NJ Catholic diocese used secret court hearing to block investigation of clergy sex abuse

A statue of the Virgin Mary adorns the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Camden. A challenge filed by the Camden diocese led to a court ruling that short-circuited New Jersey's plans to investigate the Catholic church and sexual abuse. Courier-Post Photo by Jim Walsh

NorthJersey.com

February 5, 2025

By Deena Yellin

When New Jersey's attorney general announced an investigation into decades of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, survivors in the state hoped they would finally see the public reckoning they had long sought.

Nearly seven years have passed since then, but there's been little sign the Attorney General's Office is close to finishing the probe. The agency has been tight-lipped about its progress, if any, despite receiving hundreds of tips from alleged victims.

Court documents obtained by The Record and NorthJersey.com offer one explanation for the delay: One of New Jersey's five Catholic dioceses succeeded in quashing a key part of the investigation at a secret hearing almost two years ago.

At a May 25, 2023, court session attended by representatives of all five dioceses, state Superior Court Judge Peter Warshaw sided with Camden. He ruled that the state judiciary, which oversees grand juries, would "not take any action which enables the process of preparing such a presentment to move forward."

The ruling at the Mercer County Courthouse was ordered sealed at the request of the diocese. It was upheld a year later by a state appeals court, though that court also denied a motion to keep the decision private. Until recently, however, the legal maneuverings were not widely known outside the circle of lawyers involved.

Inquiry would be 'fundamentally unfair'

Siding with Camden, Warshaw ruled in a 73-page opinion that state law allows special grand juries to investigate public officials or government agencies, not a private institution like the Catholic Church or individual priests. He also questioned the fairness of a report that could accuse scores of clergy members but, because it did not include formal criminal indictments, would not allow them to challenge the evidence in court.

"The purposes for which the state seeks to use this grand jury would be fundamentally unfair to so many living and dead who would be forever accused in a document released by the court but to whom the court gave no opportunity to defend," Warshaw said. He warned that the process could amount to the judicial version of a "hit-and-run."

Clergy abuse victims and their advocates said they were shocked to learn of the decision.

"The bishops promised the public they would cooperate fully with the investigation, but meanwhile they secretly took this action to fight it," said Mark Crawford of Woodbridge, who leads the New Jersey chapter of the Survivors Network of those abused by Priests, or SNAP. "It's duplicitous. We've seen this before. They say one thing and do something else."

The case isn't over yet. The ruling has been appealed to the New Jersey Supreme Court. That may be the only hope for abuse survivors seeking a public accounting, said Greg Gianforcaro, a Phillipsburg-based attorney who represents numerous abuse victims who have sued the dioceses.

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