What's the holdup?
The nightmareish story of Fr. Thomas Kocik, a priest of the Diocese of Fall River (Massachusetts), ordained in 1997, sadly continues. TheMediaReport.com first reported on this a year ago here, about another wrongfully accused priest struggling against the labyrinth of Church bureaucracy to clear his good name.
The backstory
At the end of 2021, Kocik was suddenly placed on administrative leave due to concerns that had been raised about "inappropriate behavior with minors." He immediately asked to know what he was accused of, who accused him, and when and where the alleged event(s) purportedly occurred. He was told vaguely that his questions would be answered in "due time." Kocik categorically denied any wrongdoing with minors or with anyone else.
Then, almost three years later, in October 2024, Bishop Edgar da Cunha placed Kocik on a list of "credibly accused" priests, jeopardizing Fr. Kocik's entire priesthood. But the diocese's announcement of the news gave almost no indication why he was placed on the list. Law enforcement has never charged Fr. Kocik with any sort of crime, nor has Kocik been the subject of any civil lawsuit. No accuser has ever come forward publicly, either anonymously or named.
TheMediaReport.com learned that the allegation against Kocik does not even involve sexual contact of any kind, attempted sexual contact, or even indecent exposure. Rather, the accusation involves allegedly exposing a minor to pornography a quarter century ago in the late 1990s, without any more details. But what exactly does that mean? Whom did he expose to pornography, when exactly did he do so, and what were the precise circumstances? The Church doesn't say. Without these details, it is impossible to defend against a gauzy but nevertheless career-ending accusation such as the one the diocese made against him.
Bishop abandonment
Bishop Edgar da Cunha : Diocese of Fall River
The diocese also cryptically stated that the "determination of credibility does not mean that Father Kocik has been found guilty in a court of law [but only that] it is a reflection that the allegation itself is credible or believable." Again: What does that mean exactly? So the diocese has stolen Fr. Kocik's entire livelihood from him based on a 25-year-old accusation that has been determined to be merely "believable"? In what other world would such an egregiously unfair and one-sided system of justice be permitted to rob the accused of all of their rights to due process and justice?
In addition, the bishop sent an email to fellow priests about Fr. Kocik and oddly said he was "saddened by the outcome of the case," as if Fr. Kocik has been tried and found guilty, when, in fact, that is not the case at all.
Good news: The Vatican weighs in
But there is good news. The Vatican Dicastery for the Clergy, in a decree dated March 3, 2025, (Prot. N. 2024 4337), determined that the severe restrictions imposed on Fr. Kocik's ministry are unjust and illegitimate under Church law. The decree explicitly revokes those restrictions, upholding Fr. Kocik's right to say Mass publicly, present himself as a priest in good standing, and otherwise exercise his Sacred Orders publicly.
In addition, the decree orders Bishop da Cunha to reimburse Fr. Kocik the expenses occurred in his canonical defense and, in view of the harm done to Father's good name, to publish the following statement:
"According to natural law and reaffirmed by canon law (can. 1321, §1), the Reverend Thomas M. Kocik is considered innocent until the contrary is proved in a penal process. The Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, the only competent body to judge the accusations, declared on 12 April 2024 that the alleged delict [crime] is prescribed, and therefore the possibility of criminal action is extinct."
Yet … It is now October 2025, and Bishop Da Cunha has still to act on those directives! This past June, the diocese's chief general counsel notified Fr. Kocik's canon lawyer that Da Cunha was planning on appealing the decree to the Apostolic Signatura, the Catholic Church's highest court for such matters. It is not yet clear, however, whether the appeal was actually filed.
And as if to add salt to Fr. Kocik's wounds, Da Cunha quite recently refused to provide a "letter of good standing" that would have enabled him (according to current protocol) to celebrate the Funeral Mass of his aunt, which took place in another diocese. (Clergy are required to show proof of good standing from their bishop or religious superior if they intend to perform public ministry outside their diocese.)
A need for change
In the story of Fr. Kocik, one cannot blame a publicity-seeking district attorney bringing criminal charges against a 90-year-old priest arising from claims from 60 years ago in order to get a career promotion. And nor can you blame a money-hungry contingency lawyer or left-wing hate group like SNAP looking to score big money on a spurious civil claim brought by a mentally challenged client.
Rather, the problem here is the Church's own broken system of justice in which the rights of the accused are wholly ignored and their careers stolen from them based on nothing other than an accusation being found to be merely "believable," no matter from how long ago. This entire notion of canonical "justice" has to change and change soon if the Church is going to be fair, as it must, to the many good men that have given themselves to Her and to Christ.
In Fr. Kocik's case, the Vatican rightly acknowledged that Father was denied due process. Permanent restrictions on a priest's ministry are legitimate only after a penal process has determined guilt, which is clearly not the case here. The question remains whether or not Bishop da Cunha can get away with thumbing his nose at Rome.
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Want to learn about the rampancy of false accusations against priests?:
- "The Great Shakedown Keeps A-Rollin': Phony Claims Continue at Epic Pace, Here Are The Facts" (January 2024)
- The Greatest Fraud Never Told: False Accusations, Phony Grand Jury Reports, and the Assault on the Catholic Church (Amazon.com)
