Bergen priest accused of sexual misconduct is reassigned to Newark with inquiry closed

(NJ)
NorthJersey.com [Woodland Park NJ]

August 19, 2022

By Deena Yellin

A Catholic priest who stepped aside from his Westwood church four years ago amid sexual assault allegations has reemerged at a church resource center in Newark that serves abuse victims, pregnant women and other vulnerable populations.

The Rev. Jim Weiner, who took a leave of absence from the Church of St. Andrew in 2018 amid decades-old allegations, has been reassigned to the Mercy House in Newark, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Newark confirmed this week. The archdiocese said an investigation into the accusations against Weiner had closed, but it offered no further details.

“The Archdiocese of Newark has returned Father James Weiner to ministry to serve the needs of the poor and vulnerable,” spokeswoman Maria Margiotta said in an email this week. “A re-review of an allegation of misconduct with an adult originally reported almost 20 years ago has concluded and the matter regarding Father Weiner has been closed.”

Asked by a reporter about the results of the inquiry, Margiotta reiterated in a follow-up email that “the matter is now closed.”

The Mercy House in Newark is “a welcoming space”that provides food, clothing and other basic necessities to struggling families and individuals. The ministry focuses on people in abusive relationships, those struggling with addiction, and pregnant and parenting women, according to the center’s website.

It’s unclear how long Weiner has been working at the Mercy House or what he’s been doing in the four years since he left St. Andrew’s. His name was spotted on the ministry’s website several weeks ago by the Rev. Desmond Rossi, whose accusation of sexual abuse against Weiner triggered a church investigation. Rossi then informed The Record and NorthJersey.com of Weiner’s reemergence.

Weiner did not respond to phone messages seeking comment. Cheryl Riley, the director of the Mercy House, and the Rev. Charles Pinyan, the archdiocese’s director of clergy personnel, also did not respond to inquiries. Rossi, now a priest in Glen Falls, New York, has said Weiner and another man sexually assaulted him in 1988 when all three were students at Immaculate Conception Seminary at Seton Hall University.

Weiner and the other seminarian went to visit Rossi one night that year in the rectory of St. Benedict Parish in Newark, according to Rossi, now 60. After a night of drinking in the rectory, the two men allegedly sexually assaulted Rossi.

Rossi, a Garwood native, said he was distraught and confided in a friend, another seminary student. But it took 10 years for him to work up the courage to report the “violent sexual assault” to the archdiocese, he added in an interview this week.

In 2018, Rossi provided The Record with a 2003 letter from the Newark Archdiocese saying a church review board had found his accusations credible but that officials “were unable to substantiate the allegations.” James Goodness, then an archdiocese spokesman, confirmed those findings at the time.

Goodness also said that all accusations made against Weiner were reported to law enforcement but that no criminal charges ever resulted.

In letter dated April 2022, an attorney representing the archdiocese told Rossi that the review board had re-interviewed the friend he allegedly confided in. “Unfortunately, no new information was disclosed or discovered,” reads the letter, which Rossi shared with The Record. As a result, the investigation “is concluded and no further action will be taken.”

Rossi said the church agreed in 2004 to a $35,000 settlement to cover his counseling costs, including an agreement that absolved the archdiocese of future legal ramifications. But he said he did not know until years later that the review board never heard testimony from his friend.

Weiner and the other accused priest denied the charges at the time, and Weiner “continues to deny it today,” Goodness told The Record in 2018.

The priest was ordained in 1989 and went on to serve at St. Luke’s Roman Catholic Church in Ho-Ho-Kus and at St. Elizabeth of Hungary in Wyckoff. The second priest, who served at several churches around Bergen County, has since died of cancer.

Weiner was named pastor of St. Andrew in January of 2018. In interviews, parishioners said they learned of his controversial past within days and that the congregation became split over their new priest. When church members asked Weiner about the accusations, he denied any inappropriate conduct, they said.

Rossi said he appealed at the time to the leader of the Newark Archdiocese, Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who promised a further review. The archdiocese announced in August 2018 that the case was being reopened based on new evidence.

Weiner went on voluntary leave that month, shortly before St. Andrew was to celebrate his installation as pastor. Since then, the church has had several administrative priests, and Father Joseph Chapel was installed in January 2020.

Weiner’s name did not appear in 2019 on a list of 188 priests that the archdiocese said had been “credibly accused” of abuse. There is no record of any lawsuits filed against him in New Jersey, which recently lifted its statute of limitations to allow alleged victims to take old cases to court.

But other allegations did appear. In 2018, the Catholic News Agency, an independent news organization covering the church, published an article quoting several Newark Archdiocese priests saying Weiner had a reputation among clergy, dating back to his time in the seminary, for hosting parties in the rectory where fellow students were harassed.

Rossi this week said the church has been deceptive in its response to his pleas. “The decision to reopen the case, interview my witness and return Father Weiner to ministry were all made in secret and without me being informed of the details of any findings, even though I asked to be kept up to date.”

Rossi said it was only Wednesday that he received the letter from the attorney informing him that the matter is now closed. The letter was dated April 4, 2022.

“This is not transparency,” he said. “Victims of clerical abuse and our Catholic people deserve better from church leaders.”

Deena Yellin covers religion for NorthJersey.com. Email: yellin@northjersey.com Twitter: @deenayellin

https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/2022/08/19/westwood-nj-priest-sexual-misconduct-jim-weiner-newark-mercy-house/65403891007/