Media Release – September 25, 2016

Road to Recovery
September 25, 2016

http://www.bishop-accountability.org/AbuseTracker/road-to-recovery.org

Monsignor John J. O’Keefe, suspended Pastor of St. Margaret of Antioch Parish in Pearl River, New York, former Principal of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York, former teacher and guidance counselor at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, New York, and former parish priest of Christ the King Parish in the Bronx, New York, has been removed permanently from serving as a priest by Cardinal Timothy Dolan because of credible childhood sexual abuse claims

One childhood sexual abuse victim of Monsignor John J. O’Keefe was sexually abused in two locations on separate occasions:

1) In a hotel room in Virginia during a Cardinal Hayes High School trip to Washington, DC, to visit with a Hispanic Congressman and tour the nation’s Capital, in the 1980s; and,

2) At the Irish Christian Brothers’ novitiate retreat house, Santa Maria, in Esopus (West Park), New York, during a “Cardinal’s Leadership Program” training weekend for Hispanic youth when he was a student at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx, New York, in the 1980s

Why has Cardinal Timothy Dolan NOT announced that Monsignor John J. O’Keefe has been removed permanently from ministry as a priest of the Archdiocese of New York, and why has Cardinal Dolan not announced that the sexual abuse case against Monsignor John J. O’Keefe has or has not been sent to the Vatican for Monsignor O’Keefe’s removal from the priesthood?

What

A press conference announcing the permanent removal from priestly ministry of Monsignor John J. O’Keefe, a well-known priest of the Archdiocese of New York, who has spent decades in ministry to children in schools and parishes, and as Director of the “Cardinal’s Leadership Program” for Hispanic youth

When

Monday, September 26, 2016 at Noon

Where

On the public sidewalk in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Fifth Avenue and East 50th Street, Manhattan

Who

Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D., Co-founder and President of Road to Recovery, Inc., a non-profit charity based in New Jersey that assists victims of sexual abuse and their families

Why

“John Doe” met then Father John J. O’Keefe at Christ the King Parish in the Bronx in approximately 1975 when he was a minor child and a parishioner of Christ the King Parish. He did simple jobs in the rectory and was an altar boy. Father John J. O’Keefe then became a teacher and guidance counselor at a nearby Bronx high school, Cardinal Hayes High School, where “John Doe” attended high school. When “John Doe” was approximately 15-17 years old and a student at Cardinal Hayes High School, he was sexually abused by Father John J. O’Keefe during two school-sponsored events. “John Doe” was invited to accompany Monsignor John J. O’Keefe and a group of Cardinal Hayes High School students on a school trip to the Washington, DC area, where Monsignor John J. O’Keefe sexually abused “John Doe” in a hotel room in Virginia. Sometime later, as Director of the “Cardinal’s Leadership Program” for Hispanic youth, Father John J. O’Keefe, who was rewarded with the title “Monsignor” by the Cardinal Archbishop of New York, sexually abused “John Doe” during a leadership training weekend at the novitiate retreat house of the Irish Christian Brothers, Santa Maria, in Ulster County, New York. “John Doe” suffered significant damages as a result of the sexual abuse by Monsignor John J. O’Keefe, including dropping out of Fordham University, because of the effects of the sexual abuse.

It will be demanded on behalf of “John Doe” and the other childhood sexual abuse victims of Monsignor John J. O’Keefe that Cardinal Timothy Dolan:

1) Investigate the “Cardinal’s Leadership Program” for Hispanic youth, reach out to those Hispanic young men who were part of that program and may have been sexually abused, and provide the necessary resources to help those men heal;

2) Announce publicly that Monsignor John J. O’Keefe has been removed from priestly ministry permanently and that he will be monitored on a full-time basis; and,

3) Confirm that the Vatican has received the sexual abuse file of Monsignor John J. O’Keefe so he may be removed from the priesthood.

“The secrecy of the Archdiocese of New York surrounding the sexual abuse of an innocent child by Monsignor John J. O’Keefe is another example of why statute of limitations laws must be changed to help sexual abuse victims heal and to protect innocent children.” – Attorney Mitchell Garabedian

Contacts

Robert M. Hoatson, Ph.D. - Road to Recovery, Inc., 862-368-2800 – roberthoatson@gmail.com

Attorney Mitchell Garabedian – Boston, MA – 617-523-6250