N.J. Priests Molested Us, and We Want More of Their Names Released, Survivors’ Group Demands

By Sophie Nieto-Munoz
Star Ledger
March 28, 2019

https://www.nj.com/middlesex/2019/03/nj-priests-molested-us-and-we-want-more-of-their-names-released-survivors-group-demands.html

Six weeks after N.J. Catholic dioceses released the names of 188 priests and deacons accused of sexually abusing children, survivors of the abuse are calling for the church to release more names, including a priest brought under the watch of disgraced Cardinal Theodore McCarrick.

Mark Crawford, director of the N.J. chapter of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, stood in front of St. John Vianney church in Colonia and demanded New Jersey bishops take accountability to release all the names of accused priests.

The Catholic church came under massive pressure to identify the clergy accused of sexual misconduct following the release of a Pennsylvania grand jury report identifying 300 credibly accused clergy members, leading to N.J.'s five Catholic dioceses to release the names of priests credibly accused of sexual abuse against children.

But Crawford said there are several priests who ministered at St. John Vianney, even though they had known records of molesting young children, including Fathers John R. Butler, Edward M. DePaoli and Romano Ferraro.

The church has taken advantage of opportunities to release limited information, Crawford said, but “more important than what they have told us, is what they have decided not to reveal.”

“Father Ferraro, although he is listed as having been at the staff at this parish, he is not one of the names the Diocese of Metuchen has put on this list,” said attorney Patrick Noaker, who represents eight of Ferraro’s victims. “When you look at these documents, you might understand why they might be scared to admit they welcomed him into this diocese.”

Ferraro had one of the most egregious records on being sent to different dioceses following sexual abuse allegations, said Noaker, a Minnesota-based attorney.

“Nobody in the parishes were told anything about Father Ferraro’s background so they could protect their kids from him. They unleashed him on a whole 'nother group of kids. An entire diocese of children," he said.

Ferraro was brought to the Diocese of Metuchen in 1984 under the watch of then-Bishop Theodore McCarrick.

In 2004, Ferraro was convicted and sentenced to life in prison for repeatedly raping a boy from 1973 to 1980 in Massachussets. During the trial, Ferraro admitted he sexually abused dozens of boys.

Ferraro has served 15 years of his sentence, and is up for parole on April 9.

Noaker revealed damning documents that show Ferraro was first brought to the attention of a bishop in 1964 at his first parish assignment in Brooklyn. In 1968, he joined the military and was dishonorably discharged for touching a young boy in bed, Noaker said.

Assignment records show Ferraro took a sick leave in 1973 before moving around dioceses in New York and Montana, and was admitted to a psychiatric facility in 1979.

“(The doctor) said that there was very little that can be done with (Ferraro). He agrees that forceful action should be taken with him and that I should give him an ultimatum to stay away from all boys,” a 1979 letter in Ferraro’s Brooklyn file states. The note also said the doctor would prefer to see Ferraro laicized, but should resign at the least.

Ferraro eventually landed at the Diocese of Metuchen in 1984, serving at St. James in Woodbridge, Our Lady of the Mount in Middlesex and St. John Vianney in Colonia. The assignment was granted by McCarrick, who was laicized in February.

“It was a shell game, and New Jersey all too often was found to be a dumping ground for priests from other dioceses, moved here to minister after having abused children elsewhere," Crawford said.

He was kicked out of the Diocese of Metuchen two years later and joined dioceses in Staten Island, Queens and Maryland.

The 85-year-old is eligible for parole in April, though Noaker said many victims are trying to keep him from re-entering the community by sending letters to the judge.

Crawford commended the Attorney General’s Office for continuing their investigation into abuse by priests, which began in September following the bombshell report in Pennsylvania.

“I don’t think he’s leaving any stone unturned to get to the bottom of this an expose the truth of what these institutions know,” Crawford said.

He urged victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests or anyone with information about other clergy members to call the Attorney General’s hotline at (855) 363-6548.

Crawford also championed for a bill that state legislators passed Monday which allows adults who were sexually assaulted as children to bring a civil suit against an individual or institution, up until the age of 55 or seven years after they make “the discovery” connecting their emotional and psychological injury to the abuse. The governor is expected to sign the bill.