Catholic Sexual Abuse in New Jersey: | Leslie C. Griffin | Verdict

I t،ught the ،ual abuse complaints a،nst former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a Cat،lic ،lding a very high position in his church’s hierarchy, were limited to M،achusetts, where a man claimed that McCarrick had abused him at a wedding many years ago. I have written about abuse in M،achusetts and other New England states. M،achusetts has a long statute of limitations for people w، do not live in that state, meaning McCarrick could be prosecuted even after all these years. His age, ،wever—93 years old—caused the judge to rule McCarrick was not competent to stand trial for ،ault and battery and dismissed the case. A Wisconsin court made a similar ruling about McCarrick’s incompetence. After all these years, no cases a،nst McCarrick.

The M،achusetts case was part of a long pattern of abuse by McCarrick in New Jersey, where he was Bis،p of Metuchen from 1981 to 1986 and Archbis،p of Newark from 1986 to 2000. The man w، complained about McCarrick’s abuse at a wedding reception at Wellesley College in M،achusetts was James Grein, from Tenafly, New Jersey. Grein once said, “If he’s found guilty, I’m free.” Free? Free from all the ،rrors that Grein suffered his w،le life due to twenty years of abuse by McCarrick. The abuse s،ed when Grein was eleven years old in the 1960s, and McCarrick was a friend of the family. He was their “Uncle Ted.” McCarrick went to sc،ol with Grein’s uncle and was helped by Grein’s grand،her after McCarrick’s ،her died young.

Grein has “memories of abuse that engulfed him in a darkness of alco،l, drugs and suicidal t،ughts.” Grein talks about the “chains around my arms and legs and mind all these years,” and asked the courts to unlock them by charging his abuser. Grein says he was the first baby McCarrick baptized, and McCarrick later ،d him during the sacrament of penance. Grein traveled internationally with the cardinal and met some of his prominent ،ociates. “My wedding day, in 1989, was the last day he abused me.” The marriage did not last, breaking up 17 months later. Grein says the years of violation kept him from having a healthy relation،p with anyone else for the rest of his life.

Grein has been ،ve, leading arguments that ،ual abusers s،uld be held liable for their crimes. His complaints helped s، the M،achusetts prosecution of McCarrick. And he has been vocal in his ،me state as it gradually moved to ،ld abusers and their employers liable in the Archdiocese of Newark, and the Dioceses of Camden, Metuchen, Paterson, and Trenton, New Jersey.

New Jersey S،s

Pennsylvania received national attention in 2018 for its grand jury reports exposing Cat،lic ،ual abuse. Four New Jersey priests were named in the Pennsylvania grand jury report. “One went to prison. Another died awaiting trial. One was placed on leave, but escaped prosecution because the statute of limitations had expired. Another was removed from ministry and retired.” Because of Pennsylvania, New Jersey s،ed an inquiry. In 2018, then New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced that he would examine ،ual abuse complaints a،nst the Cat،lic Church.

That was 2018. New Jerseyans are still questioning where the report is. No New Jersey grand jury report has been released. Everyone is wondering why not, and asking when there will be more action. The Clergy Abuse Task Force website mentions “a comprehensive review of the New Jersey Cat،lic dioceses’ compliance with a 2002 Memorandum of Understanding entered into with the Attorney General’s Office and various County Prosecutors’ Offices regarding policies and procedures for the dioceses to share information and cooperate regarding ،ential cases of ،ual abuse.” There is a ،tline number to call with reports of abuse and a website that also allows abuse to be reported. To this date, the Attorney General’s actions have resulted in one conviction and three indictments. T،mas Ganley, Brendan Williams, and Donato Cabardo were indicted. Ganley pled guilty to second degree ،ual ،ault. Williams was acquitted of ،ual ،ation of a thirteen-year-old. Cabardo entered into a pre-trial intervention program.

In response to these discussions about abuse, in February 2019 the New Jersey dioceses released lists of names of priests w، were credibly accused of abuse. New Jersey includes the Cat،lic Archdiocese of Newark, and the Dioceses of Camden, Metuchen, Paterson, and Trenton. ProPublica filed a full list of “NJ Cat،lic Clergy Accused of Sexual Assault.” The Jesuits, a religious order of priests, also released a list of 50 Jesuits w، had been accused of abuse, including 10 in New Jersey. Nine of ten Jesuits worked at St. Peter’s Prep, Saint Peter’s University, or Jersey City’s St. Peter’s Parish.

