Roman Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach

In the early 19th century, Florida was part of the Spanish Empire. In the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819, Spain ceded all of Florida to the United States, which established the Florida Territory in 1821. For Catholics, the territory was still under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Havana. In 1825, Pope Leo XIII erected the Vicariate of Alabama and Florida, which included all of Florida.

A quarter century later, Pope Pius IX erected the Diocese of Savannah in 1850, including the new state of Florida minus the Florida Panhandle region.  However, seven years later, Pope Pius IX stripped Florida from the Diocese of Savannah and created a new Apostolic Vicariate of Florida. Finally, in 1870 the vicariate was converted into the Diocese of St. Augustine, which included the Palm Beach area.[3] The Diocese of Palm Beach would remain part of several Florida dioceses for the next 114 years.

Pope John Paul II established the Diocese of Palm Beach on June 16, 1984, taking its territory from the Archdiocese of Miami and the Diocese of Orlando.[4][5] He appointed Auxiliary Bishop Thomas Daily of the Archdiocese of Boston as the first bishop of Palm Beach. Among his most noteworthy actions were the leading of anti-abortion prayers vigils at local women's health clinics. In 1990, John Paul II selected Daily to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn.

In June 1990, John Paul II appointed Bishop Joseph Symons of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee as the second bishop of Palm Beach.[6] In 1991, Symons authorized the taping of an exorcism. The rite was performed by Reverend James J. LeBar and other priests on a 16-year-old girl identified as "Gina". Footage of the exorcism was then broadcast on ABC's 20/20 TV program. In allowing the taping, Symons said that he hoped it would help "counteract diabolical activities around us."[7]

In April 1998, a 53-year-old man informed Archbishop John C. Favalora that Symons had sexually abused him when he was an altar server decades earlier. When confronted with the allegations, Symons admitted his guilt. The Vatican immediately asked Bishop Robert N. Lynch of the Diocese of St. Petersburg to hear Symons' confession. During that session, Symons admitted that he had abused four other boys. He also said that he had confessed the abuses to a priest at the time, but the priest simply told Symons to avoid consumption of alcohol and remain chaste.[8] According to Lynch, the molestations all took place in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.[9]

In June 1998, Lynch announced that John Paul II had accepted Symons' resignation as bishop of Palm Beach and had named Lynch as apostolic administrator of the diocese.[10][11][9] To replace Symons, John Paul II in November 1998 named Bishop Anthony O'Connell of the Diocese of Knoxville as the new bishop of Palm Beach.[12]

On March 8, 2002, O'Connell admitted that he had molested at least two students of St. Thomas Aquinas Preparatory Seminary in the Diocese of Jefferson City during his 25-year career there.[13] That same day, O'Connell offered his resignation as bishop of Palm Beach to the Vatican. It was accepted by Pope John Paul II on March 13, 2002.[14][15]

John Paul II in September 2002 selected Bishop Seán O'Malley of the Diocese of Fall River as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach.[16] After less than a year in office in Palm Beach, the pope appointed O'Malley as archbishop of Boston.

The current bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach is Gerald Barbarito, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Ogdensburg.[17] He was named by John Paul II in 2003.

Deborah True, the former parochial administrator for Holy Cross Church in Vero Beach, was arrested for embezzlement in September 2022. She was accused of stealing $1.5 million dollar from the church, in collaboration with the pastor, Reverend Richard Murphy, from 2015 to 2020. Murphy died in 2020. True spent $500,000 of the stolen money on personal debts.[18]

The family of a Lake Worth teenager reported to the diocese in 1998 that Reverend Edwin Collins had attempted to sexually assault him at Collins' residences. Collins was a retired priest from the Diocese of Rockville Centre. The diocese immediately confronted Collins with the accusations, prompting him to resign from public ministry.[19]

In May 2002, Kelly Hoffman reported to the diocese that she had been sexually abused by Reverend Frank Flynn, starting at age 12 in 1978 and continuing for the next seven years. Flynn would passionately kiss and grope her at the end of counseling sessions. The diocese had also received complaints about Flynn seducing adult women when they were at vulnerable moments in their lives; one alleged victim was grieving a deceased husband. Flynn had returned to Ireland that same year, claiming health problems. When Flynn came back to Florida in 2004, Bishop O'Malley suspended him from ministry in the diocese.[20]

Police in September 2002 arrested Reverend Elias F. Guimaraes of Our Lady Queen of Peace Mission Church near Delray Beach of soliciting sex from a minor. Guimaraes had arranged online to meet a teenage boy at the beach, but he was arrested there in a police sting operation.[21] He pleaded guilty in federal court in January 2003 and was sentenced in April 2003 to 51 months in prison.[22][23] Guimaraes was deported to Brazil after his release from prison.

In January 2015, Reverend Jose Palimattom of Holy Name of Jesus Church in West Palm Beach, was arrested for possessing child pornography and showing images to a 14 year-old boy. The family spoke to Reverend John Gallagher, also at Holy Name, who contacted the diocese and notified police. Arresting officers discovered 40 pornographic images of preteen boys on the phone.[24] Palimattom was convicted, sentenced to six months in jail and was deported to India after his release.[25]

Gallagher sued the diocese for defamation in 2017, saying that it had retaliated against him for notifying the police about Paliamattom. Gallagher said that he had been locked out of the Holy Name rectory and refused an assignment there as pastor. The diocese said that he was not named pastor of Holy Name for other unrelated reasons.[26] Gallagher lost the case in lower courts and the US Supreme Court in April 2019 declined to review it.[27]

In September 2020, the family of an 11 year-old girl sued the diocese and All Saint's School in Jupiter. The plaintiffs said that the diocese and the school failed to protect her from repeated sexual abuse by another student in an unsupervised classroom on campus. The plaintiffs also alleged that the diocese protected the attacker because his parents were wealthy donors to the diocese.[28] The alleged abuse occurred between January and March 2020.[28] A sixth grade male was then charged with battery and lewd and lascivious molestation.[29]

1. Thomas Vose Daily (1984–1990), appointed Bishop of Brooklyn
2. Joseph Keith Symons (1990–1998)
   - Robert Nugent Lynch, Bishop of St. Petersburg (apostolic administrator 1998–1999.)
3. Anthony Joseph O'Connell (1999–2002)
4. Seán Patrick O'Malley, OFM Cap. (2002–2003), appointed Archbishop of Boston (elevated to Cardinal in 2006)
5. Gerald Michael Barbarito (2003–present)