TRENTON (NJ)
NJ Spotlight News - WNET [New York NY]
March 10, 2025
By Briana Vannozzi, Anchor
Survivors group speaks on efforts by the church to quash abuse cases
After years of waiting, New Jersey’s victims of alleged clergy sexual abuse may finally get answers.
The state Supreme Court on Thursday ordered hundreds of pages of records in the cases to be unsealed, handing a blow to the Catholic Church. The court agreed to hear arguments next month over whether a grand jury investigation of the abuse complaints can proceed.
NJ Spotlight News spoke with Mark Crawford, the New Jersey director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), about the latest revelations and what they means for survivors.
“It’s really huge,” he said. “They were asked to come forward, give testimony, which they’ve done. And for years we’ve heard nothing.”
“[Survivors] want people to know who did this and what could have been done either to stop it or what was not done to stop it,” he said. “They want to be able to tell their story, heal and move on.”
The court filings revealed secret efforts by the church, specifically the Diocese of Camden, to quash the cases by keeping it from going to a grand jury. It all stems from an investigation launched by former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal after a 2018 Pennsylvania grand jury report found hundreds of Catholic priests had sexually abused at least 1,000 children.
The unsealed documents revealed a brief filed by lawyers for the Camden Diocese arguing the state lacks the authority to issue a presentment against the church because it’s a private religious entity and many of the clergy abuse accusations are decades old. Diocese lawyers also requested all court documents to be sealed, which a state Superior Court Judge agreed.
“As we can see now, our bishops have taken every step to conceal the truth of these matters,” said Crawford. “For seven years now, none of the bishops have said, ‘Hey wait a minute, we’re taking this legal action.’ They even asked that be sealed and prevented the public from knowing their actions. If they were right, then why did they need it sealed?”
“Many of the offenders that might be acknowledged or exposed are still living and working among us, unknown,” he continued. “And that’s a problem. So, it is critically necessary. And the public has a right to know.”