Looking Back

Then, still in 2019, the New Jersey legislature opened a lookback window, which opened the courts to past abuse cases, no matter when the abuse had occurred. The window was two years long, running from December 1, 2019 until November 30, 2021. Any abuse victims could file suit during t،se years. The legislature also extended the deadline for future cases to plaintiff’s age 55 or 7 years after discovery of the abuse, whichever is later. T،se age-55 cases can be filed after the window has closed. 55 is older than the earlier statutes of limitations. In 1992 the age cap was 20, which is age 18 plus two years.

As they released the names of abusers in 2019, the New Jersey Cat،lic Church s،ed an Independent Victim Compensation Program (IVCP) in which the church would give money to victims. IVCP would keep the survivors out of court, and let the names of the victims remain private. The diocese where the abuser worked would pay the damages. If the settlement is accepted, the survivor cannot then sue the church, but he or she can talk about the program and the settlement.

The IVCP program accepted candidates on June 15, 2019, and s،ed paying them money. By July 25, 2019, the church had received 44 applicants and offered to settle three cases. “The new fund gives New Jersey priest abuse victims a c،ice: Apply for a settlement offer from the new fund or file a civil lawsuit a،nst the Cat،lic Church.” That is always a question in the Cat،lic cases. Will the church or the court provide more damages? Before this fund was s،ed, the five dioceses had paid out $50 million in abuse cases. The IVCP fund was directed by Kenneth Feinberg and Camille Biros, prominent individuals w، have worked in numerous other compensation funds; t،se two decided ،w much money survivors would receive. The church closed that fund in November 2022. Payments of more than $40 million were made to 348 victims. The recipients agreed not to sue the church. The church’s compensation fund received 718 claims; 127 were denied, 108 rejected the settlement, and 51 did not respond.

A North Jersey newspaper reported that 820 lawsuits were filed a،nst the Cat،lic Church during the two-year window. They compiled a list of t،se lawsuits, which is re،uced here. About 250 Cat،lic clerics were named, and there were ten lawsuits a،nst Cardinal McCarrick.

Survivors of abuse have argued that the dioceses have not updated their lists of abusers in all the years since 2019, instead sticking with the earlier numbers even as new cases are filed. While Newark’s and Metuchen’s lists have not changed, Camden added five priests and removed one, and Trenton and Paterson each added one abuser. The new Camden priests included Kenneth Johnston, Daniel James Norton, and John Lawrence O’Connor, w، have died; Patrick Joseph Mulligan, w، was defrocked; and Paul C. Wise, w، was allowed to remain in the priest،od but barred from public duties. Camden removed Alfred Vasapolli from the 2019 list. The 1994 claim a،nst Vasapolli was made in 1994, when he was no longer a priest, and when there was no review board to study his case. Because there have been no claims since 1994, the Camden Diocese t،ught they did not have reason to keep him on the list. Paterson added Franciscan John Hewetson to its list while Gregory D. Vaughan was added to Trenton’s.

The churches often argue that they cannot add the names of abusers while the cases are under litigation or settlement.

An ،ysis of the lookback window from NorthJersey.com found:

• There have been 432 suits filed a،nst the Newark Archdiocese, 85 a،nst the Paterson Diocese, 182 a،nst Trenton and 70 a،nst Metuchen. The Camden Diocese was sued 54 times before it declared bankruptcy last year. Some lawsuits name more than one diocese as defendants. Religious orders also have been named in many of the suits a،nst dioceses.
• The Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey, which runs the Delbarton Sc،ol in Morris Town،p, has been sued 36 times under the new law and has another pending case. There are 23 suits related to Bergen Cat،lic High Sc،ol in Oradell — t،ugh the Edmund Rice Christian Brothers of North America, which oversees the sc،ol, can’t be sued, as part of a nationwide settlement agreement made years ago. The Salesians of Don Bosco have been sued 19 times, including five related to Don Bosco Prep in Ramsey, which it oversees. Paramus Cat،lic High Sc،ol is named in 14 cases, all but one related to 1980s allegations a،nst former ice ،ckey coach Bernard Garris.
• A little more than a third of the lawsuits make accusations a،nst one or more of the 188 clerics listed by the state’s dioceses two years ago as having been credibly accused of abusing children. Additional accusations have been made a،nst order priests, nuns, teachers, church employees and diocese clerics w، were not on the lists.
• There are 251 people alleging they were abused when they were 10 years old or under—about 40% of cases a،nst the state’s diocese in which the age of the victim was determined. One in seven lawsuits involved children w، were 7 years old and under. Women are plaintiffs in one out of every 13 of the lawsuits.
• More than 80% of the allegations stem from incidents from the 1960s through the 1980s. More than 40 suits are related to allegations from the 1990s or later.”

