Diocesan Disclosure List​

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston (ADGH) released its Clergy Disclosure list on January 31, 2019. And, in an update to their website on June 18, 2021, Rev. John Patrick Barry, CSB was added to the list of 'credibly accused of sexual abuse of a minor.'

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Rev. Barry was a member of the Congregation of St. Basil (CSB), a Canadian order of priests known as The Basilian Fathers that have been in Houston since 1900 when they founded St. Thomas High School.

The updated disclosure list included another Basilian priest, William “Herb” Schreiner, C.S.B., bringing the total Basilians on the ADGH list to four.

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Although the Archdiocese included Rev. John Patrick Barry, CSB on the list, the information is lacking critical information. His assignments are listed, but there are no dates.

There is no information on when and where the abuse occurred, or when the Archdiocese received the complaint. The information provided by the ADGH includes the names of the parishes to which he was assigned, his year of his birth, year of ordination, and year of death.

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In the book, "Dictionary of Basilian Biography" published in 2005, editor Rev. P. Wally Platt, CSB described Rev. Barry's assignment history and included some telling statements from which we can infer meaning. 

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Fr. Barry had more than 11 assignments crisscrossing the United States and into Canada, sometimes staying less than a year and leaving schools mid-semester. His obituary also described his "treatment" for ill health - could be that 'treatment' was a euphemism often employed by the Church to account for his time getting psychological help. 

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Fr. Barry was assigned three different times in Houston at St. Anne's Catholic Church and St. Thomas High School. It is fair to assume his accusation in Houston stem from minors at St. Thomas High School. He ended up in New Mexico and Yuma, Arizona, far away from any Basilian school or Church - which is a red flag. 

The last paragraph of his obituary says, "Though he lived away from the community for his last eighteen years, his attachment to the Basilians remained strong." This could mean that he was stripped of his faculties and removed from the Basilian Order. It is an odd thing to say about what the Basilians refer to as their confreres (brother). 

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