New Jersey dioceses release names of accused priests

FIVE Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey on Wednesday released the names of 188 clergy members who have been accused of sexually abusing children dating back decades, including a former cardinal facing defrocking by the Vatican.

The disclosure was the result of an internal investigation of archdiocese records and all of the priests and deacons listed have previously been reported to law enforcement and none remain in the ministry, Newark Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin said in a statement.

“It is our sincerest hope that this disclosure will help bring healing to those whose lives have been so deeply violated,” he said, noting some of the abuse dates back to 1940.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal formed a task force in September to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy in his state, along with any efforts to cover up such abuse.

“I am pleased to see that our task force’s grand jury investigation has prompted the dioceses to finally take some measures to hold predator priests accountable,” Mr. Grewal said in a statement on Wednesday. “Our investigation remains ongoing,” he said, adding, “We anticipate taking criminal action wherever appropriate.”

Former cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who rose to be a power broker in the American Church as archbishop of Washington, D.C., from 2001 to 2006, was among the clergy members on the Newark list. Mr. McCarrick resigned last year and is living in seclusion in a remote friary in Kansas. He will likely be dismissed from the priesthood, which would make him the highest profile Roman Catholic figure to be defrocked in modern times, according to Vatican sources. —