NYC Catholic Bishop Accused Of Sex Abuse, Leaves Parish

NEW YORK — A Catholic bishop has been accused of sexually abusing a minor decades ago and has left his longtime church in The Bronx, the archbishop of New York said Wednesday. Bishop John Jenik told parishoners at the Church of Our Lady of Refuge in a letter that he would step aside from public ministry given that the Archdiocese of New York had substantiated the allegation.

First ordained a priest in 1970, Jenik had served at Our Lady of Refuge since 1978 and had been its pastor since 1985, according to his archiocese biography. He has also served as an auxiliary bishop of the archdiocese and the vicar for the northwest Bronx.

The archdiocese learned of Jenik's alleged misconduct through its Independent Reconciliaton and Compensation Program, which was established in 2016 to aid survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, according to a separate letter from the archbishop, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

"This is the first time any such allegation about him was ever made," Dolan wrote to the church's parishoners. "Although the alleged incidents occurred decades ago, the Lay Review Board has concluded that the evidence is sufficient to find the allegation credible and substantiated."

Jenik said he denies the allegation and plans to ask the Vatican to review his case. But he may not function publicly as a bishop or priest while that review is underway, according to Dolan's letter.

Jenik also serves as president of Fordham Bedford Community Services, a nonprofit group based in the former Our Lady of Refuge convent. The group's executive director, John Garcia, told the Wall Street Journal that the allegation left a room of church parishioners and leaders in "utter disbelief" Tuesday morning. He reportedly said parishoners were in support of Jenik.

"I don’t want to take anything away from a victim, or any victim, but this is just an unfortunate situation," Garcia, himself a lifelong parishoner, told the paper. "We have 1,000% faith in our bishop."

News of the accusation against Jenik comes amid an investigation by the state attorney general's office into whether the Catholic Church covered up allegations of sexual abuse in New York. The office reportedly issued subpoenas to the state's eight dioceses, including the Archdiocese of New York, as part of the probe.

(Lead image: Bishop John Jenik, center, seen in 2010, has been accused of sexual abuse and left his longtime church in The Bronx, the archbishop of New York said. Photo by David Goldman/AP Images for Office of National Drug Control Policy)