Ten accused 'predator priests' on Jesuit list served in New Jersey

By Deena Yellin
North Jersey Record
January 16, 2019

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2019/01/15/ten-jesuits-accused-abusing-minors-served-north-jersey/2580247002/

Joseph Kibitlewski, who was abused by a Jesuit priest as a child, said the release of the names is long overdue. Photo by Joseph Kibitlewski

In addition, four U.S. Jesuit provinces have published lists of accused priests, and the last province has promised to release its names. Photo by Francois Duckett

Ten Jesuit priests who worked in New Jersey institutions were among a list published by the Roman Catholic religious order Tuesday of members who were credibly accused of sexually abusing children.

The USA Northeast Province Jesuits, which encompasses New England, New York and northern New Jersey, unveiled the roster of 50 priests accused of abusing minors between 1950 and 1996.  

Nine of the Jesuits who served in New Jersey worked at St. Peter's Prep High School, St. Peter's University or St. Peter's Parish, all in Jersey City. 

None of the Jesuits accused of abusing a minor is still in active ministry and all but 15 of the priests on the list are deceased. One was jailed for pornography while eight left the order and one was laicized. On the list are priests who served in a number of places throughout the country. 

Jesuits are a Roman Catholic order of priests comprising about 16,000 men internationally who take on vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. They are not part of a diocese.

Joseph Kibitlewski, who said he was abused by a Jesuit priest while he was a student at St. Peter's Prep High School in Jersey City in 1953, said he was disappointed when he did not see the name of his abuser on it.

He brought his allegations to the church months ago but was rebuffed, he said, adding, "They offered me money for counseling but that was it." 

"It is amazing to see how all those priests were shuffled around to keep things quiet," said Kibitlewski, who previously worked in law enforcement. 

The Rev. John Cecero, provincial of the Northeast Province, wrote a public letter of apology stating, "I apologize for any of our brothers who have committed crimes of abuse and pledge to work to provide safe environments for all to whom we minister and to offer support and possibilities for healing to victims." 

He said the order implemented safeguards in 2002 to protect children, and noted that "any living Jesuit with a credible allegation of abuse is removed from ministry and assigned to a community that does not serve minors where he lives under a closely monitored safety plan."

An FAQ included with the list noted that in many cases, the accusation was received years after the abuse took place, so a Jesuit may have continued in ministry because nobody was aware of the abuse. The reason for the release of the information now is to provide transparency and prevent future abuse.

In a statement on the St. Peter's Prep website Tuesday, its president, the Rev. Kenneth Boller, wrote, "The fact that a Jesuit previously assigned to Prep is included on the list does not mean that any alleged abuse took place while he was active here."

Boller said the Jesuits and Prep have implemented safe policies "in an attempt to prevent abuse and to encourage and enable the immediate and proper reporting of any suspect behavior on the part of any member of our community."  

Among the priests who served in New Jersey were:

• Cornelius Carr, who worked in St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City from 1954-59 and who is deceased
• Thomas Denny, who worked at St. Peter's Prep in Jersey City from 1986-92 and 1995-97
• Andrew Dittrich, who worked at Rutgers University from 1970-77 and Rider College from 1977-89, who is deceased
• Joseph Fitzpatrick, who taught at St. Peter's Prep from 1967-69
• Raymond Fullam, who worked at St. Peter's Church in Jersey City from 1964-65 (deceased)
•  James Gould, who worked at St. Peter's Prep from 1969-71
• James Kuntz, who worked at St. Peter's University in Jersey City from 2004-07 and was jailed after pleading guilty to child pornography
• Eugene O'Brien, who worked at St. Peter's Prep from 1959-1960
• Anthony Paone, St. Peter's Prep from 1939-42 (deceased)
• William Scanlon, St. Peter's University in Jersey City from 1974-76.

Jesuit provinces of four other regions in America have released their own lists of priests credibly accused of abusing children.

"Given that the Jesuits have actively practiced the cover-up of clergy sexual abuse for decades upon decades, victims question whether the criteria used by the Jesuits in determining if a pedophile priest has been credibly accused is fair or is just a means to name as few pedophile priests as possible," said attorney Mitchell Garabedian, who has represented numerous clergy abuse victims.

He said he settled a claim in 2003 of a woman who was allegedly abused by the Rev. Charles M. Loeffler when she was 9 years old. His name was not on any of the lists. "The omission of Father Loeffler from the list by the Jesuits is an example of why an independent investigation of the Jesuits and of the Catholic Church relative to pedophilia must take place." 

"Certainly, given the kangaroo court nature of the Catholic Church, there is a need for a truly independent investigation to determine what the Jesuits are hiding and why."