James Williams, former priest, Chaminade High president, dies at 54
James Williams, in 2007, celebrating Mass at Chaminade High School in Mineola when he served as a priest and school president. Credit: Newsday/Jim Peppler
James Williams, a former Catholic priest who served for 12 years as president of Chaminade High School in Mineola before being defrocked over allegations he sexually abused a student, has died.
Williams, 54, who had denied the allegations, died on Dec. 12, according to a posting on the website Dignitymemorial.com. His former religious order, the Marianists, which did not publicly announce his death in December, confirmed Monday he had died but provided no cause. The student who had made the allegations declined to press criminal charges.
A visitation was held at a funeral home in Queens on Dec. 18, followed by a funeral Mass the next morning at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Queens Village, according to Dignitymemorial.com. The site listed him as “Dr. James C. Williams.”
Williams resigned as Chaminade’s president in 2011 — the same year the student was allegedly abused at the prestigious all-boys high school.
The Marianists announced in May 2016 that they were suspending Williams from functioning as a priest after the allegations were found to be “credible.”
He “completely denied” the allegations, the Marianists said in a statement in 2016, but a “vigorous, thorough and comprehensive investigation” conducted by the order “deemed them to be credible.”
“Father James’ clerical faculties have been suspended and he is not permitted to publicly function as a priest,” the Marianists stated at the time.
The allegations were forwarded for a final resolution to the Vatican, which also found them credible, the Marianists said Monday. That led to the defrocking of Williams, meaning his ability to function as a priest was permanently removed. He could no longer celebrate Mass, hear confession or administer sacraments. The Marianists also had previously contacted the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the Diocese of Rockville Centre about the student's allegations.
On Monday, officials with the Marianists did not say when Williams was defrocked.
The student chose not to pursue criminal charges, said Brendan Brosh, a spokesman for the district attorney, in 2016. In addition, the two-year statute of limitations for misdemeanor sexual abuse had expired in 2013, he said.
A graduate of Chaminade, Williams joined the high school's faculty as a math teacher in 1991. He was named president in 1999, and announced in August 2011 he was resigning, though he taught at the school until 2012.
Later that year, it appears he left for Rome to do doctoral research at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
A Manhattan-based residential cleaning company said Monday that Williams had been working with them as operations manager for about three years, up until last October when he was laid off due to insufficient revenue.
A personal finance consulting company also in Manhattan said Monday he had worked for them at one time as well.
Some co-workers said he was an avid runner and hiker, and was active in a Manhattan-based group, Shorewalkers, that organizes treks.
The group said he joined in 2017, became a hike leader and board member in 2021, and was recently elected vice president.
James Williams, a former Catholic priest who served for 12 years as president of Chaminade High School in Mineola before being defrocked over allegations he sexually abused a student, has died.
Williams, 54, who had denied the allegations, died on Dec. 12, according to a posting on the website Dignitymemorial.com. His former religious order, the Marianists, which did not publicly announce his death in December, confirmed Monday he had died but provided no cause. The student who had made the allegations declined to press criminal charges.
A visitation was held at a funeral home in Queens on Dec. 18, followed by a funeral Mass the next morning at Our Lady of Lourdes Roman Catholic Church in Queens Village, according to Dignitymemorial.com. The site listed him as “Dr. James C. Williams.”
Williams resigned as Chaminade’s president in 2011 — the same year the student was allegedly abused at the prestigious all-boys high school.
The Marianists announced in May 2016 that they were suspending Williams from functioning as a priest after the allegations were found to be “credible.”
He “completely denied” the allegations, the Marianists said in a statement in 2016, but a “vigorous, thorough and comprehensive investigation” conducted by the order “deemed them to be credible.”
“Father James’ clerical faculties have been suspended and he is not permitted to publicly function as a priest,” the Marianists stated at the time.
The allegations were forwarded for a final resolution to the Vatican, which also found them credible, the Marianists said Monday. That led to the defrocking of Williams, meaning his ability to function as a priest was permanently removed. He could no longer celebrate Mass, hear confession or administer sacraments. The Marianists also had previously contacted the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office and the Diocese of Rockville Centre about the student's allegations.
On Monday, officials with the Marianists did not say when Williams was defrocked.
The student chose not to pursue criminal charges, said Brendan Brosh, a spokesman for the district attorney, in 2016. In addition, the two-year statute of limitations for misdemeanor sexual abuse had expired in 2013, he said.
A graduate of Chaminade, Williams joined the high school's faculty as a math teacher in 1991. He was named president in 1999, and announced in August 2011 he was resigning, though he taught at the school until 2012.
Later that year, it appears he left for Rome to do doctoral research at the University of St. Thomas Aquinas.
A Manhattan-based residential cleaning company said Monday that Williams had been working with them as operations manager for about three years, up until last October when he was laid off due to insufficient revenue.
A personal finance consulting company also in Manhattan said Monday he had worked for them at one time as well.
Some co-workers said he was an avid runner and hiker, and was active in a Manhattan-based group, Shorewalkers, that organizes treks.
The group said he joined in 2017, became a hike leader and board member in 2021, and was recently elected vice president.
