Catholic Priest

Leonard Abercrombie

Ordained: 1946

Leonard Abercrombie was accused of molesting several children in both California and Colorado.  Abercrombie served in Colorado from 1946 to 1972 until he relocated to California, where he served from 1972 to 1994.  Three Colorado men came forward and accused Abercrombie of molesting them before he moved to California.  According to a letter released by the Los Angeles Archdiocese, in 1993, the church was notified of Abercrombie’s repeated abuse of one boy, beginning when he was 7 years-old and a camper at Camp St. Malo, near Estes Park, Colorado, where Abercrombie was the chaplain.   The letter claims that the Denver diocese of the Roman Catholic Church covered up Abercrombie’s predation of children for years.  Letters detailing Abercrombie’s molestation were widely circulated throughout the church, and were sent to Pope John Paul II in 1993 and again in 2003.  Abercrombie died in 1994 at age 73.

Father Abercrombie's Assignments

PlacementCity/StateDate(s)
St. JosephGolden, CO1946
St. Francis de SalesDenver, CO1946..1950
Air Force Chaplain1950..1953
St. ThereseAurora, CO1953
St. Anthony of PaduaHugo, CO1953..1956
Sacred HeartRoggen, CO1956..1962
St. Francis de SalesBaker City, OR1962..1964
All SaintsDenver, CO1964..1966
St. PeterKremmling, CO1966..1969
St. Anthony Hospital ChaplainDenver, CO1969..1972
Veteran Affairs Research HospitalMission Hills, CA1972..1993
Veteran Administration Medical CenterLos Angeles, CA1974..1994