Gordon Dunlap Bennett, S.J. (born October 21, 1946) is an African-American former

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

prelate who served as Bishop of Mandeville in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

from 2004 to 2006. He was banned from active ministry in two dioceses of the Baltimore Province following an allegation of adult sexual harassment. Bennett is also a former Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore. He is a member of the

Jesuits The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

Early life

Bennett was born on October 21, 1946, in

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. He first attended Loyola Grammar School in Denver. After his family moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

in 1955, Bennett went to Holy Spirit Elementary School and then St. Thomas the Apostle Elementary School. In 1964, Bennett graduated from Loyola High School in Los Angeles as the class valedictorian. Later in 1964, Bennett entered the Society of Jesus at

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

. On September 8, 1966 he pronounced his first vows as a Jesuit. In 1966, Bennett enrolled at

Loyola Marymount University Loyola Marymount University (LMU) is a private Jesuit and Marymount research university in Los Angeles, California. LMU enrolls over 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, making it the largest Catholic university on the west coast of the ...

, but transferred in 1968 to

Gonzaga University Gonzaga University (GU) ( ) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington, United States. It is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges ...

. He graduated from Gonzaga with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy. Bennett then returned to Los Angeles to teach at Loyola High School. In 1975, he graduated with a Master of Divinity from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California. On June 14, 1975, Bennett was ordained to the priesthood at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in

Hollywood, California Hollywood, sometimes informally called Tinseltown, is a List of districts and neighborhoods in Los Angeles, neighborhood and district in the Central Los Angeles, central region of Los Angeles County, California, within the city of Los Angeles. ...

. His first assignment after ordination was as Assistant Principal for Campus Ministry at

St. Ignatius College Preparatory St. Ignatius College Preparatory, colloquially referred to by Bay Area locals as SI, is a private, Catholic preparatory school in the Jesuit tradition, serving the San Francisco Bay Area since 1855. Located in the Archdiocese of San Francisco, ...

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, serving there until 1979. In 1979, Bennett received his Masters in Education in Secondary School Administration at Loyola Marymount University. In 1980, he received a Professional Diploma in Administration from

Fordham University Fordham University is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in New York City, United States. Established in 1841, it is named after the Fordham, Bronx, Fordham neighborhood of the Bronx in which its origina ...

. In 1980, Bennett became principal of Loyola High School, serving in that role until 1988. On February 2, 1983, Bennett pronounced his

final vows Religious vows are the public vows made by the members of religious communities pertaining to their conduct, practices, and views. In the Buddhist tradition, in particular within the Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions, many different kinds of r ...

as a Jesuit. In 1989, Bennett became the Rector and Master of Novices at the Jesuit Novitiate in both Santa Barbara and

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. It is mostly surrounded by Los Angeles, but also shares a border with the unincorporated area of Ladera Heights, Californi ...

. In 1996, he was named President of Loyola High School.

Episcopacy

In 1998,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed Titular Bishop of Nesqually and Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore. He was ordained Bishop at the

Cathedral of Mary Our Queen The Cathedral of Mary Our Queen is a Roman Catholic cathedral located Baltimore, Maryland, United States. It was completed in 1959. The cathedral is the seat of the Archbishop of Baltimore. It replaced the Basilica of the National Shrine of t ...

in Baltimore on March 3, 1998 On July 6, 2004, John Paul II appointed Bennett as Bishop of Madeville, Jamaica. He assumed his duties as bishop of Mandeville, Jamaica, on September 24, 2004.

Resignation

In May 2006, a young adult in

, who knew Bennett from Baltimore, complained to then-Archbishop of Baltimore William Keeler that Bennett had sexually harassed them. Keeler reported the allegations to the

apostolic nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...

in Washington DC. On August 8, 2006, citing health reasons, Bennett resigned as Bishop of Mandeville.

Later life

After leaving Jamaica in 2006, Bennett moved to Los Angeles, working for several months organizing retreats and formation cessions for the

Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles (, ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in the southern coastal portion of the U.S. state of California. The archdiocese's cathedra is in Los Angeles, and the arc ...

. He was then appointed the Peter Faber, S.J. Fellow in Pastoral Theology and Ignatian Spirituality at Loyola Marymount University. In 2009, the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

cleared Bennett of the sexual harassment allegations from 2006. However, the Vatican limited him to a narrowed range of episcopal duties, all under supervision. In March 2019, Archbishop

William Lori William Edward Lori (born May 6, 1951) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Archbishop of Baltimore since 2012. Lori previously served as Bishop of Bridgeport from 2001 to 2012, and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Wa ...

of Baltimore forbade Bennett from exercising ministry in the Archdiocese of Baltimore due to the 2006 allegation of sexual harassment, which a stricter investigation on their part deemed credible. On March 12, 2019, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that a statement from the Society of Jesus said Bennett had stopped working in ministry in August 2018 and was undergoing treatment for

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving Cell growth#Disorders, abnormal cell growth with the potential to Invasion (cancer), invade or Metastasis, spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Po ...

References

External links

National Black Catholic Congress
bio of Gordon Bennett
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Gordon Living people 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States 20th-century American Jesuits 21st-century American Jesuits Jesuit bishops Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore 1946 births Fordham University alumni Loyola Marymount University alumni African-American Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century American Roman Catholic bishops 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Jamaica American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Jamaica American expatriates in Jamaica Bishops in Colorado Roman Catholic bishops of Mandeville 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people African-American members of Catholic religious communities Loyola High School (Los Angeles) alumni