Father James Porter: Pedophile Priest

Minnesota, Massechusetts, Texas -

"Those victims also note that the child-abuse problem in Massachusetts churches did not begin with Father Geoghan or Christopher Reardon in the 1980s. In fact, the archdiocese established its longstanding pattern of denial and concealment twenty years earlier, with the case of Father James Porter. A serial predator who molested at least 125 children of both sexes, claiming victims in five states, Porter was recognized as “a problem” by his superiors in the early 1960s. Multiple complaints, a criminal arrest, and several confessions from Porter himself failed to prompt any meaningful action. Instead of dismissal and prison, Porter was treated to multiple transfers, vacations, and ineffective “spiritual counseling.” The end result: a tragedy that shocked the nation when it was revealed, more than three decades after Porter abused his first victim.

This is the story of that tragedy and how it might have been averted at the start, if anyone had cared enough to try."

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