Thomas Ludger Dupré

Thomas Ludger Dupré (November 10, 1933 – December 30, 2016) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Springfield in Massachusetts from 1995 to 2004. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the same diocese from 1990 to 1995.

In 2004, Dupré was indicted (but not prosecuted) on two counts of child molestation. 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. As a boy, he attended the Collège de Montréal, a minor seminary in Montreal, Quebec, from 1951 to 1952. Returning to Massachusetts, he briefly attended Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts before returning to Montreal in 1955 to study theology at the Grand Seminary of Montreal. After his ordination, Dupré served as an assistant pastor at St. George's Parish in Chicopee, Massachusetts until 1964. He was then sent to study at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. Returning to Springfield in 1966, Dupré had the following parish assignments in the diocese:

St. Joseph's in Springfield Dupré was also accused by local clergy of covering up abuse charges against several other priests, including Reverend Richard R. Lavigne. 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's office was forced to drop the charges because the Massachusetts statute of limitations had run out.

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, to each question over the next three hours. Dupré eventually moved to the residence for retired priests in the Archdiocese of Washington in Washington, D.C., leading a life of "prayer and penance."

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 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 and abortion.