John Raymond McGann (December 2, 1924 – January 29, 2002) was an American

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

. He served as

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Diocese of Rockville Centre The Diocese of Rockville Centre () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the Long Island region of New York State in the United States. It is a suffragan diocese in the ecclesiastical province of the me ...

, in New York from 1976 to 2000. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the same diocese from 1970 to 1976.

Biography

Early life and education

John McGann was born on December 2, 1924, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, to Thomas and Mary (née Ryan) McGann. His twin sister, who took the name Sr. John Raymond McGann joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph in Brentwood, Long Island, becoming general superior of the congregation in 1978. A second sibling, Sr. Thomas Joseph, also joined the Sisters of Saint Joseph. He received his early education at the

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

of Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, graduating in 1938. He then began his studies for the priesthood at Cathedral College in Brooklyn, and afterwards attended Immaculate Conception Seminary in

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

, from 1944 to 1950.

Ordination and ministry

On June 3, 1950, McGann was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

a priest for the

Diocese of Brooklyn The Diocese of Brooklyn () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or diocese, of the Catholic Church in the State of New York. It is headquartered in Brooklyn and its territory encompasses the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens, co ...

by Bishop Thomas E. Molloy. His first assignment was as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St. Anne's Parish in

Brentwood, New York Brentwood is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet in the Islip, New York, Town of Islip in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, on Long Island, in New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 62,387 at the 2020 Census, making it the m ...

, where he served for seven years. He also served as an assistant

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

Pilgrim State Hospital Pilgrim Psychiatric Center, formerly known as Pilgrim State Hospital, is a state-run psychiatric hospital located in Brentwood, New York. Nine months after its official opening in 1931, the hospital's patient population was 2,018, as compared wit ...

and a professor at St. Joseph's Academy, both in Brentwood (1950–1954). In 1957, McGann was named assistant personal secretary to Bishop

Walter P. Kellenberg Walter Philip Kellenberg (June 3, 1901 – January 11, 1986) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on Long Island, New York, from 1957 to 1976. Kellenberg previously ser ...

and assistant

chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the newly erected Diocese of Rockville Centre. He became personal secretary to Bishop Kellenberg in 1959, and was named a

papal chamberlain A papal gentleman, formally a Gentleman of His Holiness, is a lay attendant of the pope and his papal household in Vatican City. Papal gentlemen serve in the Apostolic Palace near St. Peter's Basilica in ceremonial positions, such as escorting d ...

Pope John XXIII Pope John XXIII (born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death on 3 June 1963. He is the most recent pope to take ...

that same year. In addition to his pastoral work at St. Agnes Cathedral, he was made vice-chancellor of the diocese in 1967 and served as secretary of the diocesan board of consultors.

Auxiliary Bishop and Bishop of Rockville Centre

On November 12, 1970, McGann was appointed

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

of Rockville Centre and

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of ''Morosbisdus'' by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He received his

episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

consecration Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects ( ...

on January 7, 1971, from Bishop Kellenberg, with Bishops Vincent Baldwin and Charles Mulrooney serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. On May 3, 1976, McGann was appointed bishop of Rockville Centre by Paul VI. He was elected treasurer of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 1984. In 1987, McGann made headlines by criticizing the ethics of former

Director of Central Intelligence The director of central intelligence (DCI) was the head of the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) from 1946 to 2004, acting as the principal intelligence advisor to the president of the United States and the United States National Se ...

William Casey William Joseph Casey (March 13, 1913 – May 6, 1987) was an American lawyer who was the Director of Central Intelligence from 1981 to 1987. In this capacity he oversaw the entire United States Intelligence Community and personally directed the ...

in his speech at Casey's funeral. Citing

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

in Central America, particularly support for the Contras, McGann said of Casy: "His conviction about the fundamentally moral purpose of American action, I am sure, made incomprehensible to him the ethical questions raised by me as his bishop, together with all the Catholic bishops of the United States, about our nation's defense policy since the dawn of the nuclear age."

Retirement and death

Pope John Paul II accepted McGann's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre on January 4, 2000. He was succeeded by Bishop James T. McHugh, who had served as his

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

since 1999. John McGann died at Mercy Medical Center in Rockville Centre on January 31, 2002, at age 77. The Radiology & Imaging Center at Mercy Medical Center is named for Bishop McGann, as is Bishop McGann-Mercy High School. Bishop John R. McGann Village is a senior

low-income housing Subsidized housing is a subsidy aimed towards alleviating housing costs and expenses for impoverished people with low to moderate incomes. In the United States, subsidized housing is often called "affordable housing". Forms of subsidies include d ...

apartment in

Bay Shore, New York Bay Shore is a Hamlet (New York), hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Administrative divisions of New York#Town, Town of Islip, New York, United States. It is situated on the South Shore (Long Island), South Shore of Long Island, adjo ...

. Two women and one man filed a lawsuit in 2019 claiming that McGann and other clergy and personnel of the diocese sexually abused them as children in the 1960s and '70s. The alleged victims are represented by Mitchell Garabedian.

References

External links

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Rockville Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGann, John R. 1924 births 2002 deaths American Roman Catholic clergy of Irish descent Religious leaders from Brooklyn People from Brentwood, New York Catholics from New York (state) 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood Bishops appointed by Pope Paul VI