Sex scandal claims Yonkers pastor

By Gary Stern and Ernie Garcia
Journal News
April 19, 2002

http://www.thejournalnews.com/priests/priest04_041902.html

The Rev. John Lennon, a longtime Yonkers pastor and a well-known figure in the city, was one of six priests recently removed from their assignments by the Archdiocese of New York because of past allegations of sexual abuse, The Journal News has learned.

Lennon, 74, a chaplain to the Yonkers Fire Department and a chaplain to the Green Berets during the Vietnam War, left the church during the past two weeks, said Joseph Zwilling, spokesman for the archdiocese.

Monsignor Edward O'Donnell, who is filling in as a temporary administrator at St. John the Baptist, said the accusation against Lennon dates back to Lennon's days as a teacher and administrator at Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx.

Lennon served at Hayes before being assigned to St. John the Baptist more than a decade ago.

O'Donnell said he would talk to parishioners about Lennon's removal at this weekend's Masses.

O'Donnell said parishioners were not told right away because the archdiocese hoped that the matter would be resolved soon and that Lennon might be able to return.

"We hoped this would be over and done with quickly, based on what we knew of the allegations," O'Donnell said. "It hasn't happened as quickly as we hoped. Once it's turned over to the district attorney, we don't know what their procedures are."

O'Donnell was formerly the head of priest personnel for the archdiocese, in charge of investigating complaints against priests.

A spokesman for Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson declined to comment.

Worshippers leaving St. John the Baptist's noon Mass yesterday were surprised to hear that Lennon had been removed. Parishioner Rosemary Hunt said that she thought Lennon was on vacation.

"I don't know him personally, but he's been decent to me and my family," Hunt said.

Four mothers socializing near the church parochial school's playground were unaware of Lennon's departure and became upset after learning that Lennon was not on vacation, as they believed.

They said they supported Lennon and that they were unaware of any hint of scandal concerning him.

Yonkers Fire Commissioner Peter S. Guyett called Lennon a "wonderful person" and said Lennon called him two weeks ago to say he was leaving for medical reasons.

Anthony Pagano, president of the Yonkers firefighters union, said Lennon called the union last week to say he could not attend an April 13 dinner dance.

"He was always proud to say he was the fire department chaplain, and it showed," Pagano said. "I would never believe that anything like that would be true."

Zwilling would not discuss the specific allegations against Lennon, just as he has not commented on the allegations against the other priests suddenly removed from their assignments during the past two weeks.

The archdiocese also is not saying where the six priests are or whether they might be reassigned after investigations are completed.

Among the other priests pulled from their work were: the Rev. Kenneth Jesselli of Holy Name of Mary Church in Croton-on-Hudson; the Rev. Gennaro Gentile, a former pastor at Holy Name of Mary who had been working at the church's marriage annulment office in Poughkeepsie; and the Rev. John Gallant of St. Joan of Arc in Sloatsburg.

Lennon, who holds a doctorate, spent much of the 1970s and early 1980s working as a religion and English teacher and moderator of athletics at Cardinal Hayes High School, where he was a member of the class of 1945.

St. John the Baptist is a large parish in Yonkers, located only blocks from St. Joseph's Seminary.

Last June, Cardinal Edward Egan spoke there to parishioners from across the city.