Father Arthur J. Long
Archdiocese of Washington/Scranton/Baltimore/Jesuit
Ordained: 1955
Removed: 1995
Died: 2004
Assignment History:
- 1963 – 1964: Bishop’s Latin School (Pittsburgh, PA)
- 1965 – 1968: Gesu School (Philadelphia, PA)
- 1974: Harrisburg Polyclinic Hospital (Harrisburg, PA)
- 1975 – 1987: Geisinger Medical Center (Danville, PA)
- 1975 – 1987: Villa Sacred Heart (Danville, PA)
- 1989 – 1990: Scranton Jesuit Community (Scranton, PA)
- 1990 – 1991: St. James Church (Jessup, PA)
Summary of Abuse Allegations Against Father Arthur J. Long:
Father Arthur Long was ordained in 1955 as a member of a Catholic religious order, the Maryland Province Society of Jesus, and worked in the Archdiocese of Washington, the Archdiocese of Baltimore, Harrisburg, and Scranton. In 2018, Fr. Long was named an abuser in the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report. He was then listed on the Diocese of Harrisburg’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list in 2018. In 2018, Fr. Long was listed on the Archdiocese of Baltimore’s Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of Minors list. In April 2023, Maryland’s Attorney General released a report alleging 156 Catholic clergy members sexually abused at least 600 children over six decades. The report lists the names of the abusers, including Father Arthur Long.
According to media reports, in 1987, the Archdiocese of Washington received an allegation that Father Arthur J. Long solicited a 17-year-old girl for sex in 1983. He was also accused of inappropriate sexual behavior with a 13-year-old girl. At the time, Fr. Long was chaplain of a Danville convent attached to a girls’ high school. Father Long admitted to having had sex with ‘four or five’ girls since being assigned to the convent when confronted.
In 1988, Father Long was moved to St. Ignatius parish in Mount Vernon while he worked as a hospital chaplain at Mercy Medical Center, according to a spokesman for the Jesuits’ Maryland Province. After that, he returned to Pennsylvania and lived in Jesuit communities at the University of Scranton and St. Joseph’s University. He continued to have faculties to minister as a Jesuit priest in good standing.
In 1992, Father Long returned to Maryland and spent six weeks living in a Jesuit community associated with Loyola Blakefield High School. He was later removed from ministry when more reports of inappropriate behavior and sexual abuse surfaced, including his attempt to marry a teenage girl. The PA grand jury report indicates, however, that Father Long wasn’t forced out of ministry by his province until 1995. Father Long left the community for “vacation” but never returned.
Fr. Long died in 2004.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Washington, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Washington now have legal options to recover damages due to a compensation fund created for victims. Call us at 888-283-9922 or send an email to [email protected] to discuss your options today.