We tracked 820 suits alleging sex abuse against Catholic Church in NJ

NEWARK (NJ)
NorthJersey.com [Woodland Park NJ]

June 22, 2023

More than 820 lawsuits alleging sexual abuse by clerics, teachers and nuns were filed in New Jersey against Catholic dioceses and orders in the two year period starting Dec. 1, 2019, when the state suspended the civil statute of limitations for civil sex abuse complaints.

NorthJersey.com kept track of those cases, and reported extensively on many of the most alarming allegations, as well as the priests named most often in the suits. NorthJersey.com also compiled a database of the lawsuits, which contain allegations that span seven decades, from the 1940s through 2016. About 250 Catholic clerics have been accused of sexual abuse, including dozens never named publicly before.

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former head of the Newark Archdiocese and one of the most powerful American prelates in the Catholic Church, has been accused of abuse in at least 10 of the suits.

NorthJersey.com exposed new information about McCarrick’s rise to power through the church hierarchy despite abuse allegations that surfaced as early as the 1980s. NorthJersey.com also reported that church officials tried to curtail McCarrick’s use of a Jersey Shore beach house, where he allegedly abused seminarians, as far back as the 1980s. 

His time as archbishop of Newark included the purchase of at least two beach homes, including one tied to a mysterious debt, and a pattern of ignoring abuse allegations against priests under his control.

Here are some of the most significant stories from that coverage.

‘If he’s found guilty, I’m free:’ NJ man yearns for conviction of ex-Cardinal McCarrick (3-16-23)

As he watches the prosecution of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick unfold, James Grein is grappling with some painful spiritual questions. The thoughts come rapid-fire: “How is it that a 92-year-old ex-prelate has had a wonderful life while all of his victims suffer?” Grein asks. “Why are the abuse victims continuously victimized?”

Abuse survivors say Catholic church has failed to disclose hundreds of cases in NJ (1-30-23)

Today, Newark’s inventory of 63 credibly accused clerics remains unchanged − even after hundreds of sex abuse lawsuits have been filed against the Archdiocese and accusers have received settlements from a fund established to compensate victims. Numerous accused priests are not on the list.

As filing window closes, sex abuse lawsuits against NJ Catholic Church number 820 (11-29-21)

A recent lawsuit alleging that a religious order priest sexually assaulted a 12-year-old girl in 2006 was among the nearly 180 sex abuse civil complaints filed this month alone against the Catholic Church in New Jersey. Recent suits include two new claims against former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

NJ churches have reopened their doors as COVID wanes. But can they fill the pews? (11-22-21)

On a typical pre-pandemic Sunday morning, some 2,000 worshippers would flock to Mass at St. Paul Roman Catholic Church in Ramsey. These days, Sunday has a quieter vibe. A similar scene is playing out in churches of various denominations around New Jersey and the rest of the nation, where pews still haven’t filled up even as pandemic restrictions have eased.  

32 sex abuse lawsuits now pending against Delbarton monks as 10 more complaints are filed (10-27-21)

Ten additional sex abuse lawsuits were filed this week against the Catholic order that runs the Delbarton School in Morris Township, which now faces 32 pending lawsuits. At least 12 of its monks and one lay teacher have been publicly accused of abusing children decades ago. 

Ex-football star alleges sex abuse by Delbarton School monks more than 150 times in 1970s (6-10-21)

A former North Jersey high school football standout is among the latest to file a lawsuit against the Catholic order that runs the Delbarton School in Morris Township, alleging that he was sexually abused by three monks decades ago and kept quiet about it for years — partly because he and his brother were the school’s only Black students.

He joined a man-boy love group. He also took photos at Bergen Catholic games for decades (6-1-21)

James E. Cooper said he’d been taking photos at Bergen Catholic High School soccer games since the late 1980s, offering prints to parents and getting to know coaches who thanked him for his efforts. That was years after his conviction on a sex offense had been overturned.

Girl thought Newark Archbishop Gerety was sent by God — then he allegedly molested her (5-10-21)

She believed that a high-ranking prelate in the Catholic Church who brought food to her impoverished family in Newark had been sent by God. But then Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety, the leader of the Newark Archdiocese in the 1970s and 1980s, allegedly took the girl, who was 5, to his bedroom.

