Margaret O'Connor

Margaret Mary O’Connor has made it her mission to reveal the truth of Your Catholic Church.

She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University At Buffalo (NY), and a Master of Arts in Pastoral Ministry from Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, NY. She is a former Chaplain and is currently a Eucharistic Minister at Our Lady of Charity Parish where, ironically, the Church windows depict the Vatican II Council. One window represents the “Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,” which includes an article that speaks directly to ending sexual discrimination of all kinds in our Church.

In this time of Church upheaval, O’Connor, as author of Scandal in the Shadows, has uncovered secrets which were conveniently buried away in hopes they would never see the light of day.

Enter Margaret Mary O’Connor. O’Connor literally “walks the walk” on picket lines to help keep this issue of Women’s Ordination in the forefront of Catholics’ minds. She also pickets for Church accountability on the priest sexual-abuse issue. As a fellow member of the Laity, herself, she believes any Catholic, deserves at minimal at least the truth from Rome, as opposed to the continual outright deception they are receiving. She also is a member of Call to Action, Future Church, Roman Catholic Women Priests, the Women’s Ordination Conference, the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), Preservation Buffalo Niagara and Western New York Land Conservancy and Buffalo Central Terminal.

Margaret truly encountered a life-altering experience she will never forget. Living twenty years with an undiagnosed autoimmune disease, her life was literally hell. Beyond the daily physical symptoms to deal with, were the emotional ones as well. She was told by two doctors that basically her physical symptoms of vomiting, great loss of weight, anemia, and diarrhea (to name a few) were all in her head. The doctor she really needed to see, they told her, was a Psychiatrist. It’s truly a miracle she is alive today, thanks to finally finding a doctor who actually ordered tests to find the reason for her illness – which turned out to be celiac disease. She will never forget when her doctor told her she would have bee “six feet under” within six months.

Her twin-sister Pat, had brain cancer, and never got to have that second chance at life. But Margaret feels incredibly fortunate to have her life back again. It’s like she is seeing life from a new and different perspective, and every moment has become wonderfully precious. All she knew was that after losing twenty years of her life to sickness, to now being free to begin again was incredible.

Today she lives life to the fullest and her latest adventure is writing, something she had never done before. She knows from experience that having her own story ignored is the reason she brings a visceral passion to her writing. If one side of a story is ignored, you will miss its reality and truth. Her book “Scandal in the Shadows,” brings forth the very truth of a Church issue which indeed will impact on your own future faith life.

When not writing, speaking or being interviewed by the media, O’Connor enjoys gardening, and reading mystery books, along with volunteering for Pete’s Pillows and Alzheimer’s events.