NY diocese announces laicization of priest
August 22, 2026
The Diocese of Syracuse, New York, announced that the Dicastery for the Doctrine for the Faith has laicized Nathan Brooks.
Ordained in 2019 following studies at St. Mary’s Seminary & University in Baltimore, then-Father Brooks was suspended in 2023 after his arrest on charges of inappropriate sexual contact with a teenage girl between 2019 and 2021.
Brooks, who at the time administered four churches, was charged with ​endangering the welfare of a child, forcible touching, and sexual abuse in the third degree. After pleading guilty to one count of endangering the welfare of a child, he was sentenced to probation in 2024.
Brooks also held an unspecified leadership position in the diocesan curia, according to the 2024 edition of The Official Catholic Directory (p. 1542).
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Further information:
- Statement Regarding Mr. Nathan Brooks (Diocese of Syracuse, 8/20/26)
- Fr. Nathan Brooks (BishopAccountability.org)
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