After a Pennsylvania grand jury in 2018 found hundreds of Catholic priests had sexually abused at least 1,000 children over seven decades, New Jersey’s then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal launched an investigation of allegations of sexual abuse by members of the clergy within Catholic dioceses here.
Prosecutors wanted a grand jury empaneled to consider evidence in the case, but Camden’s diocesan leaders successfully squashed it, persuading trial and appellate judges that a state grand jury had no authority to issue a presentment against a private religious entity — and that all court records in the matter should be sealed.
Wednesday, the state snagged a win in the long-fought battle, when the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered the records to be unsealed and agreed to hear arguments in the case next month.
The decision clears the path for prosecutors to potentially bring the case to a grand jury — if justices agree with the state’s argument that grand juries are constitutionally permitted to issue presentments on matters “of public affairs or conditions,” and clergy abuse qualifies as such. A presentment is a formal presentation prepared by a grand jury to call the public’s attention to a specific matter, and can be related to criminal allegations.
Arguments are expected to be held during the court’s April 28-29 session.
Continue reading at the New Jersey Monitor