Father Vincent Mooney (Jesuits)
Ordained: 1956
Died: 1981
Assigned as follows:
- Canisius High School (Buffalo, NY)
- St. Michael's Church (Buffalo, NY)
- St. Ignatius Retreat House (Manhasset, NY)
- Western NY Catholic Sodality Union
- Western NY Guidance Association
- American Personnel and Guidance Association
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Vincent Mooney:
Father Vincent Mooney was ordained a Jesuit priest. He was president of Canisius High for most of the 1960s and 1970s. According to media reports, in 2018, a woman reported to the Diocese of Buffalo an allegation of sexual abuse by Father Mooney in the 1960s. She said he raped her when she was a 16-year-old student at Mt. St. Joseph's Academy. While grieving her father's death, she said a nun sent her to Father Mooney for counseling. He allegedly attacked her after hearing her confession.
"I felt him on top of me and I felt constricted and after everything was over, I just got up and I ran - I just ran," she said. "I was catching a bus at the corner to go home, and I was just in agony, wondering, 'Why? Why?'"
She ended up pregnant and her mother sent her for an illegal abortion that almost killed her. Father Mooney died in 1981. A spokesman for the Jesuits confirmed the woman's story calling the situation "horrific." "There are no words to truly assuage the heinous nature of this abuse."
In November 2018, Father Mooney's name was not included in the Diocese of Buffalo's updated list of priests with substantiated claims of sexual abuse of a minor. According to a diocese spokeswoman it's "because it was the only claim the diocese had received against that priest, and the claim was unable to be investigated before the priest had died."
"That's definitely minimizing it. If a person comes forward, and explains their situation, one should be enough to put the individual's name on the list. They have no right to privacy. The church made them private. That's not correct. That's an abuse and a cover up of criminal activity."
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims of sexual abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo and throughout New York. The Diocese of Buffalo filed for federal bankruptcy protection in February 2020. Anyone sexually abused by a priest or employee of the Diocese of Buffalo may be entitled to file a claim against the Diocese in these bankruptcy proceedings, but very strict filing deadlines apply. Most victims of abuse in the Diocese of Buffalo will never be able to take action against the Diocese of Buffalo if they miss this bankruptcy filing deadline, so it is important that you contact us immediately to discuss your potential case.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or adam@adamhorowitzlaw.com to discuss your legal options today.