WOODLAND PARK (NJ)
North Jersey Record
February 16, 2019
By Abbott Koloff
Advocates for children abused by priests say the lists bearing the names of nearly 200 accused clergy members that were released last week only hinted at a larger problem that they expect to be brought to light after a state grand jury reviews more detailed records.
The disclosure of 188 names by New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses was prompted by a statewide criminal investigation, and Church leaders emphasized that the lists, which were released Wednesday, included only a narrowly defined group: clerics who had been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors.
The restrictions omitted priests of religious orders who were ordained by local bishops and have been accused of sexually abusing children in diocesan churches. The lists didn’t include anyone accused of abusing young adults after they turned 18.
One priest whose name was not on the list stepped down from an Essex County parish in 2014 after a decades-old allegation of abuse surfaced stemming from his time in Bergen County. Church officials said it raised “grave concerns.”
And an unknown number of records from the Paterson Diocese were destroyed decades ago, making it impossible to know how many abuse cases were not counted from before that time.
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