Joseph Keith Symons (born October 14, 1932) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Symons served as bishop of the

Diocese of Palm Beach The Diocese of Palm Beach ( la, Dioecesis Litoris Palmensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in the U.S. state of Florida. The patron saint of the diocese is the Blessed Virgin Mary under the title Que ...

in Florida from 1990 to 1998. Previously, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg in Florida for several months in 1981, then was appointed bishop of the

Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

in Florida in October 1981. In 1998, Symons sent a letter of resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

after admitting he sexually abused five boys earlier in his career.

Biography

Early life

Joseph Symons was born in Champion Township,

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, on October 14, 1932. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Joseph Hurley for the

Diocese of St. Augustine The Diocese of St. Augustine is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory of the Catholic Church, located in the U.S. state of Florida. It is a suffragan diocese in the Ecclesiastical Province of Miami, covering much of North Florida, including t ...

on May 18, 1958. In 1971, Symons became chancellor of the Diocese of St. Petersburg.

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Petersburg

On January 16, 1981 John Paul II appointed Symons as the titular bishop of

Sigus Sigus is a town and commune in Oum El Bouaghi Province, Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coo ...

and as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg. He was consecrated by Bishop William Larkin on March 19, 1981. Archbishops Edward McCarthy and Thomas Joseph McDonough were the co-consecrators.

Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee

On October 4, 1983, John Paul II appointed Symons as the second bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. He was installed on November 8, 1983.

Bishop of Palm Beach

On June 12, 1990, John Paul II appointed Symons as the second bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach. He was installed on July 31, 1990. Symons served as a member of the Committee for Latin America, part of the National Council of Catholic Bishops. He also was a member of the Southeast Pastoral Institute in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, which provides outreach to

Hispanics The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties former ...

. In 1991, Symons authorized the taping of an

exorcism Exorcism () is the religious or spiritual practice of evicting demons, jinns, or other malevolent spiritual entities from a person, or an area, that is believed to be possessed. Depending on the spiritual beliefs of the exorcist, this may be ...

. The rite was performed by Reverend James J. LeBar and other priests on a 16-year-old girl known as "Gina". Footage of the exorcism was then broadcast on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

's ''

20/20 Visual acuity (VA) commonly refers to the clarity of vision, but technically rates an examinee's ability to recognize small details with precision. Visual acuity is dependent on optical and neural factors, i.e. (1) the sharpness of the retinal ...

'' TV program. In allowing the taping, Symons said that he hoped it would help "counteract diabolical activities around us." In 1996, a husband and wife charged that years earlier Symons, when serving as auxiliary bishop of St. Petersburg, had ignored their report that a diocese priest had abused their children, then tried to bribe the couple by offering to pay for therapy for their sons. Symons said he had the priest submit to a

psychiatric evaluation Psychological evaluation is a method to assess an individual's behavior, personality, cognitive abilities, and several other domains. A common reason for a psychological evaluation is to identify psychological factors that may be inhibiting a pers ...

. In April 1998, a 53 year old man informed a priest and Archbishop John C. Favalora that Symons had sexually abused him when he was an

altar server An altar server is a lay assistant to a member of the clergy during a Christian liturgy. An altar server attends to supporting tasks at the altar such as fetching and carrying, ringing the altar bell, helps bring up the gifts, brings up the bo ...

decades earlier. When confronted about the allegations, Symons admitted his guilt. The Vatican immediately asked Bishop Robert N. Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg to hear Symons' confession. During that session, Symons admitted that he had abused four other boys. He also said that he had confessed the abuses to a priest at the time, but the priest simply told Symons to avoid alcohol and remain chaste. According to Lynch, the molestations all took place in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.

Resignation and legacy

On June 2, 1998, Lynch announced that John Paul II had accepted Symons' resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach and named Lynch as

apostolic administrator An Apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the diocese. Symons issued a written statement that said: After his resignation, Symons was to be sent away for treatment and counseling. On July 30, 1998, the ''

St. Petersburg Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...

'' reported that Symons’ accuser had first complained to the church about Symons in 1995. Bishop John M. Smith, then bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee, brokered a meeting between Symons and his accuser. In the meeting, Symons admitted his guilt. However, he denied molesting other youths (which he admitting doing later in 1998) and promised to get counseling, which he never did until after his resignation.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symons, Joseph Keith 1932 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Catholic Church sexual abuse scandals in the United States People from Marquette County, Michigan Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Augustine Roman Catholic bishops of Palm Beach Roman Catholic bishops of Pensacola–Tallahassee Catholics from Michigan