Msgr. Kenneth F. O’Connell: Archdiocesan Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor

Msgr. Kenneth F. O’Connell

Kenneth F. O'Connell
Ordained: 1956
Assignments:
  • 1956-1959: St. Joseph’s, New York, NY (NY)
  • 1959-1970: Sacred Heart, Mt. Vernon, NY (NY)
  • 1970-1981: St. Bernard’s, New York, NY (NY)
  • 1973-1975: National Catholic Committee on Scouting; Archdiocesan Boy Scouts, New York, NY (NY)
  • 1973-1978: Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Organizations, New York NY (NY)
  • 1981-1984: SS. John and Paul, Larchmont, NY (NY)
  • 1984: Died

Msgr. Kenneth O’Connell was ordained a priest in the Archdiocese of New York. In May 2017, a retired Navy Officer alleged publicly that Msgr. O’Connell sexually abused him in 1973 when he was a minor at Camp Spes Mundi Boy Scout Camp in Hope Falls, New York. Msgr. O’Connell, who was Chaplain of the National Catholic Committee on Scouting at the time of the abuse, reportedly left the camp the day after he abused the boy. Msgr. O’Connell is listed in the Archdiocese of New York’s 2019 “List of Archdiocesan Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor or the
Subject of Eligible IRCP Compensation Claims,” under the subsection “[t]he following archdiocesan clergy do not meet the criteria set forth above, but the IRCP’s independent administrators have determined that claims against them were eligible for compensation.”