Two Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey began naming names Wednesday of priests who had been “credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors.” Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, released a list of some 63 priests dating to 1940 and includes several clerics accused of abusing “multiple” children. Tobin leads a flock of more than 1.3 million Roman Catholics in Union, Essex, Bergen and Hudson counties. “The revelations of clergy sexual abuse of minors throughout this past year have provoked feelings of shock, anger, shame and deep sorrow throughout out Catholic community,” Tobin said in a statement. “It is our sincerest hope that this disclosure will help bring healing to those whose lives have been so deeply violated.” Newark Archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin speaks during a prayer service for New Jersey Gov.-elect Phil Murphy at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Jan. 12, 2018. Julio Cortez / AP file Thirty-three of the priests on the list are dead and the rest have been "permanently removed from ministry," according to the diocese. A short time later, the Metuchen diocese named 11 priests who have been accused of sexually abusing children, including two who are currently being investigated by the authorities. "Abuse gets power from silence and avoidance," Bishop James Checchio said on the diocesan website. "I believe that the measures we are now taking are part of the continuing process to build a healthy and transparent culture of life in our parishes and institutions." On the site, Checchio noted that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was ousted as Archbishop of Washington last June after being accused of allegedly abusing a minor while he was a priest in New York City nearly 50 years ago, was the first bishop of Metuchen. He served there from 1981 to 1986. Checchio did not specify whether any of the Metuchen priests on the list allegedly committed any abuse while McCarrick was at the helm. The dioceses of Paterson, Trenton and Camden were expected to follow suit later Wednesday and release their own catalogs of disgraced clerics. Mitchell Garabedian, a lawyer whose efforts to hold abusive priests accountable were dramatized in the Oscar-winning movie “Spotlight,” released a statement calling Tobin’s move “a step in the right direction.” But, Garabedian added, the release of the names “must be viewed with some skepticism since these entities constantly participated in the criminal cover-up of sexual abuse of innocent children for decades upon decades.” “Given the past extensive criminality of the Catholic Church, the decision to release the names now was primarily a business decision,” he said. NBC News reached out to Maria Margiotta, the chief spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Newark, to ask if any of the named priests had been criminally charged. She said she wasn't prepared to answer that question at this time. So far, the New Jersey Catholic Church has paid out more than $50 million in settlements to victims of clerical abuse, Margiotta said. Last month, Garabedian accused lawyers from the archdiocese of Newark of using a blame-the-victim strategy to protect a priest named Michael “Mitch” Walters who allegedly abused five boys and a girl decades ago. Five of the six cases have been settled for $400,000, Garabedian said. Rev. Michael M. Walters via LinkedIn Walters’ name is on the list. Records indicate the 63-year-old priest, who has denied any wrongdoing, may now live in a retirement home for priests in Rutherford, New Jersey. Records show that he resides at this nursing home but a person who answered the phone would not confirm he lived there. Earlier this month, Tobin announced the creation of a victim compensation fund that will be administered by attorney Kenneth Feinberg, who served as the special master of the 9/11 victims fund, and his associate Camile Biros. Tobin’s decision to release the names came on the heels of state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal’s announcement last year that he was creating a task force to look specifically into clergy abuse. Grewal’s inspiration was the bombshell grand jury report released last year by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro that identified 301 “predator priests” who victimized more than 1,000 children — and accused the church of covering up their crimes.<doc-sep>Crime & Safety Missing Names On List Of NJ Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse? As many as 23 names are missing, and at least one NJ archdiocese acknowledged that the report may be incomplete. Here are 10 omitted. Reply New Jersey's five Catholic archdioceses said they were trying to accountable by releasing the list of nearly 200 names of priests credibly accused of child sex abuse. But now they're ackowledging that the list probably wasn't complete – and we have the names of 10 who were omitted. As many as 23 names or priests and religious leaders are missing, and victims and critics are calling on the archdioceses to be more forthcoming in their revelations. Indeed, the Trenton archdiocese promised to release more information on its list of 30 priests who were accused – such as church affiliations. But, thus far, the archdiocese has been silent since the public release of names on Wednesday. Read more: Here's List Of NJ Priests Accused Of Child Sexual Abuse (UPDATED) Cardinal Joseph Tobin, head of the Archdiocese of Newark, acknowleged in an interview that the list will likely expand over time as more allegations are made. "I don't see it and I believe my colleagues here don't see it as an endpoint. Like it's done. We put up our best effort after considerable, considerable investigation," Tobin said in an nj.com report. Mark Crawford, director of SNAP New Jersey, a survivor support group, said the list did not include priests, monks or others with New Jersey ties who served in religious orders or those that run Catholic schools. Crawford pointed to a letter from the Delbarton School in the Morristown area released last summer that said 30 people have "courageously stepped forward to say that between 1968 and 1999 they were sexually abused by 13 present or former monks from St. Mary's Abbey and one retired lay faculty member." The people who stepped forward were former Delbarton students, sons of a former Delbarton School employee, a parishioner at St. James Church in Basking Ridge and former students of St. Elizabeth of Hungary School in Linden. Those names have not been made public, and Crawford believes there are at least 100 more with New Jersey ties who remain private.<doc-sep>
Five Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey have published lists of more than 180 priests who have been credibly accused of sexually abusing minors. This means individuals can now search through the online databases. The Associated Press reported the named priests had been accused of carrying out abuse over a period of time that spanned decades. The publication of the lists brings New Jersey into line with 28 other states that have already named priests accused of abuse, following a watershed grand jury report in Pennsylvania in 2018. Now its possible to search the lists for each of New Jersey's four dioceses, and one archdiocese (Newark), by clicking on the links below: Camden Trenton Metuchen Paterson Newark New Jersey's State Attorney General Gurbir Grewal created a task force to investigate criminal sexual abuse by priests after the report from Pennsylvania uncovered 300 abusive priests and 1,000 victims. "While this is a positive first step towards transparency and accountability, I hope this spirit of openness continues during the course of our ongoing investigation and in response to our requests for records and information," Grewal said in a statement Wednesday. The Archdiocese of Newark has listed a total of 63 former priests within its list of predator clergy: Trenton, 30; Camden, 65; Paterson, 28; and Metuchen, nine, plus two more who are currently undergoing civil investigations. Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, said he hoped the newly published lists would "help bring healing to those whose lives have been so deeply violated." Many of the members of the clergy included on the lists have died, or were ejected from their ministry. The list from Newark includes Theodore McCarrick, a former Newark archbishop, McCarrick served as the archbishop for Washington D.C. for six years, beginning in 2000. The information supplied by the diocese does not move beyond details already in the public sphere. There is no specific information about individual allegations or when they took place. According to the lists several of the priest's abuse involved molesting boys while they were volunteering with the Boy Scouts in Newark. Some of those named pled guilty and then went back into service after a period of probation or treatment. "Given the vast number of priests named as sexual abusers and the span of time in which the sexual abuse took place, it is fair to state that the Archdiocese and Dioceses in New Jersey have forgotten how to be moral and kind with children," Mitchell Garabedian, an attorney who has represented alleged victims in New Jersey, said in a statement The lists also only include priests who were ordained by their diocese in New Jersey. Priests who may have committed abuse in the state but were members of a religious order and served in institutions like schools are not included.