Thomas Kelly

Vocation

American ecclesiastic; the Archbishop of Louisville, six priests in his diocese were accused of sexual abuse in 32 lawsuits filed against the archdiocese. Kelly said that he and his colleagues knew little about pedophilia 30 years ago; allegations of abuse date back to the 60s and 70s when plaintiffs alleged the archdiocese assigned one priest to at least four parishes and a hospital chaplaincy despite knowledge of abuse. Kelly said that the archdiocese has not received any allegations of a priest molesting a child after 1993 when the archdiocese implemented policies on preventing and responding to abuse. Archbishop Kelly entered the Dominican order in 1951 after studying for two years at Providence College, Providence, Rhode Island. He pursued philosophical studies at St. Rose Priory, Springfield, Kentucky, and St. Joseph's Priory, Somerset, Ohio. Kelly was ordained a priest in the Order of Friars Preachers on June 5, 1958 and began his ministry in New York City in 1962 as secretary in the Dominican provincial office of St. Joseph Province. He also worked with the Legion of Decency and the Archdiocese of New York tribunal. He was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, DC on June 12, 1977. Two months later, on August 5, he was ordained Bishop. He was appointed to his present post of Archbishop of Louisville, KY on December 28, 1981 and installed a few months later, on February 18, 1982. Kelly received a Licentiate in Theology degree from the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C., in 1959 and a doctorate in canon law from the University of St. Thomas in Rome in 1962. He also studied at the University of Vienna and at Cambridge University. Link to Wikipedia biography