Photo Courtesy of Google
O’Connor most recently served as pastor of St. Gregory the Great in Bellerose.
By Forum Staff
A borough pastor has been removed from ministry following an investigation into a March 2000 claim of inappropriate internet communications with teenagers, the Rev. Robert Brennan, Bishop of Brooklyn, announced Monday.
The decision to remove Fr. John O’Connor, 54, pastor of St. Gregory the Great in Bellerose, was made based on the recommendation of the independent Diocesan Review Board. The DRB had been investigating the claims made in a Child Victims Act lawsuit filed against O’Connor on Aug. 13, 2020. This investigation turned up new evidence concerning a March 2000 accusation detailing inappropriate internet communications with teenagers while assigned at St. Athanasius. As a result of this information, the Diocesan Review Board found sufficient information to substantiate allegations of sexual misconduct with minors via the internet and recommended Fr. John O’Connor’s removal from ministry.
Photo Courtesy of the Diocese of Brooklyn
Father John O’Connor
After that accusation in 2000, the Diocese of Brooklyn placed John O’Connor on leave to enable him to receive treatment from May 2000 to August 2001. He returned to ministry in the Diocese of Brooklyn in August of 2001 and continued treatment through 2005.
The removal from ministry means that he is no longer permitted to celebrate Mass publicly, cannot exercise any public ministerial duties, and cannot live in an ecclesiastical residence. His name will also be added to the List of Credibly Accused Priests on the Diocese of Brooklyn website.
Father O’Connor was ordained on June 23, 1993, and completed post-graduate studies in Rome. He then served at the following parishes: Our Lady of Mount Carmel (Brooklyn), St. Athanasius (Brooklyn), and St. Clare’s in Rosedale. He also served as Pastor at Incarnation and most recently at St. Gregory the Great. In 2014, O’Connor was named the director of the Liturgy Office for the Diocese of Brooklyn.
