Thomas Ludger Dupré (November 10, 1933 – December 30, 2016) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1995 to 2004. He previously served as an

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of the same diocese from 1990 to 1995. In 2004, Dupré was indicted (but not prosecuted) on two counts of

child molestation Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...

. He was the first American Catholic bishop to be indicted in the church sexual abuse scandal of the 20th century.

Biography

Early life

Dupré was born on November 10, 1933, in South Hadley,

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. As a boy, he attended the Collège de Montréal, a minor seminary in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, from 1951 to 1952. Returning to Massachusetts, he briefly attended Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts before returning to Montreal in 1955 to study

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at the Grand Seminary of Montreal.

Priesthood

Dupré was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood for the Diocese of Springfield by Bishop Christopher Weldon in Springfield on May 23, 1959. After his ordination, Dupré served as an assistant pastor at St. George's Parish in

Chicopee, Massachusetts Chicopee ( ) is a city located on the Connecticut River in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 55,560, making it the second-largest city in western Massachuset ...

until 1964. He was then sent to study at

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

in Washington, D.C. Returning to Springfield in 1966, Dupré had the following parish assignments in the diocese: * St. Joseph's in Springfield * St. John the Baptist in

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

(1970–1973) * Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Chicopee (1973–1977) * St. Louis de France in West Springfield (1978–1990) Dupré was named

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the diocese in 1977 and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

in 1989.

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts

On April 7, 1990, Dupré was appointed

of the Diocese of Springfield and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Hodelm'' by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. He received his episcopal consecration on May 31, 1990, from Bishop Joseph Maguire, with Bishops

Timothy Harrington Timothy Charles Harrington (1851 – 12 March 1910) was an Irish journalist, barrister, Irish nationalism, nationalist politician and Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom ...

and Leo O'Neil serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. Dupré was named by John Paul II to succeed Bishop

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American statesman, jurist, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth chief justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remai ...

as the seventh bishop of Springfield on March 14, 1995. He was installed at St. Michael's Cathedral on May 8, 1995. On February 10, 2004, '' The Springfield Republican'' published what it called credible accusations against of

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

of minors. The accusers were two men who served as altar boys with Dupré during the 1970s. They said that he gave them alcohol, showed them pornography and sexually assaulted them on several occasions. Dupré was also accused by local clergy of covering up abuse charges against several other priests, including Richard R. Lavigne.

Retirement and legacy

Dupré's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Springfield for health reasons was accepted on February 11, 2004, by Pope John Paul II. Dupré resigned at age 71, four years before the normal retirement age allowed for a bishop. On September 24, 2004, Dupré was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offense is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use that concept often use that of an indi ...

by a Hampden County grand jury on two counts of child molestation. He thus became the first American Catholic bishop to be indicted during the sexual abuse scandal of the late 20th century. However, the Springfield

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

's office was forced to drop the charges because the

statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...

had run out. Dupré then entered St. Luke Institute, a private Catholic psychiatric hospital in Silver Spring,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. In June 2010, a judge released a transcript and videotape of Dupré's deposition for a civil lawsuit. At the start of the deposition, Dupré states his name and date of birth. After that, he pleads the Fifth Amendment, a constitutional protection against

self-incrimination In criminal law, self-incrimination is the act of making a statement that exposes oneself to an accusation of criminal liability or prosecution. Self-incrimination can occur either directly or indirectly: directly, by means of interrogation where ...

, to each question over the next three hours. Dupré eventually moved to the residence for retired priests in the

Archdiocese of Washington In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

in Washington, D.C., leading a life of "prayer and penance." Dupré died in Silver Spring, Maryland, on December 30, 2016. His funeral in Springfield was private.

Viewpoints

During the 2000 U.S. presidential election, Dupré declared that it was the "obligation and responsibility" of Catholics:

"to vote for the candidate who will promote what is good and oppose what is evil, who will promote the
culture of life A culture of life describes a way of life based on the belief that human life begins at conception, and is sacred at all stages from conception through natural death. It opposes abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment (also known as the deat ...
and oppose the culture of death, who will promote the well-being of society and oppose its moral disintegration."

During his tenure, Dupré publicly expressed his opposition to

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

and

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

References

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dupre, Thomas Ludger 1933 births 2016 deaths People from South Hadley, Massachusetts 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholic University of America alumni Assumption University (Worcester) alumni Roman Catholic bishops of Springfield in Massachusetts 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States