NEW JERSEY
Suburban
By JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer
SOUTH AMBOY — A priest who was accused of sexual abuse of a minor while serving as associate pastor at St. Mary’s in the 1970s has been cleared of all charges.
Msgr. Raymond L. Cole, who most recently served at St. Joseph Parish in Millstone within the Diocese of Metuchen, was found not guilty by an ecclesiastical tribunal comprised of three priests from outside the Diocese of Metuchen, according to a statement released by Bishop Paul G. Bootkoski on Nov. 12.
“I am satisfied that they conducted the trial in an impartial and professional manner,” Bootkoski said.
“While there can be neither victory nor victor in a situation such as this, the outcome of the trial means that Msgr. Cole is again a priest in good standing in the Diocese, and I hope this decision will be the first step to fully restore his reputation.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.