John Joseph Jenik (born March 7, 1944) is an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

of the

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who served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the boroug ...

from 2014 to 2018. His ministerial privileges were suspended in October 2018, pending Vatican investigation of a sexual abuse allegation. On October 10, 2019, Pope Francis accepted Jenik's resignation, a normal practice when a bishop reaches his 75th birthday.

Biography

Early life

John Jenik was born on March 1, 1944, in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He was educated at Immaculate Conception School in Manhattan and Cathedral College High School in Queens, New York. He studied for the priesthood at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York.

Priesthood

Jenik was ordained into the priesthood for the Archdiocese of New York by Cardinal

Terence Cooke Terence James Cooke (March 1, 1921 – October 6, 1983) was an American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, quietly battling leukemia throughout his tenure. He was named a cardin ...

on May 30, 1970. He studied Spanish at the

Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico The Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico (Pontificia Universidad Católica de Puerto Rico) is a private Roman Catholic university with its main campus in Ponce, Puerto Rico. It provides courses leading to Bachelor's, Master's and Docto ...

in Ponce, Puerto Rico, and earned a

Master of Education The Master of Education (MEd or M.Ed. or Ed.M.; Latin ''Magister Educationis'' or ''Educationis Magister'') is a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. This degree in education often includes the following majors: curriculum a ...

degree from

Fordham University Fordham University () is a Private university, private Jesuit universities, Jesuit research university in New York City. Established in 1841 and named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the The Bronx, Bronx in which its origina ...

in New York City His pastoral assignments were all parishes in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. They included: *

Parochial vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pre ...

at St. Jerome's from 1970 to 1974 * St. Thomas Aquinas from 1974 to 1978 * Our Lady of Refuge from 1978 to 2018 Jenik was named a

monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

by the Vatican in 1995, and served as regional vicar for the Northeast Bronx from 2006.

Auxiliary Bishop of New York

Jenik was named the titular bishop of Druas and an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York by

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...

on June 14, 2014. He was consecrated by Cardinal

Timothy Dolan Timothy Michael Dolan (born February 6, 1950) is an American cardinal of the Catholic Church. He is the tenth and current Archbishop of New York, having been appointed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009. Dolan served as the president of the United S ...

in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Manhattan on August 4, 2014. Auxiliary Bishops Gerald Walsh and Dominick Lagonegro were the co-consecrators. While auxiliary bishop, Jenik continued as pastor at Our Lady of Refuge Parish and the vicar for the Northeast Bronx. In 2016, a New York man, Michael J. Meenan filed a sexual abuse accusation against Jenik with

Fordham Preparatory School Fordham Preparatory School (also known as Fordham Prep) is an American private, Jesuit, boys' college-preparatory school located on the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York City. From its founding in 1841 until 1970, the ...

in the Bronx. Meenan claimed that in 1984 Jenik, then a teacher at the school, sexually abused him at age 15 at a

sleepover A sleepover is a social occasion where a young person stays at the home of a friend. Multiple people and/or friends may sleepover at the friend's home, typically a younger person will partake in a sleepover, however an adult or older person may s ...

. Fordham found the accusation credible and negotiated a settlement with Meenan. Jenik denied the accusations and remained in his ministerial posts. In January 2018, Meenan filed the same complaint with the archdiocese. He was interviewed by the Lay Review Board later that year, which also decided that the allegation was "credible and substantiated" On October 31, 2018, Archbishop Dolan announced that Jenik was stepping down as pastor of Our Lady of Refuge and from his other public ministerial functions, awaiting review by the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

Retirement

On October 10, 2019, Pope Francis accepted Jenik's resignation as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York, which he submitted as required when he turned 75. His investigation by the Vatican was still ongoing at that time.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jenik, John Joseph 1944 births Living people People from Manhattan Clergy from New York City Saint Joseph's Seminary (Dunwoodie) alumni Fordham University alumni People of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York 21st-century American Roman Catholic titular bishops Roman Catholic bishops in New York (state) Bedford Park, Bronx Bishops appointed by Pope Francis