BERGEN (NJ)
North Jersey Record
May 6, 2019
By Ed Forbes
Another large group of priests and others who served the Roman Catholic Church were accused of sexual misconduct at a Monday press conference in Elizabeth.
Jeff Anderson & Associates, a New York law firm, released the names of more than 300 diocesan priests, religious order priests, deacons, nuns, and religious brothers and sisters. All, the firm said, are accused of sexual misconduct and associated with the Catholic dioceses in New Jersey.
The clerics were named at an Elizabeth press conference at which Anderson also announced that Edward Hanratty, a native of Ridgefield Park, has filed suit against all of New Jersey’s Roman Catholic bishops and the New Jersey Catholic Conference for “maintaining a public hazard by keeping secret the names of all clergy accused of sexual misconduct in New Jersey.”
Why we didn’t publish the names
We have decided not to publish those named in the Anderson firm’s report. Why?
While the firm shared names and assignment histories, no details about credible accusations are included.
Anderson has asked you to believe that these 300 clerics are bad actors at face value. We believe details about accusations are required for New Jersey’s Catholics to make that judgment.
Anderson said its report drew on information “from publicly available sources, claims made by survivors to the dioceses and religious orders responsible for the offenders, and legal settlements made as a result of claims for sexual abuse.” We question why the firm didn’t do more to attribute its information to those publicly available sources.
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