NEW JERSEY
NorthJersey.com
JANUARY 15, 2015
BY KELLY NICHOLAIDES
STAFF WRITER | SOUTH BERGENITE
He was adopted through Catholic Charities in Nova Scotia, Canada, but ironically, Stephen Marlowe alleges he grew up to suffer sexual abuse at the hands of a priest at St. Mary Church in Rutherford, where he was a middle school-aged altar boy in the 1970s.
Marlowe, who filed an amended civil lawsuit in Bergen County Superior Court, naming the Rutherford church, the Archdiocese of Newark, Father David A. Ernst and two archbishops, says that the church is making untrue claims in its bulletin regarding sex abuse claims and financial settlements.
The bulletin states that “Although the archdiocese, parishes and schools pay premiums to purchase insurance, no parish or school assets, archdiocesan assets or annual appeal or other fundraising collections are used to pay civil claims related to abuse cases.”
Marlowe is skeptical.
“When I was in mediation [with the Archdiocese], their lawyer told me all settlements are divided between insurance company money and the Archdiocese, 60/40 split, so where is the Archdiocese getting the money from? It’s not falling from the sky. I believe it comes from parishioner donations,” Marlowe said.
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