Credibly Accused

Search lists of U.S. Catholic clergy that have been deemed credibly accused of sexual abuse or misconduct.

Published Jan. 28, 2020

This database was last updated in January 2020 and should only be used as a historical snapshot of the lists published by dioceses and religious orders. There may be changes to those records that are not reflected here.

If you find an error in the data or would like to suggest changes, contact us.

Archdiocese of Boston, Massachusetts

Joseph L Welsh

Status: Deceased

Appeared under the heading: “Categories of Archdiocesan Clergy Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Child - A. Cases That Have Been Concluded Canonically, Either By Dismissal or Sentence to Life of Prayer and Penance, or Criminally, Either By Plea or Conviction.”

Birth Year: 1942

Ordination year: 1968

Reported assignment history:

Assistant,St Theresa of Child Jesus Parish,Watertown, 06/12/68 - 06/07/71
Assistant,St Albert's,Weymouth, 06/08/71 - 11/08/71
Assistant,St Joseph Parish,Holbrook, 11/09/71 - 02/16/76
Associate Pastor,St Peter Parish,Plymouth, 02/17/76 - 06/08/81
Associate Pastor ,St Mary Parish,Foxboro, 06/09/81 - 06/15/89
Parochial Vicar,St Anne Parish,Readville, 06/15/89 - 06/04/90
Parochial Vicar,St Mary Parish,Franklin, 06/05/90 - 12/13/93
Administrator,Mary Immaculate of Lourdes Parish,Newton Upper Falls, 12/14/93 - 01/31/95
No Assignment,Mary Immaculate of Lourdes,Newton, 02/01/95 - 10/31/95
Administrator,St Michael Parish,Lynn, 11/01/95 - 10/31/96
No Assignment, 11/01/96 - 02/03/97
Pastor,St Nicholas Parish,West Abington, 02/04/97 - 02/19/02
No Assignment, 02/20/02 - 09/30/06

If you find an error in the data or would like to suggest changes, contact us.

Sources: U.S Catholic dioceses and religious orders, ProPublica reporting, Pontifical Yearbook (2019)

Data entry by: Tatyana Bellamy-Walker, Grace Haley, Samantha Maldonado, Spencer Norris, Anna Pouza, Lilia Saul

You can download this complete dataset at the ProPublica Data Store.