Fr. Sean Leo Rooney (Salesians of Don Bosco)
Archdiocese of Newark / Diocese of Paterson
Ordained: 1959
Laicized: 2008
Assignment History:
- 1959-1968: St. Dominic Savio High School (Boston, MA)
- 1968-1971: Salesian Day High School for Boys; Salesian Resident Junior Seminary; Camp Salesian for Boys; Salesian Retreat House for Boys; Salesian Boys Club (Cedar Lake, IN)
- 1971-1975: Don Bosco Technical High School (Paterson, NJ)
- 1975-1979: Archbishop Shaw High School (Marrero, LA)
- 1979-1981: Salesian Junior Seminary (Goshen, NY)
- 1981-1983: Don Bosco High School for Boys (Ramsey, NJ)
- 1983-2003: St. John Bosco Church (Birmingham, AL)
- 1983-2003: Holy Rosary, Birmingham (Gate City, AL)
- 2003-2008: Salesian Provincial House (New Rochelle, NY)
Summary of Sexual Abuse Allegations against Father Sean Rooney:
Fr. Sean Rooney was ordained a priest in 1959 and served in the Archdiocese of Newark. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, in 2013, he was named in a lawsuit filed by a man who alleged that Rooney sexually abused him as a fourteen-year-old student at Goshen Junior Seminary in Goshen, New York. Rooney was a teacher at the time. The case was settled in 2014.
In New Jersey, Rooney also had assignments in the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Paterson.
Rooney was laicized in 2008 according to a statement by the Salesians. The reasons leading up to his laicization were not made public, but we do not rule out that they related to allegations of sexual abuse received by the Order.
According to media reports, in February 2020, Rooney was named in a new lawsuit filed against the Salesians and Diocese of Paterson. According to media reports, the Plaintiff alleges he was sexually abused by Rooney on 100 occasions during Rooney’s assignment to Don Bosco High School in the 1970s.
Rooney’s last assignment as a Salesian, before his 2002 removal, was to a low-income community in the Birmingham, Alabama area. He served as administrator of a ministry outreach program designed for the youth in local housing projects. Rooney is listed on the Salesian’s 2021 List of Clergy Credibly Accused of Sexual Abuse of a Minor.
Rooney is believed to be residing in the Prescott, Arizona area.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused in the Archdiocese of Newark, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New Jersey and nationwide. We can help.
Contact us at 888-283-9922 or [email protected] to discuss your options today.