Rev. Kenneth L. Martin – Assignment History

Summary of Case: Kenneth L. Martin was ordained for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1977. He was an assistant priest at St. Andrew's parish in Bayonne until 1991, when he was made a personal secretary for Archbishop McCarrick while residing at Sacred Heart Cathedral. In 1993 Martin was assigned as Administrator of Holy Name of Jesus in East Orange.

In the mid-1990s a man met with McCarrick to report that Martin had sexually abused him over a four-year period, beginning when he was age 13 in the mid-1970s. He said that Martin also abused his younger brother. The man, Mark Crawford, said that he had gone in 1983 to auxilliary bishop Pechillo with the same information, but that Pechillo took no action. McCarrick removed Martin from ministry briefly, then reassigned him to a hospital chaplaincy. Crawford was alarmed several years later when he saw a photograph in the diocesan newspaper of Martin and McCarrick at a hospital Christmas party for children.

Martin remained in active ministry until 2002. In 2013 he was reportedly still a priest, working as a train conductor in New Jersey.

Ordained: 1977

1977

Archdiocese of Newark

Archbishop was Peter Leo Gerety (1974-1986), followed by Theodore Edgar McCarrick (1986-2000).

Bayonne

• Martin allegedly sexually abused at least two boys who were brothers and St. Andrew's parishioners. New Jersey SNAP leader Mark Crawford has stated that in 1983 he told auxiliary bishop Jerome Pechillo that Martin abused him over a four-year period, beginning when he was age 13 in the mid-1970s. He said Martin took him on trips throughout the U.S. and to Europe and gave him expensive gifts. He said, too, that he was terrified of Martin, who would beat him. When he left home at age 17, Crawford said that Martin targeted and sexually abused a younger brother. Martin was kept in ministry.

2/5, 2/4, 3/5, 3/4

7/7, 7/8

In residence.

2/3, 1/3

Administrator

Martin is not indexed in the 1997 Directory, nor is he listed in the Newark pages as at his previous or next assignments.

Survivor Mark Crawford said he met with Archbishop McCarrick in 1997 about Martin. Martin was removed from ministry for a short time, then assigned to hospital chaplaincies. Per Crawford, McCarrick told him Martin would be kept from children, but that Martin was shown two years later in a diocesan newspaper photo with McCarrick at a St. James Hospital Christmas party for children. McCarrick, who was elevated to cardinal in 2001, was removed from public ministry in June 2018 due to a credible allegation that he had sexually abused a 16-year-old altar boy in 1971. Another man subsequently came forward, alleging abuse by McCarrick over a 20-year period, beginning when the man was age 11. McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals July 28, 2018.

1997

McCarrick was succeeded as Newark archbishop by John Joseph Myers (2001-2016).

2002

Joseph William Tobin, C.SS.R. replaced Myers (2016-).

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Source: Official Catholic Directory (Kenedy & Sons, 1978-2002).

• Mark Crawford, Testimony before the NJ Senate, January 26, 2004
• Assembly Eases Way for Suing Churches by Laura Mansnerus, New York Times, December 18, 2005
• Adult Victims of Child Sex Abuse Push for N.J. Law Eliminating Statute of Limitations, by Terrence T. McDonald, The Jersey Journal, January 9, 2012
• Hidden Priests, Secret Pasts: Church Silent about Where it Houses Credibly Accused Clerics, by Mark Mueller, The Star-Ledger, November 3, 2013
• Abuse survivor says McCarrick failed to act on complaint about priest, by Peter Feuerherd, National Catholic Reporter, July 27, 2018

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Martin's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with the allegations against him, as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegations we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on July 30, 2002.