Rockland priest abuse: Dolan sends rep to Mass

PEARL RIVER - Parishioners at St. Margaret of Antioch Church will notice something missing at Mass Sunday morning: their pastor.

Rockland County authorities are prepared to probe Msgr. John O'Keefe, who has been accused of sexually abusing a child more than 30 years ago.

"At this time there are no allegations of misconduct in Rockland County," District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said.

His office has been in touch with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, which earlier this week told St. Margaret parishioners that O'Keefe was suspended from the parish where he has served since 2003.

O'Keefe was not in the pulpit Saturday afternoon, where more than 150 parishioners gathered for a 4:30 p.m. Mass.

Celebrating the Mass was Bishop Dominick J. Lagonegro, an episcopal vicar and personal representative for Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the archbishop of New York.

Standing on a dais at the end of the Mass, Lagonegro read to parishioners the letter sent out by Dolan earlier in the week about the abuse allegations against O’Keefe. As Lagonegro read the letter, there was no audible reaction from parishioners.

“This news is sad for all of us,” he told the congregation. He added that it was a “difficult time for the parishioners of this church.”

Archdiocese spokesman Joseph Zwilling, who was at the afternoon Mass, said Lagonegro was “here, on behalf of the cardinal, to show the concern and support of the archdiocese for this parish.”

Lagonegro was also expected to participate in several Masses at St. Margaret's on Sunday.

The church’s weekly bulletin for the fourth week of the month, stacked in piles inside the auditorium, still listed O’Keefe as pastor of the church.

Tim Heisler of Orangeburg was one of the many parishioners at the Mass Saturday. Heisler, who was walking to his car with his family after the Mass, said he received Dolan’s letter on Friday in the mai.

He said the community was standing behind O’Keefe, whom he described as “very beloved in the church.”

“It was an accusation from 30 years ago,” Heisler said. “You don’t know how people’s memories  — how accurate somebody’s going to be from 30 years ago. I find it hard to believe. I hope he’s innocent.”

Zugibe urged anyone with information to contact Orangetown police.

Police said Saturday that they were aware of the allegations but had not received any calls.

O'Keefe has denied abusing the child.

Zwilling said the church was contacted by a lawyer representing the alleged victim.

That person was living in the Bronx in the early 1980s when the two acts of abuse allegedly happened. The victim said the abuse took place in New York and Virginia.

O'Keefe celebrated the 40th anniversary of his ordination in 2012, while he was at St. Margaret's.

He has also served in Westchester County, where he was named the first president of Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains in 1992.  He is also listed on the school's Alumni Hall of Fame on the school website.

A spokesman for Stepinac declined to comment Saturday.

Judy Jones, an associate director of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests said victims of sexual abuse often wait until they are well into adulthood to share their experiences.

"If you're a child abused by a priest, who's going to believe you?" she said. "Often it's not until victims have children who are the same age as them when they were abused that they come forward."