Fr. Thomas J. O’Rourke
Ordained: 1963
Assignments:
- 1964-1969: Corpus Christi, Woodside, Queens, NY (BRK)
- 1970-1976: American Martyrs, Bayside, Queens, NY (BRK)
- 1977-1981: Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston, NY (BRK)
- 1982: Mary Louis Academy, Queens, NY (BRK)
- 1983-1987: Unknown
- 1988: Cathedral College of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston, NY (BRK)
- 1989-1990: Unknown
- 1991: Cathedral Residence of the Immaculate Conception, Douglaston, NY (BRK)
- 1992-1998: St. Mary Star of the Sea, Brooklyn, NY (BRK
- 1998: Died
Fr. Thomas O’Rourke was ordained a priest in the Diocese of Brooklyn. In 2002, Fr. O’Rourke was named in a civil lawsuit with eleven other priests and a religious brother, alleging Fr. O’Rourke repeatedly sexually abused a minor boy at Corpus Christi in Woodside, New York, in the 1960s. In 2003, a second civil lawsuit was filed alleging Fr. O’Rourke sexually abused a minor boy at a hotel in Chevy Chase, Maryland, while on a trip to the Naval Academy. A third survivor alleged he was sexually abused by Fr. O’Rourke as a minor in the 1960s. Fr. O’Rourke purportedly underwent evaluation at St. Luke Institute, an institution known for treating priests accused of child sexual abuse, in the 1990s. Fr. O’Rourke reportedly admitted to abusing at least one minor boy but was recommended to return to ministry. Fr. O’Rourke is named on the Diocese of Brooklyn’s 2019 “List of Diocesan Clergy for Whom the Diocese Received Allegations of Sexual Misconduct with a Minor,” in the subsection “Clergy Members of the Diocese of Brooklyn with Credible Allegations: Credibility Deemed by Diocesan Review Board Determination and/or Admission on Behalf of the Cleric.”