Paul Gregory Bootkoski (born July 4, 1940) is 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 ...

. Bootkoski 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 Latin Church Diocese of Metuchen in New Jersey from 2002 until March 8, 2016; he was replaced by Monsignor James Checchio. Bootkoski previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the

Archdiocese of Newark The Archdiocese of Newark () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church in northeastern New Jersey in the United States. The mother church of the archdiocese is the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Hea ...

in New Jersey from 1997 to 2002.

Biography

Early years

Paul Bootkoski was born in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...

on July 4, 1940, to Peter and Antoinette Bootkoski. He attended Our Lady Queen of Peace School in North Arlington, New Jersey, before continuing at

St. Benedict's Preparatory School St. Benedict's Preparatory School is a Catholic college preparatory school in Newark, New Jersey run by the Benedictine monks of Newark Abbey. The school serves boys and girls in kindergarten through twelfth grade on a urban campus. The scho ...

in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from

Seton Hall University Seton Hall University (SHU) is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in South Orange, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1856 by then-Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley and named after his aunt, Saint Elizab ...

in South Orange, New Jersey, with a degree in

classical language According to the definition by George L. Hart, a classical language is any language with an independent literary tradition and a large body of ancient written literature. Classical languages are usually extinct languages. Those that are still ...

s, Bootkoski entered Immaculate Conception Seminary at the university. He also received 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 an ...

degree from

Manhattan College Manhattan University (previously Manhattan College) is a private, Catholic university in New York City. Originally established in 1853 by the De La Salle Christian Brothers (Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools) as an academy fo ...

in New York City.

Priesthood

On May 28, 1966, Bootkoski was ordained as a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark by Archbishop Thomas Boland. In 1980, Bootkoski was appointed assistant vice president for student affairs at Seton Hall. In 1983, He became pastor of St. Mary of the Assumption Parish in

Elizabeth, New Jersey Elizabeth is a City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.honorary prelate A Prelate of Honour of His Holiness is a Catholic prelate to whom the Pope has granted this title of honour. They are addressed as Monsignor (typically abbreviated 'Mgr') and have certain privileges as regards clerical clothing.

with the title of monsignor in 1991.

Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

On July 8, 1997,

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 Bootkoski as an auxiliary bishop of Newark. He was consecrated by then Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick on September 5, 1997, at the

Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart The Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, the fifth-largest cathedral in North America, is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. Headed by Cardinal Tobin for the archdiocese, it is located in the Lower Broadway neighborhood of ...

in Newark. Bootkoski became

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the diocese and on January 5, 2001,

diocesan administrator A diocesan administrator (also known as archdiocesan administrator, archiepiscopal administrator and eparchial administrator for the case, respectively, of an archdiocese, archeparchy, and eparchy) is a provisional ordinary of a Catholic partic ...

when McCarrick was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of Washington.

Bishop of Metuchen

On January 4, 2002, John Paul II appointed Bootkoski as the fourth bishop of Metuchen. He was installed on March 19, 2002. On January 31, 2003, Bootkoski approved an $800,000 settlement to ten people who had alleged

sexual abuse Sexual abuse or sex abuse is abusive sexual behavior by one person upon another. It is often perpetrated using physical force, or by taking advantage of another. It often consists of a persistent pattern of sexual assaults. The offender is re ...

when they were minors by five diocesan priests. In 2005 and 2007, the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark paid financial settlements to two priests who had accused McCarrick of abuse. According to Cardinal

Donald Wuerl Donald William Wuerl (born November 12, 1940) is an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Washington from 2006 to 2018. He previously served as auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Seattle (1986 to 1987) and Bishop of Pit ...

, nobody from the Diocese of Metuchen informed him of these settlements, even after the retired McCarrick began living on the grounds of a seminary in the Archdiocese of Washington.

Retirement

Having passed the normal retirement age of 75, Bootkoski's resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Metuchen was accepted by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

on March 8, 2016. In 2018, Archbishop Carlo Viganò accused Bootkoski of assisting in a coverup of sexual abuse acts by McCarrick. In reply, Bootkoski said that Viganò's memory was faulty and that Bootkoski had reported the allegations of abuse from three priests against McCarrick to the Vatican in 2005. On November 10, 2020, the Vatican published the McCarrick Report, an investigation into the McCarrick case. The report verified that Bootkoski reported McCarrick in 2005.

References

External links

Roman Catholic Diocese of Metuchen Official Site

Episcopal succession

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bootkoski, Paul Gregory 1940 births Living people Seton Hall University alumni 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the United States Clergy from Newark, New Jersey