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	Victim Advocate, Diocese Split Counselor Claims Firing over Non-Church Wedding By Michael Clancy The Arizona Republic [Phoenix AZ] January 11, 2005 One of the nation's leading advocates for the victims of clergy abuse says she was fired Saturday when officials in the Diocese of Phoenix learned that she had been married outside the church. Jenny O'Connor, who has led the diocese's Office of Child and Youth Protection since its founding in April 2003, was the key person in charge of working with victims of abuse by Catholic priests and preventing further abuse. She has been praised for her work by the executive director of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' youth protection office and by several of the diocese's abuse victims. Diocesan officials, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters, declined to answer any questions about O'Connor's departure. They were not available late Monday to explain their position on marriage. The office will be filled by current staff until a replacement can be found. O'Connor, in an interview late Monday afternoon, said she was let go for getting married in a civil ceremony that the Catholic Church does not recognize as legitimate. Catholic teaching specifies that marriages involving Catholics must be performed in the church. O'Connor said her husband is dying of cancer, so their wedding had to take place more quickly than a church wedding could be arranged. It took place during the Christmas break. "I made a choice to protect the people I love," O'Connor said. Annulment suggested "They said that has consequences. Even though I offered to have the marriage annulled, they said I was no longer a Catholic of good standing." Mark Kennedy, one of the local leaders of SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, said O'Connor has helped change the emotional tide for abuse victims from anger to trust. The diocese's newspaper, Catholic Sun, said last week that she was "instrumental in bridging the divide" between abuse victims and the diocese. The relationship, the paper said, was unique among dioceses in the United States. O'Connor, a certified counselor with a degree in social work, has been meeting with leaders of SNAP for six months developing ways to reach out to abuse victims. Paul Pfaffenberger, another local SNAP leader, said O'Connor "has been great for us." 'Strange time' "It seems like a strange time to be changing leadership," he said. O'Connor was appointed to the position about 10 months after American bishops passed a Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, which called on bishops to appoint such individuals. She was introduced to the public two months after her appointment as part of interviews that took place after an agreement that now-retired Bishop Thomas J. O'Brien signed with then-Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley. Her departure comes a week after the diocese announced that it had passed the annual audit of compliance with the charter with high praise. The diocese spent "an enormous amount of time, energy and dedication to addressing the problems that existed" at the time of O'Connor's appointment, said Kathleen McChesney, executive director of the bishops' Office of Child and Youth Protection. Lauded for work McChesney singled out O'Connor "for collaborating with other victim advocates to implement 'best practices.' " In the job, O'Connor coordinated not only relationships with abuse victims but also the development of training programs, employment screening and reporting of allegations, which are the full range of steps the diocese has taken to reduce and eliminate the abuse of children and teens by priests and other employees of the diocese. The Rev. Fred Adamson, vicar general of the diocese, said that in spite of O'Connor's departure "the office itself is something we value." He added, "It is an essential ministry of the church." The office will be staffed by volunteer Sara Jakubisin with assistance from Adamson and Sister Jean Steffes, chancellor of the diocese, while a search is conducted for a replacement
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