NEWARK (NJ)
Star Ledger
February 14, 2019
By Kelly Heyboer and Rebecca Everett
The lists of priests and deacons accused of child sexual abuse released by New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses earlier this week was startling.
They contained page after page of names — 188 in total — of clergy members accused of sexually abusing generations of children in every corner of the state over several decades.
But the list only told part of the story.
The list, released Wednesday by the Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Camden, Metuchen, Paterson and Trenton, did not include priests, monks, nuns or others who served in religious orders or order-run Catholic schools in New Jersey. It only included only the names of priests and deacons “credibly accused” while they worked within the dioceses.
So, that means Jesuit priests, Franciscan priests, Benedictine monks and others who served in religious orders that operate under separate leadership structures than the five New Jersey dioceses were likely not included on any of the lists.
It is unknown how many additional clergy members from New Jersey might be on those lists if they are ever all released. Critics said the Catholic community in New Jersey deserves to know the full number of accused priests.
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