More states probe Catholic church
New York and New Jersey look into the handling of clergy sex abuse allegations
ALBANY, N.Y. — New York and New Jersey launched new investigations into the Roman Catholic Church’s handling of clergy sex abuse allegations Thursday as the number of similar inquiries around the country continues to grow.
In New York, the state’s attorney general issued subpoenas to all eight of the state’s Catholic diocese seeking any and all documents pertaining to allegations, findings from internal church investigations and payments to victims, according to a law enforcement source familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly.
Church leaders confirmed receipt of the subpoenas and vowed to work with Attorney General Barbara Underwood’s civil investigation — as well as any potential criminal investigations to come. The subpoenas were issued to the Archdiocese of New York in New York City as well as the dioceses of Albany, Brooklyn, Rochester, Syracuse, Buffalo, Ogdensburg and Rockville Centre.
“It is not a surprise to us that the attorney general would look to begin a civil investigation, and she will find the archdiocese of New York, and the other seven dioceses in the state, ready and eager to work together with her in the investigation,” New York archdiocese spokesperson Joseph Zwilling said.
Underwood’s office is pursuing a civil investigation into the church’s response to abuse reports and has also reached out to local prosecutors, who are authorized to convene grand juries or pursue criminal investigations.
In New York the attorney general doesn’t have that power, so the involvement of local district attorneys would be critical to any criminal prosecutions. In New Jersey, state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced a new task force that will look at how abuse allegations were handled in the seven dioceses in that state.
Underwood and Grewal also announced hotlines for individuals to report allegations of clergy abuse.
The numbers are 855-363-6548 in New Jersey and 800-771-7755 in New Jersey. New York has also set up a confidential online complaint form that can be found at ag.ny.gov/ClergyAbuse.
“The Pennsylvania grand jury report shined a light on incredibly disturbing and depraved acts by Catholic clergy, assisted by a culture of secrecy and cover ups in the dioceses,” Underwood, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Victims in New York deserve to be heard as well — and we are going to do everything in our power to bring them the justice they deserve.”
Albany Bishop Edward Scharfenberger proactively asked Albany County District Attorney David Soares to review his diocese’s records on Thursday, before the subpoena from Underwood was received.
The subpoenas come three weeks after a grand jury investigation found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania.
The developments in New York and New Jersey come after attorneys general in Nebraska, Illinois and Missouri also announced investigations into allegations of clergy abuse or cover ups in local dioceses.