Seton Hall president urged to resign after report he knew of sex abuse claims
Rep. Mikie Sherrill called POLITICO’s reporting “deeply disturbing” — and state lawmakers planned to discuss taking action.
Seton Hall is one of the oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities in the country. | Julio Cortez/AP
Lawmakers and victim advocates are calling for Seton Hall University’s president to resign after POLITICO revealed he was named in an internal report on sexual abuse allegations more than five years ago. They also want the Catholic university to release the findings as a measure of transparency and accountability.
A 2019 memo detailing the internal investigation, viewed by POLITICO, did not accuse the new president, Monsignor Joseph Reilly, of abuse. But it said he knew of sexual abuse allegations that he did not report. Investigators recommended, pursuant to a responsive action plan the school’s governing body adopted, Reilly be removed as a seminary leader and member of university boards.
Instead, he took a yearlong sabbatical, returned as a vice provost and, in November, formally became president of the New Jersey school.
“Seton Hall needs to address this situation immediately and can start by publicly releasing the findings of their investigation and recommendations related to Monsignor Reilly.”
The vice chair of the New Jersey state Senate Higher Education Committee, Andrew Zwicker, said Reilly and anyone on the university’s governing body who had knowledge of his conduct should resign.
“It’s appalling and disgraceful,” Zwicker, a Democrat, said in an interview. “The fact that we have someone that took a year off and comes back and installed as president is really just beyond the pale.”
Spokespeople for Reilly and Seton Hall did not respond to a message seeking comment on the calls for Reilly’s resignation and whether the school would release investigators’ report. The university said in a statement to POLITICO last month that those findings are confidential, and that Reilly “shares the University’s unwavering commitment to fostering a safe and supportive environment for all members of our campus community.”
All other federal lawmakers from New Jersey, as well as the state’s legislative leaders and Gov. Phil Murphy, either declined to comment or did not respond to messages about Reilly and his promotion by Seton Hall.
Zwicker said that because of the holiday break he had not conferred with the committee chair or Senate president “about what actions we might take.” He said that could include calling a public hearing or scrutinizing public tax dollars to the university.
Seton Hall is a private university, so it is not reliant on the state for funding, although the budget does support some programs and projects. It is one of the oldest and most prestigious Catholic universities in the country, matriculating former governors such as Chris Christie (at its law school) and members of Congress.
In 2018, the university hired a pair of law firms to investigate sexual abuse claims following credible allegations against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the longtime archbishop of the Newark diocese and later the top Catholic leader in Washington, D.C.
That review found decades of sexual harassment and a “culture of fear and intimidation” under McCarrick, according to a summary published by the university. A separate memo with key findings of the investigation was delivered to the Board of Regents, the university’s governing body. It detailed how Reilly, then rector and dean of the school’s Immaculate Conception Seminary, investigated a student complaint of sexual assault “in house” and did not report it or follow the school and federal Title IX policies and procedures. It also said Reilly dismissed a seminarian in 2012 who was an alleged victim of sexual abuse without investigating the incident or escalating the matter, a violation of university policy.
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