CT--Accused predator CT priest headed home for abused kids

For immediate release: Thursday, July 2

Statement by David Clohessy of St. Louis, Director of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (314 566 9790, [email protected])

A priest who has been suspended because of a credible child sex abuse report once headed a home for abused children. We urge anyone who may have seen, suspected or suffered his crimes to call police, protect others, expose wrongdoers and deter cover ups.

http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2015/07/01/news/local/892077.txt

Hartford archdiocesan officials have temporarily ousted Fr. Jeremiah N. Murasso from his parish in Waterbury. He worked at churches in Meriden, New Haven, East Haven, Naugatuck, South Windsor and Waterbury.

He was CEO of St. Francis Home for Children in New Haven, a residential, day treatment and special education facility for sexually abused and emotionally children. That’s where his crimes allegedly took place.

http://www.gtfeducation.org/faculty-staff/father-jeremiah-n-murasso.cfm

(SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, is the world’s oldest and largest support group for clergy abuse victims. SNAP was founded in 1988 and has more than 20,000 members. Despite the word “priest” in our title, we have members who were molested by religious figures of all denominations, including nuns, rabbis, bishops, and Protestant ministers. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)

Contact - David Clohessy (314-566-9790 cell, S[email protected]), Barbara Dorris (314-503-0003 cell, [email protected]), Barbara Blaine (312-399-4747, [email protected])

Father Jeremiah N. Murasso, Ph.D.

Father Jeremiah N. Murasso is the Robert C. Leslie Professor of Pastoral Logotherapy. Jeremiah was born and raised in Connecticut, the oldest of three children. Jeremiah’s desire for leadership and the exercise of independent thinking has always fueled his drive for excellence, especially academic excellence. 

Throughout his years of schooling, Jeremiah endeavored to obtain academic excellence, not as a guarantee of a good paying job, but in preparation for making a contribution to society by impacting the lives of others. This drive led Jeremiah to enter St. Thomas Seminary after high school graduation in 1971.

Upon completion of the minor seminary in Connecticut, he accepted an appointment to Christ the King Seminary, which at the time was located on the campus of St. Bonaventure University, in Allegany, New York. There, he received a B.A. in Philosophy. Upon graduation, Jeremiah received a Roman appointment, dedicating four years at the Pontifical North American College in preparation for priesthood ordination. During these four years in Rome, he earned master’s degrees in Dogmatic Theology in 1978 and Pastoral Theology in 1979, both at the Gregorian University. Ordination to the priesthood took place at Santa Sussana Church in Rome on May 19, 1979, after which Jeremiah returned to the United States to begin parish ministry as a priest in the Archdiocese of Hartford.

Early in his ministry, recognizing the need for continuing education in related fields, Jeremiah returned to school and earned a master’s degree in Philosophy from Trinity College, and master’s degrees in Education and Applied Psychology, both from Fairfield University. In addition, Jeremiah went on to earn two sixth-year certificates of advanced study in the areas of School Administration & Supervision and School Psychology, also from Fairfield. While pursuing his education goals, 

Jeremiah continued to serve several parishes. In 1984, he was assigned as the co-pastor at St. Vincent de Paul in East Haven, and a year later, was made pastor. As the youngest pastor at the time, Jeremiah embarked upon a pastoral journey that would include the leadership of several parishes as pastor, while at the same time initiating and providing direction for several major church renovation projects even up to and including the present.

In the midst of providing pastoral leadership at the parish level, he was assigned to the role of CEO of St. Francis Home for Children in New Haven, a residential, day treatment and special education facility for sexually abused and emotionally disturbed children between the ages of five and 18. Jeremiah updated and revised this 110-bed facility by implementing program manuals, developing a five-year plan and creating a home out of an institution, where spiritual values became the focus for therapeutic intervention and the healing of the whole child.

Jeremiah was re-appointed after 10 years of service to the children at St. Francis Home, and returned to pastoral leadership at the parish level while at the same time completing doctoral work at the Graduate Theological Foundation, with studies completed at the Centro pro Unione in Rome and Oxford University.  Jeremiah was awarded a Ph.D. in Pastoral Psychology in 2000. Continuing his pursuit of academic excellence in order to be of better service to others, in 2006, Jeremiah was awarded an Ed.D. from the Graduate Theological Foundation with studies completed at Oxford University.  While completing his studies for his Ed.D., 

Jeremiah had the privilege of meeting Dr. Ann Graber who at the time was teaching an introductory seminar on Viktor Frankl at the Graduation Theological Foundation.  

This sparked great interest in Jeremiah and the desire to pursue further study in Franklian psychology, leading to the reception of the Diplomate credential from the Viktor Frankl Institute of Logotherapy in June, 2009, and the awarding of a Psy.D. with concentration in Franklian psychology. Jeremiah is presently the pastor of The Shrine of St. Anne For Mothers and the Church of the Blessed Sacrament, both in Waterbury, Connecticut.