John Barres

John Oliver Barres (/ˈbærɪs/ BARR-iss; born September 20, 1960) is an American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of Rockville Centre since 2017.

[1] Having decided to become a priest, Barres moved to Washington D.C. to enter the Theological College at the Catholic University of American.

[2] Barres went to Rome in 1996 to attend the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where he earned a Licentiate of Canon Law in 1998 and a Doctor of Spirituality degree in 1999.

Barres' doctoral thesis was entitled "Jean-Jacques Olier's Priestly Spirituality: Mental Prayer and Virtue as the Foundation for the Direction of Souls.

Barres received his episcopal consecration on July 30, 2009, at the Cathedral of Saint Catharine of Siena in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

[3] In October 2017, Barres announced the creation of the Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program (IRCP) for survivors of acts of child sexual abuse committed by clergy in the diocese.

Barres serves on the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

In August 2018, a Pennsylvania grand jury report criticized Barres for failing to remove a priest from the ministry after credible allegations of sexual misconduct while he was bishop in Allentown.

However, according to a spokesperson for the diocese, Barres finally decided:"... to withdraw the application to remove Lawrence from the clerical state out of concern that if they did, he may leave the supervised, secure facility and re-enter society, where he might be a danger to children.