How should priests report sex abuse by priests? N.J. diocese asks after McCarrick scandal

By Kelly Heyboer
NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
August 8, 2018

https://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2018/08/how_should_priests_report_sex_abuse_by_other_pries.html

One of New Jersey's Catholic dioceses is bringing together a group of senior advisers to consider changing how priests can report sexual misconduct by fellow priests, church officials said Tuesday.

Bishop James Checchio, head of the Diocese of Metuchen, said the recent resignation of former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick has raised questions about whether his diocese needs to make big changes.  

McCarrick is accused of sexual abuse and misconduct with young seminarians and priests, including some who said they feared retaliation if they reported him to church authorities because he was a high-ranking Catholic leader.

One of McCarrick's alleged victims, a former priest, said last month he endured McCarrick's sexual advances in part because the Catholic Church lacked the type of human resources departments and anonymous reporting systems that exist in the corporate world for those reporting abuse by co-workers.

"Does the Catholic Church have that? How is a priest supposed to report abuse or wrong activity by his bishop?" Robert Ciolek, a former priest who said he was abused by McCarrick, said last month to the New York Times.

Checchio said the Diocese of Metuchen is ready to reconsider its systems for reporting abuse by priests.

"I have begun to bring together a senior team of advisors to examine reporting processes. Clearly, the safety of an independent reporting structure that allows for anyone to bring an allegation forward without the fear of retribution of any kind is needed," Checchio said in a letter to the diocese sent Tuesday.

The Diocese of Metuchen -- which includes 90 parishes in Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren counties -- has more than 250 priests and seminarians.

Checchio said he continues to be "saddened and ashamed" of the events that led to the resignation of McCarrick, who founded the Diocese of Metuchen and went on to become the Archbishop of Newark and head of the Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.

"The case of Archbishop McCarrick demonstrates that the culture of the church is changing and that no one is exempt from its censure - regardless of a person's rank or status, or the number of years that have passed since an incident occurred," Checchio wrote.

McCarrick, 88, resigned from the College of Cardinals last month after an allegation he sexually abused an altar boy nearly 50 years ago in New York City was found to be credible. Pope Francis ordered the priest, who is living in Washington, D.C., to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" as he awaits a church trial.

McCarrick has said he does not remember the incident from 50 years ago and believes he did nothing wrong. He has said he will cooperate with any investigation.

Another man has since come forward to say McCarrick sexually abused him for years, beginning when the man was an 11-year-old in New Jersey. 

After the allegations against McCarrick became public, the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Metuchen revealed that he had previously been accused of sexual misconduct with three adults during his time in New Jersey.

Two of those cases resulted in settlements paid to former priests who accused McCarrick of sexual misconduct. 

Ciolek, a former priest turned lawyer, was paid $80,000 after he said McCarrick would invite him and other young seminarians and priests to a Shore house in Sea Girt, where they would be expected to share a bed with the church leader.

"In the corporate world, there are ways to report misconduct," Ciolek, 57, told the New York Times last month. "You have an H.R. contact, you have a legal department, or you have anonymous reporting, you have systems."

Another priest received a $100,000 settlement from the church in 2007 after he alleged McCarrick would get in bed with him and wrap his arms and legs around him. The priest also alleged he saw McCarrick having sex with another young priest during a fishing trip.

In the Archdiocese of Newark, Cardinal Joseph Tobin responded to the allegations against McCarrick by inviting any priests who had been abused to come forward.

The seminaries where priests train in the archdiocese are affiliated with Seton Hall University, Tobin said. So, the university's sexual harassment reporting policies and procedures apply to any seminarian accusing a priest of abuse.

"Shortly after the original announcement in June concerning the allegations from New York, I invited all priests of the archdiocese to a prayer service and an opportunity to share their thoughts about the recent revelations involving Archbishop McCarrick. During that meeting, I again offered to meet privately with any priest who experienced abuse while a seminarian," Tobin said in a statement.

Tobin also brought the issue up with the U.S. Conference of Bishops, his spokesman said.

Last week, Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said he has also convened a series of meeting with his group's leaders to discuss what changes the Catholic Church can make in response to the McCarrick allegations.

"These failures raise serious questions. Why weren't these allegations of sins against chastity and human dignity disclosed when they were first brought to church officials? Why wasn't this egregious situation addressed decades sooner and with justice? What must our seminaries do to protect the freedom to discern a priestly vocation without being subject to misuse of power?" DiNardo said.