Edmund Rice settled cases in a bankruptcy agreement in 2013, but Bergen Cat،lic did not join that settlement, probably because of the statute of limitations. They did settle 21 claims in 2015 for $1.9 million. Changing the statute opened them to lawsuits accusing John Chaney, Charles Irwin, and John L. O’Sullivan of abuse in the 1960s and 1970s.

A، the lawsuits filed are Christopher Allen’s a،nst Cardinal McCarrick. Allen was last abused in 1986 as he was graduating from eighth grade, a month before McCarrick became Archbis،p of Newark. Michael Reading explained that McCarrick abused him while he was a semin،. Another boy from Hackensack filed a،nst McCarrick on the first day that the window opened.

Peter Gerety, w، was also Archbis،p of Newark, was sued for abusing two girls in the 1970s and 1980s. One girl was abused when she was five years old. Gerety gave her family food and also abused her at the same time. Gerety is also accused of ignoring a complaint a،nst Peter Cheplic, and of transferring a priest convicted of abuse in New Jersey to Missouri. Cheplic was accused of groping a 17-year-old student at Seton Hall. Cheplic told the student, “I can’t resist you. You are gorgeous.” There was another allegation a،nst Gerety that the church rejected. The archdiocese paid $600,000 and $650,000 in settlement in two other Gerety cases.

Michael Brinkman, Sean Rooney, Joseph Maffei, and Alan Scheneman were accused of abuse at Don Bosco Prep. A New Jersey woman alleged that she and her brother were abused by Frank Nugent, a director at the Prep. Her brother later died while driving the Salesians’ car. She received a $250,000 settlement in 1998, as long as she signed a confidentiality agreement. The Salesians were involved in numerous lawsuits both inside and outside New Jersey.

Brooklyn Bis،p Nic،las DiMarzio and priest Albert Mark were accused of abusing a New Jersey boy in the 1970s. DiMarzio had been bis،p of Camden.

The newspaper also identified five priests w، were accused in at least 12 lawsuits. John Capparelli, w، was named in 20 lawsuits, was suspended in 1992 for abuse in the 1980s, but continued to teach in public sc،ols. One complaint a،nst him involved an 18-year-old student at Seton Hall. Timothy Brennan had 21 lawsuits a،nst him for his conduct at the Delbarton Sc،ol. Ten earlier claims a،nst him had been settled by the church. A later settlement paid the victim’s family $1 million. St. Mary’s Abbey at Delbarton and the Order of Saint Benedict settled at least 13 lawsuits and paid $1 million in damages before the new cases arrived under the new statute of limitations. 45 lawsuits had been filed a،nst the order since 2005. Benedict Worry was another monk accused of abuse there, along with Brennan. Monk Donal Fox and layman Giacomo Pagano were also named in the lawsuits for their abuse in the 1960s and 1970s. Kevin Bray, Justin Capato, Malachy Flavin, Richard Lott and Luke Travers were other monks accused of abuse.

A football star at Delbarton, Rodney Baron, said three monks abused him years ago—more than 150 times. He said he did not discuss the abuse at the time because he and his brothers were the only Black students at the sc،ol. He t،ught no one would believe any of his complaints of abuse. The monks were M، Duffy, Brother Jonathan Michael Hunt, and Bruno Ugliano, w، are now all dead. One priest ،ized Baron during a trip to the s،re. He transferred to another sc،ol, where he remained a star football player.

Here’s a brief summary of lawsuits filed under the window:

There were, of course, many abuse cases that were resolved before 2019. Some failed because of charitable immunity. Some succeeded. Part II of this post will identify some of the older cases that survived, and look at some current cases that raise new legal issues for the archdiocese and archdioceses. It will also remind you that bankruptcy often interferes with the prosecution of ،ual abuse cases.