Rev. Anthony G. Stredny
Basic Background Information
Birth: Oct 15, 1928
Place: Miner's Mills, Pennsylvania
School: St. Mary's High School (1946) Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania
Seminary: Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, NJ
Christ the King Seminary, St. Bonaventure, NY
Ordination: June 15, 1957
Dioceses: Nashville (1957-1968)
Galveston-Houston (1969-1993)
Assignments: NASH: Six
GAL: 11 in 11 counties
Removed: 1993
Death: Nov. 26 2018
Information on Clergy Disclosure List from the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston
Diocesan Disclosure List
The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (ADGH) included Rev. Anthony G. Stredny on its Clergy Disclosure list released on January 31, 2019. The information is sparse. Digging into his time of active ministry in Houston (1968-1993) reveals a very strange tenure as a diocesan priest.
Stredny had 11 parish assignments, in 11 different counties in the Diocese of Galveston-Houston. We know from the limited information given by the ADGH that he was ordained in 1957, removed from ministry in 1993 and died in 2018. What it doesn't tell us is that he was a transfer from the Diocese of Nashville after being ordained in Pennsylvania. He was ordained in 1957 and spent 10 years in Tennessee in the Diocese of Nashville. This was not the typical assignment history of a diocesan priest: he was in six parishes over the 10 years he was there before being transferred to Houston in 1969. A clear sign of a problem.
And sure enough, he was also included in the Diocese of Nashville's list of priests accused of abusing minors. So Houston allowed a known predator from Nashville to come in and have access to more vulnerable minors.
Rev. Stredny's Formation
Stredny was born and raised in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania to an immigrant father, John Strednyi, from Hlinné, in what is now Slovakia. At the time of his immigration in 1917, he used the Hungarian spelling of Hlinné: Agyagospatak. Historical records show the changing geo-political times with his place of birth listed as Austria (1917) Hungary (1920), and Czecho-Slovakia (1930). The 1917 Naturalization Records for Stredny's father shows he had renounced allegiance to Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria and Apostolic King of Hungary.
John Stredny dropped the i in his name at immigration and married the daughter of immigrants - also listed from Austria, Austria-Hungary, Czecho-Slovakia. They were in a coal mining town of Miner's Mill, PA in Luzerne County.
There were eight children in the family, Rev. Anthony was third from last. The family had its share of hardships. On February 11, 1932, John Stredny Sr. was charged with Drunk Driving and Involuntary Manslaughter for killing a man named Lincoln Oliver with his truck, but was found not guilty June 9, 1932. So there were definitely issues at home.
An older brother was killed in a mining accident when he was 24 years old crushed to death when the roof caved in. And in 1963, another brother died of Polio.
In Commemoration of our Twentieth Anniversary 1940 -1960: Diocesan Guild Studios of Scranton. Diocesan book of classes and priests' pictures.
Stredny's Pastoral Formation
Since we know he was credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor, we can infer meaning from Stredny's history. It seems that his pastoral formation started out bumpy because he attended two seminaries: Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, NJ and Christ the King Seminary, St. Bonaventure, NY. Many times, problem priests were problem seminarians and the dioceses dealt with them the same as they did priests -- they were transferred to a different seminary. This could have been the reason Stredny was transferred during his time in seminary.
Rev. Stredny graduated from St. Mary's Catholic High School in Dallas Township, Pennsylvania in 1946 and attended two universities: the local Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania and transferred to Seton Hall in South Orange, NJ (although he seems curiously absent from all yearbooks at Seton Hall 1947 - 1952).
And then began his sojourn through the two seminaries, two dioceses, 17 parish assignments across Tennessee and Texas.
The Diocesan Guild Studios of Scranton published a yearbook in 1960 showing all the priests ordained in the diocese, "Commemoration of our Twentieth Anniversary 1940 -1960: Diocesan Guild Studios of Scranton. Diocesan book of classes and priests' pictures." Stredny is in the photo from that book titled, "Class of 1957" showing all the men ordained in the diocese that June 1957.
The interesting thing is that his home diocese of Scranton was the sponsor for his seminary education but then after his ordination in June 1957, he was assigned to the Diocese of Nashville.
We know he was a diocesan priest, but why they would pay for his education at two seminaries and then assign him to another diocese is a red flag that he had already been trouble. And of course, the poor, unsuspecting Catholics in Nashville were subjected to his predation as evidenced by his inclusion in the Diocese of Nashville list discussed above.
St. Mary's High School Yearbook 1946
The Tribune, Scranton, Pennsylvania , June 13, 1957
Stredny in Galveston-Houston
Below are Stredny's assignments during his years of active ministry. His transfer from Nashville to Galveston-Houston in 1969 was obviously after he had sexually abused a minor there since he is named on their list.
He shared a common trait with other publicly named priests who were credibly accused (Rev. Robert Barzyk and Rev. Ivan Turic): he owned several homes. Stredny actually owned 15 different home from 1971-2010 across four different counties.
