Anthony O'Connell
|
Most Reverend Anthony Joseph O'Connell |
|
|---|---|
| Bishop Emeritus of Palm Beach | |
| Diocese | Palm Beach |
| Installed | January 14, 1999 |
| Term ended | March 13, 2002 |
| Predecessor | Joseph Keith Symons |
| Successor | Seán Patrick O'Malley |
| Other posts | Bishop of Knoxville |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | March 30, 1963 (Priest) |
| Consecration | September 8, 1988 (Bishop) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 10, 1938 Lisheen, County Clare, Ireland |
| Died | May 4, 2012 Mepkin Abbey, Moncks Corner, South Carolina, United States |
| Denomination | Roman Catholicism |
Anthony J. O'Connell (May 10, 1938 – May 4, 2012) was a confessed child molestor who served as a Roman Catholic cleric, and the first Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee. He later served as the third Bishop of Palm Beach, Florida.
O'Connell was born in Lisheen, County Clare, Ireland and studied at Mount St Joseph College in Cork and at Mungret College in Limerick. He emigrated to the U.S. at age 20 and entered Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.
On March 30, 1963, he was ordained a priest of the Diocese of Jefferson City, Missouri. Following his ordination, he was assigned as Director of Students at St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary in Hannibal, Missouri. He was named Spiritual Director in 1968 and was appointed Rector in 1970.
He served as Director of Vocations for the Diocese of Jefferson City from 1969 to 1988, during which time he molested a number of minor boys. He was a member of the Diocesan Commission for Personnel and President of the Priests' Senate. He was serving as Rector of St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary when he was appointed first Bishop of the newly created Diocese of Knoxville on June 7, 1988, despite knowledge by Diocesan officials that he had molested minor boys at the Seminary.
On September 8, 1988, O'Connell was consecrated and installed as the first bishop of Knoxville. Archbishop Pio Laghi served as Principal Consecrator with Bishop James Daniel Niedergeses and Bishop Michael Francis McAuliffe serving as principal co-consecrators. On November 12, 1998, he was appointed the third Bishop of Palm Beach, replacing J. Keith Symons, who resigned after being exposed as a child molestor.
...
Wikipedia