Case Studies of Clergy Sexual Abuse

The Crossland Foundation not only publishes works such as Dr. Leon Podles' Sacrilege, but is also in the process of authoring a series of case studies that will be a valuable resource for those interested in helping victims and their causes.

The Philip Anthony Magaldi Case Study

Philip Magaldi broke several commandments in serious ways: by stealing from his parish, by abusing teenage boys, and by bearing false witness in an attempted murder trial. Like other priests, he was protected from the consequences of his actions.

....Read the Magaldi case study.

The Peter Kramer Case Study

Peter Kramer, ordained in 1997, abused two boys in 1999. In 2000 he was convicted in a non-public trial, sentenced to probation, and ordered to go to therapy and keep away from children. But he soon started working in a parish; his work with children was the subject of newspaper articles the diocese saved.

...Read the Kramer Case Study.

The Donald Matthew Osgood Case Study

Donald Osgood, with a pleasant disposition and skills in music and cooking, was a member of homosexual networks at St. Anselm’s College and Abbey in New Hampshire and among the diocesan priests of New England. He also preyed on teenage boys, but was sheltered from prosecution by the police.

....Read the Donald Matthew Osgood Case Study.

Case Studies of Clergy Sexual Abuse
and Murder

The Murder of Rev. Joseph J. Pilger Case Study

The Rev. Joseph Pilger, ordained in 1955, was assigned as a priest in several Kentucky parishes.

Dan Willett was twelve years old in 1958 when he met Pilger, who was stationed at St. Paul’s Church in Lexington, Kentucky. Willett’s parents allowed him to accompany Pilger on a trip to see the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption in Covington.

....Read the whole Rev. Joseph J. Pilger Case Study.

The Murder of Rev. Michael Mack Case Study

Father Michael B. Mack, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, had the misfortune not only to be murdered, but to be murdered in a place that connected his death with the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church and that put an undeserved shadow on his reputation.

....Read the whole Rev. Michael Mack Case Study.