Robert A. Ward
Encyclopedia
In February 2002, Rev. Robert A. Ward was one of the many priests accused of child molesting during the Catholic sex abuse cases scandal.
Records show that the archdiocese knew at least as early as 1995 that the pastor used cocaine and had been treated for drug abuse. The records also show that in 1999 Ward admitted to downloading of child pornography
from the internet
, a discovery made when a technician repaired Ward's computer and noticed the sexually explicit material. After Ward's admission, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law placed him on health leave but allowed him to retain his title as pastor of Holy Ghost parish in Whitman. The following month, Ward submitted his resignation to Cardinal Bernard Francis Law due to what he described to another church official as serious personal health reasons. Ward remained on health leave until January 2001, when Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, following a Review Board recommendation, reassigned him as a special projects development officer at the church's development office and allowed him to live at St. Mary's rectory in Dedham, Massachusetts
. The assignment ended, when a local man alleged that Ward had sexually molested him in 1976 or 1977, when Ward was assigned to Our Lady of the Presentation parish in Brighton.
He then was suspended in 2002 from the ministry by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
and and defrocked by the Vatican in 2005.
Records show that the archdiocese knew at least as early as 1995 that the pastor used cocaine and had been treated for drug abuse. The records also show that in 1999 Ward admitted to downloading of child pornography
Child pornography
Child pornography refers to images or films and, in some cases, writings depicting sexually explicit activities involving a child...
from the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, a discovery made when a technician repaired Ward's computer and noticed the sexually explicit material. After Ward's admission, Cardinal Bernard Francis Law placed him on health leave but allowed him to retain his title as pastor of Holy Ghost parish in Whitman. The following month, Ward submitted his resignation to Cardinal Bernard Francis Law due to what he described to another church official as serious personal health reasons. Ward remained on health leave until January 2001, when Cardinal Bernard Francis Law, following a Review Board recommendation, reassigned him as a special projects development officer at the church's development office and allowed him to live at St. Mary's rectory in Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham, Massachusetts
Dedham is a town in and the county seat of Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 24,729 at the 2010 census. It is located on Boston's southwest border. On the northwest it is bordered by Needham, on the southwest by Westwood and on the southeast by...
. The assignment ended, when a local man alleged that Ward had sexually molested him in 1976 or 1977, when Ward was assigned to Our Lady of the Presentation parish in Brighton.
He then was suspended in 2002 from the ministry by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in the New England region of the United States. It comprises several counties of the state of Massachusetts...
and and defrocked by the Vatican in 2005.