Fr. Edward Thomas Burke, S.J.
ORDAINED: 1956
Assignments:
- 1956-1957: Alma College, Los Gatos, CA (SFR)
- 1957-1958: Manresa Hall, Port Townsend, WA
- 1958-1966: Brophy College Prep, Phoenix, AZ
- 1966-1967: Loyola High School, Los Angeles, CA
- 1967-1969: Sacred Heart Novitiate, Los Gatos, CA (SFR)
- 1969-1970: Bellarmine College Prep. High School, San Jose, CA (SFR)
- 1970-1977: Brophy College Prep. Phoenix, AZ
- 1977-1978: Loyola High School, Los Angeles, CA
- 1978-2000: Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, CA (SJ)
- 2000-2002: Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA (SJ)
- 2002-2009: Sacred Heart Jesuit Center, Los Gatos, CA (SJ)
- 2009: Died
Fr. Edward Thomas Burke was a Jesuit priest who worked in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, Diocese of San Jose, and Archdiocese of Los Angeles. While working at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center in the late 1990s, Fr. Burke admitted to a superior that he had repeatedly sexually abused a mentally disabled man. Following the admission, Fr. Burke’s superiors elected not to notify authorities, and instead relocated Fr. Burke to Santa Clara University. Two years later, in 2002, the Santa Clara District Attorney’s Office investigated allegations that four Jesuits at Sacred Heart Jesuit Center had subjected mentally impaired men to repeated acts of sodomy, molestation, and false imprisonment. Among the four accused was Fr. Burke. At 80 years old, Fr. Burke was criminally charged, pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to two years in state prison. The criminal charges were followed by a civil lawsuit which the Jesuits settled.