The Bishops Knew
Assignments and Properties of Rev. Anthony G. Stredny
Year | Parish/Event | County |
|---|---|---|
1928 Oct 15 | Born: Miner's Mills, PA | Luzerne |
1946 | St. Mary's HS, Wilkes-Barre, PA | Luzerne |
1947 | Kings College, Wilkes-Barre, PA | Luzerne |
1950 | Seton Hall University, South Orange, NJ | Essex |
1951 | Immaculate Conception Seminary, Darlington, NJ | Bergen |
1957 June 13 | Christ the King Seminary, St. Bonaventure, NY | Cattaraugus |
1957 June 15 | Ordained Diocese of Scranton | Luzerne |
1957 June 16 | First Mass celebrated at home parish: Gate of Heaven Church, PA | Luzerne |
1957 | Our Lady of Sorrows Church, Memphis, TN (Diocese of Nashville) | Shelby |
1958 | Holy Ghost, Knoxville, TN (Diocese of Nashville) | Knox |
1959-1960 | Holy Rosary, Memphis, TN (Diocese of Nashville) | Shelby |
1961 | Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Chattanooga, TN (Diocese of Nashville) | Hamilton |
1962-1967 | Blessed Sacrament, Harriman, TN (Diocese of Nashville) | Roane |
1968 | Blessed Sacrament, Memphis, TN (Diocese of Nashville) | Shelby |
1968 | Transferred to Diocese of Galveston-Houston | 11 Counties |
1969 | St. Mary's, Texas City
| Galveston |
1970 | St. Mary's Star of the Sea, Freeport | Brazoria |
1971 | St. Charles Borremeo, Houston | Harris |
1971 | Bought 2 lots & house on Lake Houston for $10,000 (equivalent to $70,287 in 2022). | Harris |
1972 | St. Mary's, La Porte | Harris |
1973-1974 | St Joseph Catholic Church, Brazoria | Brazoria |
1975 | 1975 Sells home on Lake Houston - Apr 17, 1975 - Placed ad in newspaper, "Split Level, on two lots, furnished. Beaumont Newspaper, says call, St. Mary's, Rev. Stredny." | Harris |
1975-1977 | St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Plantersville | Grimes |
1976 December | Bought 70 acres on Lake Houston for $20K - "Happy-Hide-A-Way," Crosby | Harris |
1977 August | Bought house on Lake Conroe for $12,000 (deed says he lived in Grimes Co) | Montgomery |
1978-1982 | St. Matthias, Magnolia | Montgomery |
1980 March 25 | Bought house on Lake Conroe | Montgomery |
1983 | Sacred Heart, Crosby | Harris |
1984-1985 | St. Mary Church, Cleveland | Liberty |
1986-1991 | St. Joseph, New Waverly & Sacred Heart Station in Point Blank | Walker & San Jacinto |
1988 Feb 12 | Bought house on Lake Conroe | Montgomery |
1990 May 14 | Sold House at 12 Clearwater, Lake Conroe | Montgomery |
1991 May 1 | Bought house Blueberry Hill, Lake Conroe | Montgomery |
1992-1993 | Guardian Angel Church, Wallis | Austin |
1993 | Removed from Active Ministry | |
1994 | DGH Directory lists him as on Medical Leave | |
1995 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired. Actually living at 207 N Wilmot, Tucson, AZ | Pima |
July 1995 | Bought house on Lake Conroe: 3 Waterview, Montgomery, Texas | Montgomery |
1996 | DGH Directory lists him as on Medical Leave & living at St. Mary's Seminary, 9845 Memorial Drive, Houston, Texas despite his home ownership in Huntsville | Walker |
1996 May | Bought lot and house: 814 and 246 Lakeland Rd., Huntsville, TX (sold November 1998) | Walker |
1997 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired, mail c/o Chancery | |
1998 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired, mail c/o Chancery | |
1998 Feb | Bought house on Lake Conroe. (Sold November 1999) | Montgomery |
1999 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired, mail c/o Chancery | |
1999 Feb | Bought house at 5226 Park View Dr, Willis, TX
Bought Feb 1999 for $50,000. Sold April 2002 for $93,955 | Montgomery |
2000 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired, mail c/o Chancery | |
2001 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired, mail c/o Chancery | |
2002 | DGH Directory lists him as Retired, mail c/o Chancery | |
2002 July | Bought house at 14802 Lighthouse Dr, Corpus Christi, TX.
Bought 2002 for $66,500. Sold 2003 for $108,145 | Nueces |
2003 - 2018 | No longer listed in Diocesan directory | |
2003 Aug | Purchase of home at 11623 Alcott Dr., Montgomery
Bought 2003 for $61,280. Sold 2010 for $88,000 | Montgomery |
2003 - 2018 | Priest Retirement Home 2407 Holcombe Blvd., Houston | Harris |
2018 Nov 16 | Died, Houston, Texas | Harris |