Road to Recovery Protests outside Church, by Sonya Kimble-Ellis, Livingston Patch, June 27, 2011

Road to Recovery Protests outside Church

By Sonya Kimble-Ellis
Livingston Patch
June 27, 2011

http://livingston.patch.com/articles/road-to-recovery-protests-outside-church

Road to Recovery, a victims advocacy group, once again protested outside St. Philomena's Roman Catholic Church on Sunday against a priest they accuse of abuse nearly 30 years ago.

Patch is not identifying the priest nor the adult victims until it has an opportunity to examine a pending lawsuit, which a lawyer for Road to Recovery, Greg Gianforcaro, said he would be amending within 30 days because of new allegations.

"I already contacted the counsel for the Archdiocese last week to advise them," Gianforcaro said. "Now we are waiting to begin litigation."

Jim Goodness, a spokesman for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, declined to comment on the new claims. "Since nothing is in litigation," he said, "we have no comment at this time."

On Sunday, similar to demonstrations held during the spring, Road to Recovery handed out leaflets to parishioners arriving for services at the church entrance on the Oval. The victims say the alleged abuse took place in the rectory of Immaculate Conception Church in Newark, during camping trips, and on sports outings.

In March, the priest publicly acknowledged the allegations during Sunday services and assured parishioners that the Church has found the charges unfounded.