N.J. Catholic dioceses release names of 188 priests and deacons accused of sexual abuse of children
Under mounting pressure to identify clergy accused of sexual misconduct, New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses opened their files Wednesday and released the names of every priest and deacon “credibly accused” of sexually abusing a child over multiple decades.
There are 188 names on the lists from the five dioceses. They include 63 priests and deacons accused in the Archdiocese of Newark, 56 in the Diocese of Camden, 30 in the Diocese of Trenton, 28 in the Diocese of Paterson and 11 in the Diocese of Metuchen.
The full list of named priests and deacons is at the bottom of this post. It will be updated with the additional names that were just released.
“In an effort to do what is right and just, we are publishing the names of diocesan clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors in the Archdiocese of Newark. This list of names is the result of an extensive review of archdiocesan records dating back to 1940. All names were previously reported to law enforcement agencies,” said Cardinal Joseph Tobin, head of the Archdiocese of Newark.
Dioceses around the country have been releasing similar lists of accused priests in recent months. New Jersey is the first state in the nation where every diocese in the state releases its lists at once.
The dioceses voluntarily released the lists, though the release comes as New Jersey’s attorney general’s office has set up a task force to investigate priest sexual abuse and look into whether the Catholic Church improperly handled allegations of abuse.
“While th...