NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger
February 14, 2019
By Mark Crawford
For decades, advocates and organizations like SNAP, the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, have called on our New Jersey bishops to release the names and files of clergy known to have abused children. Such pleas fell on deaf ears.
While any release of information from our church officials, from an institution well known for its secrecy, is a step in the right direction, the list lacks important details. The list could hardly be considered a sincere attempt at contrition or full transparency. In fact, this limited release is more about damage control than it is about healing.
One can only conclude that the real reason any information has been released at all is due to continued pressure from the state Attorney General’s and his office’s ongoing investigation of the five Catholic dioceses, as well as nationwide efforts to reform the statute of limitation laws and similar reform bills pending before New Jersey lawmakers. These are laws that will finally instill accountability, create consequences for institutional cover-ups and allow sexual abuse victims access to our courts.
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