Fr. Thomas H. Teczar
Ordained: 1967
Assignments:
- 1967-1969: St. Joan of Arc, Worcester, MA
- 1970-1972: St. Mary’s, Uxbridge, MA
- 1972-1975: St. Ann’s, Leominster, MA
- 1975-1976: St. Aloysius, Gilbertville, MA
- 1977-1980: Immaculate Conception, Worcester, MA
- 1981-1983: Sacred Heart of Jesus, Gardner, MA
- 1983: St. Aloysius, Rochdale, MA
- 1984-1986: Absent on leave
- 1985: House of Affirmation, Montara, CA (SFr)
- 1987: Unknown
- 1988-1989: On duty outside the Archdiocese
- 1990-2002: Absent on leave
- 1990-1992: St. Rita Church, Ranger, TX
- 1990-1991: Cisco Junior College, Ranger, TX
- 1990-1991: Ranger Junior College, Ranger, TX
- 1991-1992: St. John’s, Strawn, TX
- 2003-2007: Unknown
- 2007-2015: Prison
- 2011: Laicized
- 2012-2014: Unknown
- 2015: Died
Fr. Teczar was convicted of child sexual abuse. He was accused of child sexual abuse before he became a priest, and similar accusations were made throughout his time in the priesthood. In total, according to prosecutors, Fr. Teczar has been accused of abusing at least 14 boys. The first accusations came in the mid-1960s before he was a priest. At the time, Fr. Teczar was working at the Nazareth Home for Boys and was fired after he was accused of bathing a 10-year-old boy and inappropriately touching another.
Prior to Fr. Teczar’s ordination, Diocese of Worcester Bishop Joseph Flanagan warned of his “predilection for intimate and rather exclusive companionship with young boys.” Fr. Teczar was kicked out of seminary twice due to erratic behavior. A few years after being ordained, Fr. Teczar was assigned to St. Mary’s in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, where he allegedly sexually abused at least five children. In 1985, Fr. Teczar was forced out of the Diocese of Worcester and was absent on leave for a few years following accusations of inappropriately touching a teenage boy. During this time, Fr. Teczar was sent to the House of Affirmation in Montara, California, within the Archdiocese of San Francisco. Fr. Teczar was arrested in 2002 and charged with the raping a 12-year-old boy from Ranger, Texas, in 1990. Fr. Teczar was convicted and sentenced to 50 years in prison. He was laicized in 2011. At least seven civil lawsuits involving Fr. Teczar have settled.