. The survivor also said he told another priest during confession what had happened, who then pulled him out of the confessional, said he was evil, then pushed him down the stairs. The lawsuit was dismissed on the Statute of Limitation.

Fr. Feely had been moved 12 times to nine different churches in his 32 years of service and finally ended up at St. Thomas Aquinas Cathedral in Reno, Nevada. Feely died of Cancer in 1991 at the age of 60. He is publicly named on the Diocese of Rockford’s 2018 list of Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.

Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Fresno 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 Fresno 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.