Father Norman T. Connelly
Diocese of Venice/Camden
Ordained: 1965
Suspended from ministry: 1993
Assignment History:
- 1965: Our Lady Star of the Sea (Cape May, NJ)
- 1965: St. Rose (Haddon Heights, NJ)
- 1965: Cathedral Academy (Camden, NJ)
- 1966-1967: Immaculate Conception (Camden, NJ)
- 1968-1972: St. Peter (Merchantville, NJ)
- 1973-1974: St. Patrick (Woodbury, NJ)
- 1975-1981: St. James High School (Carneys Point, NJ)
- 1981-1982: St. Michael (Gibbstown, NJ)
- 1982-1987: St. John (Paulsboro, NJ)
- 1988-1992: St. Joseph (Woodstown, NJ)
- 1993: Epiphany (Venice, FL)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Norman T. Connelly:
Father Norman Connelly served in parishes in New Jersey and Florida. According to media reports in 2002, two brothers suffered years of sexual abuse at the hands of several priests, including Father Norman Connelly. The victims initially filed a lawsuit and lost a bid to sue the Diocese of Camden when a judge ruled that the statute of limitations had expired in their cases.
The brothers alleged that they had been molested as teenagers and claimed that the church had long known of and tolerated such conduct by priests, including Connelly. One victim said that when he was a teenager, Connelly took him and other altar boys to a Philadelphia bathhouse, where they played volleyball and basketball in the nude. He and his brother say Connelly also showed them pornography.
Lawyers for the diocese argued that the brothers understood all along that the sexual assaults had harmed them in some way and that they should have filed suit sooner.
While the lawsuit was dismissed, the victims shared in an $880,000 settlement from the Diocese of Camden in 2002.
Connelly’s name appears on the February 2019 list of credibly accused priests published by the Diocese of Camden. According to Bishop Sullivan, the list, “includes those who admitted to the abuse, those who were found guilty after a trial in the church courts or the civil courts, and others against whom the evidence was so overwhelming as to be virtually unquestionable.”
Connelly is permanently removed from ministry and is believed to be residing in Naples, Florida.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Diocese of Venice in Florida. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused by a priest in Florida, contact our office today. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in Florida and nationwide. We can help.
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