Dear Parishioners,

Last week, Our Bishop David O’Connell released (along with all the bishops of NJ) the list of all priests who were credibly accused of sexual misconduct with a minor.
He writes, “As Bishop of the Diocese of Trenton, I write to share with you a preliminary list that the Diocese has compiled of clergy ordained for/incardinated in the Diocese of Trenton who have been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of a minor. This preliminary list will be updated as more information becomes available. I do this with the greatest sadness and with a heavy heart.

“Our first responsibility must always be to those who have endured sexual abuse as minors and the release of these names is our effort to express acceptance of their allegations as credible and to indicate the status of their alleged abusers. I greatly admire and respect the courage of those victims who have come forward. It is our hope that the public presentation of these names will contribute to healing the awful wounds that victims have endured at the hands of some clergy.

“Please join me in prayer for all victims of sexual abuse in society, for their families and for all who have been affected and harmed by the sexual abuse of the young and vulnerable. We also pray that the release of these names will encourage anyone who was abused as a child but has not reported that abuse to come forward now.”
Additional information can be found on the Diocesan web site here:

https://dioceseoftrenton.org/ committed-to-healing

I have two points to make about this release. First, I would like to praise the Diocese for releasing this information. Part of the reason why this problem got so bad is that we refused to talk about it and bad people took advantage of the Church’s mercy for their own ends, and unfortunately many young people were abused as a result. It’s only by letting these things come to light and allowing the legal system to do their job that we can hope that justice will be served in the future. Second, I would also like to point out that almost all of these priests listed are retired, removed from ministry or deceased. None of these are new cases and the Diocese has an agreement with the District Attorney Office to immediately report any new possible cases of sexual abuse. This may all look really bad. But, this is really a sign that things are getting better.

This is all a very painful moment for all of us. But, sometimes we need to go through pain so that real healing can take place within our Church. Please pray for the victims, the priests and especially our Bishop who is leading us through these troubled times.

God bless!

Father Carter