Bergen Catholic faces sex abuse suits years after religious order settled prior complaints (3-25-21)

Four men have filed lawsuits alleging they were sexually abused decades ago at Bergen Catholic High School, with several more civil complaints expected — the result of what legal experts say may have been a miscalculation when school officials didn’t contribute to a settlement made eight years ago.

Salesians religious order that runs Don Bosco Prep faces multiple sex abuse lawsuits in NJ (3-22-21)

At least five sex abuse lawsuits have been filed over the past 15 months against the religious order that runs Don Bosco Preparatory School in Ramsey, a group that has faced a significant number of accusations in other parts of the country but that so far has received little attention in New Jersey.

Brooklyn bishop accused of sex abuse against Jersey City altar boy in 1970s in new lawsuit (3-11-21)

A second lawsuit has been filed against Brooklyn Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, this one accusing him of sexually abusing an altar boy at St. Nicholas parish in Jersey City in the 1970s when the accuser was between 10 and 12, an allegation made public more than a year ago.

Catholic Church tries to shift blame to former Cardinal McCarrick in NJ sex abuse lawsuits (3-9-21)

Catholic Church officials in New Jersey filed court documents aiming to shift responsibility for former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s alleged sexual abuse away from themselves and onto the former prelate — even as his rise to a position of power was aided by high-ranking clerics who covered up his behavior.

Hundreds of NJ priest sex abuse suits hint at victims’ pain. Here are some of their stories (12-2-20)

Many of the accusers could not talk about the abuse for decades. Others said they tried to report it when they were children, only to be ignored by clerics who dismissed their claims and even by their own parents, who couldn’t believe their parish priest could do any harm. Here are four of their stories.

Former NY Giants chaplain accused of sexually abusing Montclair girl as nuns held her down

A priest who until last year worked as the New York Giants team chaplain has been accused in a lawsuit filed last week of sexually assaulting a young girl as two nuns held her down at a Montclair parish decades ago. The priest, William Dowd, was removed from ministry, but he was reinstated after being acquitted in a church trial.

‘Everybody knew’: Years of sex abuse by Paramus Catholic coach were no secret, players say (11-19-20)

Bernard Garris, who coached at Paramus Catholic High School for about 20 years, wasn’t just a tough coach, 11 people say —  he also sexually abused them when they attended Paramus Catholic during the 1980s. He put his hands down the pants of ice hockey players and grabbed them, sometimes until it hurt.

Misinformation from NJ bishops helped extend McCarrick’s rise, Vatican report says (11-13-20)

Former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick once allegedly fondled a young man at a banquet hall as two bishops watched but said nothing. McCarrick’s alleged harassment of seminarians was so well known that a prominent cardinal tried to block his promotion to be the leader of the Archdiocese of Washington.

A timeline of ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick’s rise and fall (11-10-20)

NorthJersey.com produced a timeline of events related to ex-Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, former leader of the Newark and Metuchen dioceses. A Vatican investigation found a series of bishops, cardinals and popes downplayed reports that McCarrick slept with seminarians as he ascended in the American church.

Explosive findings: Archdiocese clergy protected priest who allegedly stole $1M for sex, vacations (10-20-20)

A church investigation which has yet to be made public by the Catholic Archdiocese of New York revealed that a priest who allegedly stole $1 million from two parishes to pay for sex, lavish vacations and a New Jersey shore home was protected for years by clergy at the archdiocese and avoided criminal prosecution.

A timeline of events involving two Jersey Shore homes used by Newark Archbishop McCarrick (9-8-20)

NorthJersey.com produced a timeline of events involving the two Jersey Shore homes to which Cardinal Theodore McCarrick had access while he was archbishop of the Newark Archdiocese. In 2019, he became the first American cardinal to be defrocked after allegations surfaced that he sexually abused children.

