Joseph Keith Symons

Joseph Keith Symons (born October 14, 1932) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. Symons served as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach in Florida from 1990 to 1998. Previously, he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of St. Petersburg in Florida for several months in 1981, then was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida in October 1981.

In 1998, Symons tendered his resignation as bishop of the Diocese of Palm Beach to Pope John Paul II, after publicly admitting that he had sexually abused five boys earlier in his career. Symons then became the first US Catholic bishop to lose his position over the sexual abuse of minors. His successor as bishop of Palm Beach, Anthony O'Connell, was also forced to resign in 2002 after admitting to sexually abusing underage boys.

Early life Joseph Keith Symons was born in Champion Township, Michigan, on October 14, 1932. The family moved to Miami, Florida in 1945, where Symons graduated from Sts. Peter & Paul High School in 1949. He then studied for the priesthood at St. Thomas Seminary, in Bloomfield, Connecticut, and St. Mary's Seminary, also known as the "Pink Palace," in Baltimore, Maryland. At St. Mary's, Symons received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1954 and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1956.

Priesthood Symons was ordained a priest in Miami by Archbishop Joseph Hurley for the Diocese of St. Augustine on May 18, 1958. In 1968, he was transferred to the newly established Diocese of St. Petersburg, and in 1971 he was appointed as its chancellor.

Auxiliary Bishop of St. Petersburg On January 16, 1981, John Paul II appointed Symons as auxiliary bishop of St. Petersburg, with the titular see of Sigus. He was consecrated at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg by Bishop William Larkin on March 19, 1981. Archbishops Edward McCarthy and Thomas Joseph McDonough were the co-consecrators.

In 1996, a married couple charged that years earlier Symons, when serving as auxiliary bishop of St. Petersburg, had ignored their report that a priest of the diocese had abused their children. The couple claimed that Symons then tried to bribe them by offering to pay for therapy for their sons. Symons said he had the priest submit to a psychiatric evaluation. According to Lynch, the molestations all took place in the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee.

Resignation and legacy On June 2, 1998, Lynch announced that John Paul II had accepted Symons' resignation as bishop of Palm Beach and named Lynch as apostolic administrator of the diocese.