John Keenan (bishop)

John Keenan, one of the five children of Joseph and Philomena Keenan, was born in Glasgow where he was baptised at St Joseph's Church, Cowcaddens. He was educated at St Gregory's Primary School in the Wyndford area of the city before going on to the Salesian Missionary College, Shrigley Hall near Macclesfield, Cheshire, England where he received his secondary education. In 1984 he matriculated at the University of Glasgow where he read law, graduating with a first class honours Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree in 1988. From 1988 until 1995 he received his priestly formation at the Pontifical Scots College and the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, Italy, graduating with Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology (STB) and Licentiate in Philosophy (PhL) degrees. ==Priesthood==

John Keenan was ordained to the priesthood by Cardinal Thomas Winning on 9 July 1995. Thereafter he was appointed to the parish of Christ the King in King's Park, Glasgow where he served until 2000. From 1997 until 2000 he was also chaplain to Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow. Between 1995 and 2005 he lectured in philosophy at Scotus College, Bearsden. In 2000 he was appointed chaplain to the Catholic students and staff of the University of Glasgow, a post he held until his episcopal ordination. A few months prior to his Episcopal Ordination he was appointed by Archbishop Tartaglia to be parish priest of St Patrick's Church in the Anderston district of Glasgow and Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Glasgow. ==Episcopate and Controversies==

On 8 February 2014, his appointment as the fifth Bishop of Paisley by Pope Francis was announced. Keenan was consecrated bishop in St Mirin's Cathedral, Paisley on 19 March 2014, the Feast of Saint Joseph by Archbishop Philip Tartaglia of Glasgow. The principal co-consecrating bishops were Archbishop Leo Cushley of St Andrews and Edinburgh and Bishop John Mone emeritus Bishop of Paisley. Having served as vice-president, he was elected president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Scotland in 2024. Bishop Keenan has been described as a ‘prolific’ antiabortion activist who has recruited protesters to picket the Queen Elizabeth University hospital in Glasgow He defended misinformation distributed by anti-abortion activists, describing them in the Scottish parliament as ‘factually accurate’ He also attended an anti-abortion protest at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in 2025 Bishop Keenan has been criticised for organising the first chapter of ‘Courage’ conversion therapy in Paisley Diocese. “Bishop Keenan has travelled across the world for conferences linked to conversion therapy techniques, including with a delegation of young people from Scotland during a July 2019 trip to Courage International’s annual conference in the United States.” ==References==