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	10 Priests Accused in 2005 By Ken Thorbourne The Jersey Journal April 1, 2006 http://www.nj.com/news/jjournal/index.ssf?/ base/news-1/1143886631260790.xml&coll=3 An independent audit has found 12 allegations of sexual misconduct against 10 priests in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark last year. The audit, performed by the Gavin Group of Boston, was part of a national campaign by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to make sure allegations of sexual misconduct are immediately referred to prosecutors. The Archdiocese - which covers Hudson, Bergen, Passaic and Union counties - was found to be "fully compliant" in its efforts to protect young people from sexual predators last year, church officials announced yesterday. That means all allegations were referred to prosecutors and hundreds of priests and other diocesan employees underwent training on sexual abuse prevention, said James Goodness, a spokesman for the Archdiocese. The Archdiocese would not release the names of the 10 priests. Goodness said that five of them were deceased by the time the allegations were brought forward so a full inquiry wasn't possible. Three were permanently removed as priests following investigations by the Archdiocese Review Board, he said. One had resigned from the priesthood years before the allegations were lodged and one returned to the priesthood after he was cleared by the Review Board and the prosecutor's office found no basis to pursue criminal charges, Goodness said. Goodness said he was not sure if the 10 includes Monsignor Peter Cheplic, who retired last month following accusations of sexual misconduct made by three men. Cheplic, 60, who most recently worked at St. Henry's Church in Bayonne, also worked at St. Aloysius in Jersey City, St. Joseph of the Palisades in West New York, and St. Lawrence in Weehawken.
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