Sexual harassment, discrimination suit filed against head of NY Catholic Charities

CNA Staff, Apr 28, 2020 / 03:25 pm (CNA).- A lawsuit filed in a Manhattan federal court accuses the head of Catholic Charities of New York of sexual harassment and discrimination.

Sixty-three-year-old former employee Alice Kenny filed the lawsuit on Sunday, New York Daily News reports.

Among other claims, the suit says Monsignor Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, kept a risqué life-size cutout of Beyonce in his office, visible to all employees.

Sullivan’s preference for young, attractive women was well-known and treated as a joke among Catholic Charities staff members, the lawsuit says, according to New York Daily News.

Kenny charges that she was subject to illegal discrimination because she is not a male and “does not model the physical attributes that catches Mr. Sullivan’s eye.” She said her desk was moved to a hallway and she was rejected for a promotion after she and other female employees complained about sexual harassment by a manager in 2016, New York Daily News reports.

Catholic Charities responded to the lawsuit in a statement, saying, “Ms. Kenny was a valued employee of Catholic Charities, an agency that is unconditionally committed to maintaining a workplace free from all discrimination, harassment, or unlawful retaliation.”

“Ms. Kenny voluntarily resigned from the Marketing and Communications Office a year ago. Any allegation of discrimination is totally without merit,” Catholic Charities said.

 


If you value the news and views Catholic World Report provides, please consider donating to support our efforts. Your contribution will help us continue to make CWR available to all readers worldwide for free, without a subscription. Thank you for your generosity!

Click here for more information on donating to CWR. Click here to sign up for our newsletter.


1 Trackback / Pingback

  1. Sexual harassment, discrimination suit filed against head of NY Catholic Charities - Catholic Mass Search

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

All comments posted at Catholic World Report are moderated. While vigorous debate is welcome and encouraged, please note that in the interest of maintaining a civilized and helpful level of discussion, comments containing obscene language or personal attacks—or those that are deemed by the editors to be needlessly combative or inflammatory—will not be published. Thank you.


*