'Always felt he didn't do it.' Framingham priest, 91, cleared of sex abuse allegations

Yahoo

20-05-2025

When allegations of sexual assault were levied in 2019 against St. Bridget Parish's longtime pastor, Monsignor Francis V. Strahan, parishioner Marian Grant firmly said at the time that she did not believe them.
On Saturday, May 17, the Archdiocese of Boston announced that Strahan, 91, has been cleared of both civil and canonical allegations of sexual abuse of a minor — and Grant said she feels her feelings were justified.
'I feel the same as I did in 2019,' she said. 'I felt he was not guilty, and I still think he's not guilty. He is a great guy and a great monsignor, and I always felt he didn't do it.'
In a press release, the Archdiocese of Boston announced it has concluded its investigation and 'found that the allegations did not have a semblance of truth, and are therefore unsubstantiated.'
'A good, loving, kind priest': St. Bridget parishoners shaken by abuse allegations
Strahan, who celebrated his 60th year as a priest earlier in 2019, is allowed to return to public ministry. But according to an Archdiocese spokesman, Strahan is a senior priest, which essentially means he is retired. He will not return to his previous post at St. Bridget.
'The Archdiocese is committed to assisting Msgr Strahan who is at an advanced age and currently a senior priest,' according to the release.
No one from St. Bridget would comment. A woman who answered the phone said the Archdiocese of Boston told those at St. Bridget to refer all media inquiries to the Archdiocese.
However, Grant said, it was announced Sunday that Strahan would be visting St. Bridget sometime in June to see parishioners. The Archdiocese spokemsan could not confirm if and when that will occur.
Strahan had been at St. Bridget in Framingham for 36 years at the time the allegations surfaced in 2019. He was removed as a priest at the church.
A man, then in his 20s, claimed Strahan had assaulted him in the mid-2000s when the man was 11 to 13 years old. The boy was a student at St. Bridget School and an alter server at the Route 9 church.
In November 2022, a Middlesex County grand jury indicted Strahan and charged him with one count of rape of a child and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a child younger than 14. Less than a year later, in September 2023, the Middlesex District Attorney's Office filed a nolle prosqui in Middlesex Superior Court, meaning it would not prosecute the case.
In court papers, prosecutors said they were ready for trial, but the accuser told the DA's office he did not want to go forward because preparing for the trial was causing post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and he was worried that testifying would affect both his mental and physical health.
Accuser won't testify: Longtime Framingham pastor's sexual assault charges dropped
A superior court judge dismissed the case. The Archdiocese then announced it would resume its own investigation, and announced its findings on Saturday.
'Allegations of abuse are often complex matters that take time and require the investigative bodies to be thorough and fair to all parties involved,' the Archdiocese said in the release. 'It is during this process that allegations are weighed against the facts derived through investigation by secular law enforcement and by Archdiocesan investigators in keeping with canon law.'
As for Grant, she never doubted Strahan and said she was overjoyed when the news of Strahan's reinstatement was announced Sunday during Mass at St. Bridget.
'I really can't wait to see him,' she said.
Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or [e-mail]. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on X @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Boston Archdiocese clears Framingham priest of sex assault allegation