Ordained: 1978
Status: Sued
Diocese: Archdiocese of Baltimore MD
Father Francis McGrath attended seminary in Baltimore, MD from 1972-1974 and again from 1976-1977. He was ordained in 1978 for the Diocese of Trenton, NJ. In 1995, a man reported to the Baltimore archdiocese that Father McGrath sexually abused him as a minor in the 1970s while McGrath was in seminary. Baltimore informed Trenton, and McGrath admitted to having abused “three or four victims” during his time in Trenton.
From then on, he was on a leave of absence until 2002 when another person alleged abuse in the 1970s. His name was added to the Baltimore archdiocese’s list of accused in 9/2002, and he was later included on the Trenton diocese’s list on 2/13/2019, with a note that he had been removed from ministry. In 6/2020, McGrath was named in two lawsuits, one alleging abuse of a 17-year-old boy in 1983 at St. Anthony’s in Hamilton, NJ, and the other claiming abuse of an 11-year-old boy in 1978. In addition, a suit filed on 7/29/2020 alleged abuse in the early 1980s of a Red Bank Catholic High student.