President of Catholic University named in internal investigation; SNAP urges complete transparency
For immediate release: December 23, 2024
The new head of Seton Hall University in New Jersey, installed just last month, was called out in a 2019 internal investigation for not reporting accusations of sexual abuse. SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, urges complete transparency as to how this clergyman came to be selected for this powerful position despite those earlier findings, as well as repercussions for those who knew about the report and ignored it.
Monsignor Joseph Reilly started as a student at Seton Hall University 45 years ago. He became rector of the University’s College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall in 2002. Then, in 2012, he became rector and dean of Seton Hall’s Immaculate Conception Seminary (ICS), a high-ranking position where he oversaw the preparation of men for priesthood. The priest also had a seat on the University's Board of Trustees.
Although the Monsignor was not himself accused of abuse, the investigation found that he knew about accusations of abuse on campus and did not report them as required, and also that he appeared to have been aware of the rumors about former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick since he worked for the Cardinal for a year in 1994.
In reaction to the investigation's findings, a "Responsive Action Plan" was developed, which said that any employee or board member “with knowledge of sexual misconduct claims involving ICS seminarians” could not continue to serve on any board or any leadership position if they had failed to report the conduct or take other actions required under the school’s sexual harassment policies. A special task force was formed to carry out disciplinary actions stemming from the report, and it recommended Monsignor Reilly's removal from Seton Hall boards and leadership. The priest left the Board of Trustees and then stepped down as dean of the seminary in 2022.
The complete investigative report was never made public, which apparently enabled Seton Hall to ignore its findings and the task force's recommendations. Less than three years after Monsignor Reilly was quietly sidelined, he was restored to active service, culminating in his elevation to the powerful position of University president.
At Monsignor Reilly's November investiture, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of the Archdiocese of Newark said the priest had “the voice of a shepherd.” Yet it seems to us that when his voice was most needed - to call out the sexual abuse of seminarians - he came down with institutional laryngitis.
We fail to understand how a person who failed in his obligations to students in his former positions could be considered -- much less selected -- for an even more powerful position. Not only is this "bad optics," it is actively rewarding behavior that endangers young lives. Until those who cover up abuse are defrocked, demoted, disciplined and denounced, the problems in the Catholic Church will likely continue unabated.
The complete 2019 internal report needs to released by the University. The findings about Monsignor Reilly, as well as anyone else named by the investigators, must be made public. Moreover, those who knew about these internal findings, and who still helped to make the Monsignor head of Seton Hall, must also be called to account.
Church officials should prioritize protecting the lives of the faithful, young adults as well as children, who put their trust in them, not the assets and reputation of the institution.
Contact: Dan McNevin, SNAP Treasurer ([email protected], 415-341-6417), Melanie Sakoda, SNAP Survivor Support Director ([email protected], 925-708-6175, Shaun Dougherty, SNAP Interim Executive Director ([email protected], 814-341-8386)
(SNAP, the Survivors Network, has been providing support for victims of sexual abuse in institutional settings for more than 35 years. We have more than 25,000 survivors and supporters in our network. Our website is SNAPnetwork.org)