1994: Nancy Dunn of North Adams, 34, a parishioner at Notre Dame du Sacre-Coeur parish, meets the Rev. Warren Savage, who had been assigned to oversee a merger of local parishes. Dunn says she enters into spiritual counseling with Savage. In at least three sessions, that counseling includes discussion of her struggle with the belief that she was a lesbian.
November 1995: Dunn and Savage begin a sexual relationship that lasts until September 1996 with more than two dozen sexual encounters.
Nov. 6, 1996: A psychotherapist in Amherst, Carla Brennan, calls the Springfield diocese to report that Dunn, a client, is alleging misconduct by one of its priests. That report finds its way to the Commission to Investigate Improper Conduct of Diocesan Personnel, as the panel was then known.
June 16, 1997: The diocesan commission meets with Dunn and Brennan in Springfield. It hears Dunn recount the history of her relationship with Savage and is provided with an 11-page written statement.
July 7, 1997: The commission meets with Savage. “At the meeting, Father Savage admitted to the truth of the allegation, including sexual intercourse,” according to a summary of diocesan records later provided to Dunn by Jeffrey Trant, director of the Office of Safe Environment & Victim Assistance.
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July 8, 1997: In a letter to the Most Rev. Thomas Dupre, the commission writes that Savage admitted to having a sexual relationship with Dunn. “Members believe that the allegations of sexual exploitation are also true.” The commission recommends Savage “be removed from his priestly duties and parish work immediately” and that he be evaluated as an inpatient. In its report to Dupre, the commission wrote that in its view, “Father Savage not be allowed to call his removal from the Parish a Sabbatical, to which he believes [he] is entitled due to his heavy workload.”
September 1997: Savage is removed from his post as pastor of the North Adams parishes.
October 1997: Savage is admitted for evaluation at the Saint Luke Institute in Silver Springs, Maryland, as an inpatient. He stays for a week and is referred to outpatient mental health counseling, according to the diocese. He is hospitalized in Springfield and Boston from December 1997 to March 1998 with acute pancreatitis.
March 1998: When released from hospital care, Savage moves into the rectory at St. Peter’s in Westfield and is allowed to return to “pastoral ministry” at both St. Peter’s and St. Casimir’s parishes, celebrating two daily Masses and two weekend Masses. He continued to teach in a program at Elms College in Chicopee that prepared adult men to be ordained as permanent deacons.
1999: Savage begins weekly therapy sessions, according to a 2023 summary prepared for Dunn by the diocese.
March 18, 2002: Bishop Dupre writes a memo that misrepresents Dunn’s view on whether Savage should be allowed to act as a priest. “The victim, who up until now has refused to allow Father Savage to return to formal ministry, has now indicated her willingness to allow him to do so provided that he stays out of the North Adams area.” Dunn says she gave no such permission.
June 2002: Savage undergoes a psychosexual evaluation by Carol J. Ball, founder of New England Forensic Associations and an expert in the “treatment and comprehensive management of sexual compulsive disorders.” After four sessions with Savage, Ball reports to the diocese that Savage can return to the ministry. “Boundary issues are intact at this time,” she wrote. Before receiving Ball’s report, Dupre allows Savage to return to the ministry.
2004: Hampden County District Attorney William Bennett subpoenas records related to allegations of sexual abuse involving diocesan staff. Materials provided by the diocese include records about Savage.
Sept. 27, 2004: Dupre, who had recently retired as bishop, is indicted by a Hampden County grand jury on charges that he sexually assaulted two altar boys, ages 12 and 13, in the 1970s. Bennett says Dupre will not be tried because the statute of limitations had expired. Dupre was the first Roman Catholic bishop to face indictment amid sexual abuse accusations against priests nationally.
May 26, 2005: The Most Rev. Timothy A. McDonnell writes to Dunn to tell her the diocese believes her case was handled properly “for a situation involving two consenting adults … it was very much different from a situation with an adult and a child, as I know you understand.”
2020: Dunn renews contact with the diocese, bringing questions about Savage’s status within the church and asking why he is not listed as having been credibly accused of misconduct. She renews a request that she be compensated for lost work time in the year after the priest’s misconduct in the 1990s.
Aug. 20, 2020: Dunn meets with Trant to share her concerns about the lack of accountability and transparency over the years and how her case was handled.
July 7, 2021: Dunn meets with Trant, the Most Rev. William Byrne and Nancy Knudsen, seeking moral and ethical accountability of Father Savage.
July 2021: Dunn inquired as to why the recommendations from the review board were never implemented by Bishop Dupree. Dunn asks for the recommendation’s from 1997 to be met. This included a financial settlement for a year of lost work.
Sept. 6, 2021: Dunn meets with Monsignor Richard Sneiczyk. She is told her case was not handled properly and the recommendations were the responsibility of the bishop.
Oct. 28, 2021: Dunn meets with Trant, Bishop Byrne, survivor advocate Olan Horne, and Knudsen to again seek moral and ethical accountability of Father Savage. Dunn is told that an investigation will be opened and promised she will get the full results.
November 2021: Dunn meets with investigators assigned by the diocese to review her case.
May 2022: Dunn signs a settlement agreement with the diocese that pays her a sum in the six figures to compensate her for lost work time and other factors in her recovery.
Dec. 14, 2022: Dunn appears for a second time before the diocesean review board (the first time since 1997) to express frustration with how her case was handled. She wants the board to bring recommendations to the bishop.
Dec. 15, 2022: Dunn meets with Savage in the Northampton office of her therapist, Knudsen.
Jan. 30, 2023: Dunn appears again before the review board.
April 19, 2023: Michael Collins, who replaced Trant as director of victim assistance, meets with Dunn and her therapist in Northampton. Collins tells Dunn that because a settlement agreement was signed, there will be no recommendations made, according to Dunn. He also informs her she will not receive a copy of the diocesan investigation into her renewed allegations against Savage, which she says she was promised.
April 21, 2023: Bishop Byrne writes to Dunn to say the diocese will take no further action on her case and he declines her request to meet with him, referring her instead to Collins. “I know this is going to be very difficult for you to hear, however, since there were no new recommendations from the Review Board, I find this matter concluded.”
Aug. 15, 2023: In an email to Dunn, Collins confirms that her case was found to be “credible” in past review board meetings.
August 2023: Dunn speaks with the chairperson of the review board and is told that if the panel had known she signed a settlement agreement, her case would not have been heard.
Sept. 13, 2023: Ali Salehi, chair of the Westfield State University trustees, tells Dunn, in response to her inquiry, that Savage is not employed by the university. (He works at the university’s interfaith center as an employee of the university’s foundation.)
Sept. 27, 2023: Harry E. Dumay, president of Elms College, writes to tell Dunn, in response to her inquiry, that Savage “voluntarily separated” from teaching at the college several years ago.
Nov. 8, 2023: Three officials with Westfield State University email Dunn to acknowledge receiving a series of emails from her about Savage. “The University does not intend to respond to your communications, and this is the last communication from the University that you will receive in response to your emails.” It was signed by Salehi, the trustees chair; Linda Thompson, the university president; and Melissa Alvarado, vice chair of the trustees.
