Bishop Mark O’Connell, Bishop-designate for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, has been elected the new Chair of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
“Having been involved in this area of the protection of minors and young people for 24 years and having been a member of the Committee on the Protection of Children and Young People for the past five years, I feel ready, qualified, and very willing to take on this new responsibility beginning in November 2026,” said Bishop O’Connell.
The vote came on during the USCCB’s fall plenary assembly in Baltimore this week.
At his first media briefing in Albany last month, Bishop O’Connell was asked if the Diocese will ever see the abuse scandal in the rearview mirror.
“If you want it to go away,” he responded, “that’s not who I am as bishop. I want it to be dealt with. I want to comfort those who need comfort. I want to continue to do what I’ve done for many years which is to meet with victim/survivors, hear their stories, be with them, cry with them. It’s not going away, and it would be a sin to want it to go away.”
Bishop O’Connell was a canon lawyer for the Archdiocese of Boston when the abuse scandal broke out there in early 2002.
“I feel very blessed for my timing on that,” he said. “God has blessed me with being part of the solution.”
The vote at the USCCB came as Bishop O’Connell prepares to move to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. His Installation is scheduled to take place on Friday, December 5, 2025.
“I ask for the prayers of the people of Albany as my new life begins as your bishop to safeguard all minors and young people in the Albany Diocese first and to assist this critical role of the United States bishops.”
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