Archbishop John Myers was responsible for making payoffs to cover-up the Theodore McCarrick sex abuse scandal. A sprawling retirement house used by former Newark Archbishop John J. Myers — that drew protests from some parishioners for being too lavish for a Catholic priest — has been sold, church officials said. The Hunterdon County residential house, … Read more
Sitting in his office in New Jersey, Cardinal Joseph Tobin looked into his computer’s camera and urged his fellow Catholic bishops to kill a proposal that could lead to denying Holy Communion to political leaders who support abortion rights. The move could “drive a wedge” between Americans and the Catholic Church, Tobin told the members … Read more
A Catholic priest who told church officials he borrowed more than $516,000 from his parish’s accounts due to “compulsive behavior” has pleaded guilty to theft, diocese officials said Wednesday. The Rev. Douglas J. Haefner, 68, admitted to diverting the parish money into his personal account in a hearing before Superior Court Judge Peter Tober in … Read more
A former Newark resident went to the Archdiocese of Newark last year with an explosive claim. In 1976, Newark Archbishop Peter Leo Gerety befriended her family and sexually abused her on multiple times in his bedroom in the church rectory when she was 5 years old, she said. “Do not say anything about this because … Read more
The report refers to her simply as “Mother 1.” A Manhattan woman with a large brood of mostly boys and an Irish husband, she had become suspicious of then-New York Monsignor Theodore McCarrick, who snaked his way into her family and had her children call him “Uncle Ted.’’ Her husband thought it an honor to … Read more
This spring, I received a letter from my boss ordering me to take down my blog or lose my job. Workers all over the country have found themselves in this kind of situation. But I may yet become the first Catholic priest removed for blogging. Until recently, I was the pastor of two parishes … Read more
As citizens from every corner of this nation rightfully raise their voices crying out against grave injustices is it not clear that abuse of power, lack of transparency and the failure to hold accountable those who abuse their trust inflicts immeasurable harm on the fabric of our society? One need not look far to see … Read more
The Diocese of Paterson is facing a lawsuit accusing a priest who taught at the now-shuttered Don Bosco Technical High School of sexual abusing a student more than 100 times in the 1970s. Former priest Sean Rooney abused the student at various locations including the Paterson school from 1973 to 1975 beginning when the victim … Read more
A Catholic Church tribunal has arrived at a long-awaited decision in the case of Monsignor George Trabold — more than five years after he stepped down as pastor of a Millburn parish amid allegations of child sex abuse from decades earlier during his time at a parish in Bergen County. But the Newark Archdiocese declined last … Read more
The first wave of lawsuits was filed Sunday under a new state law that opened the way for perhaps hundreds of people to bring sex abuse claims against the Catholic Church, the Boy Scouts of America and other institutions. They included a new accuser saying in court papers that he was abused as a child … Read more