Ex-Cardinal McCarrick had second beach house linked to mysterious debt and unusual history (9-8-20)

Even as Vatican officials pressured former Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick to sell a Sea Girt home in the late 1990s after allegations that he sexually harassed seminarians there, the archdiocese was securing yet another shore home for McCarrick in an even grander location — on a spit of land that juts into Barnegat Bay.

Ex-altar boy says he was abused by Cardinal McCarrick — and witnessed more at beach house (8-17-20)

Geoffrey Downs said he was a teenage altar boy in the 1980s when former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick abruptly pinned him to a wall and sexually abused him as they prepared for services in Metuchen. McCarrick allegedly said he could arrange for the two to go to a Jersey Shore beach house for “alone time.”

Catholic Church was warned about McCarrick decades ago, yet promotions, honors kept coming (8-10-20)

In the late 1980s, several seminary students approached one of their professors imploring him for help, saying they didn’t want to take any more trips to Newark Archbishop Theodore McCarrick’s Jersey Shore home, but feared reprisals if they complained to archdiocesan officials.

NJ archdiocese limits therapy funding for sexual assault accusers who take church to court (7-31-20)

For years, the Newark Archdiocese has subsidized therapy sessions to make amends for decades of harboring alleged abusers. But the Archdiocese abruptly restricted that policy, saying it would end the funding for anyone who sues over alleged assault or accepts a settlement from its victims’ compensation fund. 

Lawsuit alleges former Cardinal McCarrick ran a sex ring for clerics at NJ beach home (7-22-20)

A lawsuit filed Tuesday night accuses former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of taking his pick of boys to abuse sexually and assigning others to adult clerics at a New Jersey beach home in Sea Girt that’s been central to previous allegations against the former prelate.

Nine new sex abuse suits filed against Newark Archdiocese include cleric not accused before (7-13-20)

Nine lawsuits filed against the Catholic Church on Monday include allegations of sex abuse against seven clerics — including two priests who worked for years after church officials were told of alleged abuse and a religious brother who worked at a Florida university until two years ago despite a criminal conviction.

Priest worked in North Jersey parishes for decades after being accused of sex abuse (6-5-20)

The Rev. Gerald Sudol, who spent decades serving in North Jersey Catholic parishes, moved from one church to another, allegedly abusing boys sexually — sometimes more than one at a time — and telling them that God would punish them if they told anyone.

New accuser names former Cardinal McCarrick as dozens of lawsuits are filed under NJ law (12-1-19)

The first wave of lawsuits was filed Sunday under a new state law that opened the way for perhaps hundreds of people to bring sex abuse claims against the Catholic Church. They included a new accuser saying in court papers that he was abused as a child growing up in Hackensack by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Cardinal Tobin: Church is rebuilding ‘shot’ credibility in wake of abuse scandals (11-22-19)

Just a week before state law may unleash a torrent of new priest abuse lawsuits, Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of the Newark Archdiocese said the church is working hard to rebuild trust with Catholics under his watch. The church’s credibility was “shot” after a series of scandals came to light last year, Tobin said.

As a teen, this former Delbarton student trusted a priest. Then came the alleged sex abuse (7-29-19)

T.M. says he was 15 when Richard Lott served him beers at a party, and when he awoke later he found the cleric sexually abusing him in a barn at Delbarton. Decades later, T.M. learned that another student was allegedly abused by Lott — just months after T.M.’s own meeting to alert the abbot about the priest. 

NJ’s Catholic dioceses release names of 188 priests accused of sexual abuse (2-13-19)

New Jersey’s Roman Catholic dioceses on Wednesday released the names of 188 priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing children over decades, the result of an internal review that was spurred by a law enforcement investigation announced last year.

Former Delbarton teacher admits he had sex with 50 boys; school settles 5 sex abuse suits (6-1-18)

The Catholic order that runs the Delbarton School has settled lawsuits brought by five men who alleged they were sexually abused by five monks — including a former headmaster. A priest at the center of eight lawsuits allegedly admitted to having sexual encounters with about 50 boys, according to documents.

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/watchdog/2023/06/22/lawsuits-against-catholic-church-alleging-sexual-abuse-in-nj-cardinal-mccarrick/70331735007/