NEWARK (NJ)
The Record [Woodland Park NJ]
August 28, 2025
By Alexander M. Santora
On Palm Sunday in 2002 as I prepared to begin Mass, I took a brown paper bag with the eyes, nose and mouth cut out and placed it over my head. As I processed up the aisle, I could hear giggles and saw people poking others to look at me. Once in the sanctuary, I turned around to face the people and removed the bag. I said to them, “I apologize for the priests who sexually abused children and youth. And for the bishops who covered this up.”
Since the early 1980s, first in Louisiana and then popping up all over the country like water dripping on a rock, accusations against priests were revealed. But nothing shook the Catholic Church — and, indeed, the entire country — like The Boston Globe’s exposé of the Archdiocese of Boston in 2002. It even led to the resignation of Cardinal Bernard Law.
The enormity of the abuse finally mobilized the Catholic bishops in the U.S. to come together and address the problem. They adopted the Dallas Charter, which enacted a “zero tolerance policy” promising that any priest credibly accused of abuse would be removed from active ministry in the priesthood. And all clergy and lay staff of every church, school and institution would undergo training to spot abuse and learn how to report it. Diocesan leaders would report allegations to civil authorities.
The bishops hired John Jay College of Criminal Justice to conduct a study of the extent of the abuse. The report determined that from 1950 to 2002, 10,667 individuals made allegations of child sexual abuse against 4,392 clergy, which was about 4% of all 109,694 clergy. Subsequently, billions of dollars were paid in settlements by dioceses throughout the country. To date, 41 U.S. dioceses and religious orders have declared bankruptcy.
Although unified action was necessary to help the church recover, and it’s still ongoing, there were some members of the hierarchy who believed that the bishops went overboard. Notably, New York’s Jesuit Cardinal Avery Dulles, son of John Foster Dulles, secretary of state under President Dwight Eisenhower, said the Dallas Charter “went too far by abandoning due process and a presumption of innocence for accused priests, leading to severe injustices and ruined reputations.” And it appears his doubts were warranted.
Are priests afforded the rights they deserve?
New Jersey extended the statute of limitations to Nov. 30, 2021, and a waterfall of lawsuits were filed against dioceses and priests, many retired, elderly or even deceased. Some plaintiffs alleged one non-specific case of abuse back 40 or even 50 years, unsure of the year or place. Was it roughhousing; did a priest put his arm around someone in a public space, or put someone in a headlock?
After allegations are made against a priest, diocesan personnel typically call the priest in immediately and ask him to resign his position (or be removed if he resists) and exit his residence, forbidding him from presenting himself as a priest, wearing clerics, saying Mass or performing any of the sacraments. The diocese usually pays for a canon, or church, lawyer. The priest then has to hire his own civil attorney.
One priest in this situation told me, “I was thrown for a loop.”
He went through some health issues and underwent therapy.
“Being a priest is not just a job. Your whole life is taken away,” he told me.
He said the church treats the priest as guilty, instead of innocent. And the adjudication of his case has gone on for almost four years. Soon, he said, people who care for him and support him morally may begin to think, “Maybe there’s something to this, since he has not returned to active ministry.”
A canon lawyer I consulted told me, “This process tramples the rights of these priests.”
He recommends that the diocese first review the file of the priest to determine whether there were any accusations from the past, and then initiate a timely investigation. If nothing is discovered, reinstate the priest. There is a double standard for accused bishops, who do not have to leave their post, and the investigation must be concluded within 90 days. Under Pope Francis, dioceses were instructed to remove lists of credibly accused priests from websites and not publish any more. This has not happened in some dioceses.
In a letter to Pope Leo XIV last month, the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests asked the pope to correct the injustices of some bishops and religious superiors who have denied due process to priests who have been accused.
The canon lawyer said putting someone on a list of credibly accused, whatever that term means, is like a red cape to a bull: Some lawyers will then look for clients against that priest. Money is a goal for some plaintiffs and lawyers. Even when some accusation has not been proved, civil settlements can be substantial to avoid a trial. There have been cases of priests reinstated because allegations were fraudulent.
But Dulles’ worries have come true: The relationship between the priest and the bishop has been ruptured. Many priests have morale problems because any priest can be a phone call away from losing his priesthood. No doubt the bishops had to act decisively, but throwing priests under the bus creates another injustice. Priests have civil and legal rights in U.S. law as well as canon law. Treating priests as guilty without any timely investigation is as unjust as covering up for priests who have been abusers.
At the Mass, when I removed the paper bag, I also said to the people, “Some sick priests were guilty. Most priests, though, are good and faithful men and need our prayers.”
Then we began the Mass, which unites as a community with Jesus, the Christ.
The Very Rev. Alexander M. Santora is the pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Grace & St. Joseph in Hoboken and dean of the area Catholic churches.