Gerald Fitzgerald (priest)

(1894-1969)

American religion

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Gerald Michael Cushing Fitzgerald (October 29, 1894 in Framingham, Massachusetts – June 28, 1969) was an American Catholic priest, who began his ministry as a priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and later became a member of the Congregation of Holy Cross. He is best known as the founder of the Congregation of the Servants of the Paraclete which operates centers for priests dealing with challenges such as alcoholism, substance abuse and sexual misconduct. In 2009 his papers were unsealed. He had asked American bishops and the Vatican in the 1950s and 1960s to not reassign priests who sexually assaulted parishioners. He said that they were effectively untreatable and at risk of committing additional sex crimes and tarnishing the church's reputation. Fitzgerald argued so forcefully for the defrocking (i.e. forced dismissal from the priesthood) of sexually abusive priests that it has been argued that the Catholic hierarchy would have been made aware of the dangers of allowing such priests to return to parish work where they would have contact with minors.

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Born	Gerald Michael Cushing Fitzgerald 29 October 1894 Framingham, Massachusetts USA
Died	28 June 1969 (aged 74) Jemez Springs, New Mexico USA
Zodiac	Scorpio
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