John Joseph Kennedy

John Joseph Kennedy (born 15 July 1968) is an Irish Catholic prelate who has served as Secretary for Discipline at the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith since 2022. Previously, he served as Head of Office at the DDF.

Biography Kennedy was born in Clontarf, Dublin. He was ordained a priest on 13 July 1993 for the Archdiocese of Dublin. He obtained a Licentiate and then a Doctorate in Canon Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University. Among the positions held in Ireland he was Vice-Parish Priest of St. Agnes Church, then of St. Nicholas of Myra in Dublin.

He entered the service of the Holy See in September 2002 and began working with the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith in 2003, beginning his service there under its then prefect, Cardinal Ratzinger, later Pope Benedict XVI.

In a May 2024 interview, he said the canonical inquiry into the convicted abuser priest Marko Rupnik was "at a fairly advanced stage".

On 23 April 2024, he was appointed secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, later renamed the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith. Thus, he has responsibility for dealing with credible allegations against clergy. He leads a staff of 16 full-time officials handling cases in his disciplinary section. He was consecrated a Bishop on 28 September by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández.

In September 2024, Archbishop Kennedy upheld the laicisation of Ariel Alberto Principi, a former diocesan priest convicted of child sexual abuse, disagreeing with an order from Secretariat of State.