BishopAccountability.org
 
 

Assignment Record– Rev. Keith G. Fennessy

Summary of Case: Keith G. Fennessy was ordained for the Archdiocese of New York in 1984. He assisted at parishes in the Bronx and Peekskill/Cortlandt Manor, then served as chaplain for Mount Sinai Medical Center and the Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Center. There appear to be gaps in his assignment history 1987-1988 and 1997-1998. Fennessy went on to lead parishes in Manhattan and Staten Island. He was absent on sick leave 2002-2004 and, again, there is an assignment gap 2010-2011.

In June 2015 Fennessy was placed on leave of absence by the archdiocese due to the discovery of child pornography on his computer. It is unclear as to when the discovery was made. The archdiocesan review board investigated and recommended Fennessy's removal. Law enforcement also investigated and the case was handed over the the District Attorney's offices. Per the archdiocese in April 2016, Fennessy was living in a supervised setting. The archdiocese was at that point undecided as to whether they would appeal to the Vatican for Fennessy's laicization.

Ordained
: 1984


   

Start Stop Assignments Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1984

Archdiocese of New York

Archbishop was John Joseph O'Connor (1984-2000).

1987 St. Gabriel's New York (Bronx) NY 3/4, 3/3

St. Gabriel's had a school with 251-261 students.

1987 1988         Fennessy is not indexed in the 1988 Directory, nor is he listed in the New York pages as at his previous or next assignments.
1988 1992 St. Columbanus Peekskill/Cortlandt Manor NY 2/2 St. Columbanus had a school with 202-218 students.
1992 1993 Mount Sinai Medical Center New York (Manhattan) NY chaplain  
1993 1997 Terence Cardinal Cooke Health Care Center New York NY director of mission development and pastoral services  
1997 1998         Fennessy is not indexed in th e 1998 Directory, nor is he listed in the New York pages as at his previous or next assignments.

1998

O'Connor was succeeded by Edward Michael Egan (2000-2009).

2002 St. Patrick's Old Cathedral New York NY 1/4

St. Patrick's had a school with 581 students.

Fennessy is indexed and listed in the New York pages of the 1999-2001 Directories as "Keith G. Fenness."

2001 2002 Most Holy Crucifix New York NY 1/1  
2002 2004 Absent on Sick Leave        
2004 2005 St. Peter's New York (Staten Island) NY  

2/3 St. Peter's had an elementary school with 310 students, a boys high school with 781 students, and a girls high school with 234 students. It also had a CCD program with 42 students.

The 2003-2005 Directories spell Fennessy's surname "Fennessey."

2005 2006 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta New York (Staten Island) NY 1/1 Administrator Our Lady of Mt. Carmel-St. Benedicta had a CCd program with 92 students.

2006

Timothy Michael Dolan followed Egan as New York archbishop (2009-).

2010 St. Margaret Mary's New York (Staten Island) NY 1/1 St. Margaret Mary's had a school with 160-135 students and a CCD program with 141-124 students.
2010 2011         Fennessy is not indexed in the 2011 Directory, nor is he listed in the New York pages as at his previous or next assignments.
2011 2015 St. Columba

New York (Manhattan)

In June 2015 Fennessy was placed on leave due to the discovery of child pornography on his computer. It is not clear when the discovery was made. The archdiocesan review board and law enforcement investigated and the case was given to the Manhattan and Staten Island District Attorney’s offices.

NY 1/2, 1/3, 1/5 St. Columba had a CCD program with 15-7 students.
2015 2016 Leave of Absence       Per the archdiocese in April 2016, Fennessy was living in a supervised setting and they had not yet decided whether to ask the Vatican to defrock him.

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1985-2016).

Father Fennessy Barred From Priestly Ministry, Catholic New York, March 30, 2016
 Archdiocese: Ex-pastor found with porn hasn't been defrocked, By Maura Grunlund, Staten Island Advance, April 5, 2016
 Cardinal Dolan slammed for 'secrecy' in priest porn case, By Maura Grunlund, Staten Island Advance, April 5, 2016 

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Fennessy's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on March 16, 2017.


 
 

Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.