Fr. Arthur Harrison
ORDAINED: 1956
Assignments:
- 1956-1960: St. Thomas Aquinas Church, Palo Alto, CA (SFR)
- 1960-1964: Our Lady of Loretto, Novato, CA (SFR)
- 1964-1967: St. Frances Cabrini, Cambrian Park, CA (SFR)
- 1967-1976: St. Raphael’s, San Rafael, CA; San Quentin Prison (chaplain) (SFR)
- 1976-1987: St. Elizabeth Church, Milpitas, CA (1976-1980: SFR; 1981-1987: SJ)
- 1987-1989: Church of the Ascension, Saratoga, CA (SJ)
- 1989-1990: Church of the Ascension, Saratoga, CA; Absent on leave; San Jose Serra Club, San Jose, CA (SJ)
- 1990-1992: Absent on leave; San Jose Serra Club, San Jose, CA (SJ)
- 1992-1995: Retired; San Jose Serra Club, San Jose CA (SJ)
- 1995-2006: Retired
- 2006: Died
Fr. Arthur Harrison worked in the Archdiocese of San Francisco and the Diocese of San Jose. According to the Diocese of San Jose, Fr. Harrison engaged in sexual misconduct with a child at Our Lady of Loretto Parish in 1961, as well as sexual misconduct with children at St. Francis Cabrini Parish in 1974 to 1976. The Diocese of San Jose received reports of child sexual abuse against Fr. Harrison in 1988, 1990, and 2003. Fr. Harrison’s ministry was restricted in 1989 and he was permanently banned from ministry in 2002. In 2003, Fr. Harrison was criminally charged with sexually abusing a 10-year-old girl more than 40 years prior while he was assigned to Our Lady of Loretto Catholic Church in Novato, California. The case was dismissed after a United States Supreme Court ruling changed the law surrounding statutes of limitation. A few years later, in 2005, Fr. Harrison was one of five priests included in a settlement made by the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The Diocese of San Jose included Fr. Harrison in its list of clergy with credible allegations of sexual abuse of children.