Cardinal Joseph Tobin, a significant figure in the Catholic Church, has once again pledged “a new level of transparency” regarding abuse allegations as he faces a new scandal.
Six years ago, after one of the most severe abuse scandals in the church’s history, New Jersey’s top Catholic leader promised “a new level of transparency.” At that time, Cardinal Tobin published a list of clergy members credibly accused of sexually abusing minors within the Archdiocese of Newark, which serves over 1 million Catholics. He stated that the list was “not an endpoint in our process” but “an expression of our commitment to protecting our children.”
Since then, however, the archdiocese under Tobin’s leadership has concealed details of alleged abuse involving one of his predecessors, former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who faced decades of sexual abuse allegations and was ultimately stripped of his ministry.
Tobin is not only a powerful figure in New Jersey but also in the global Roman Catholic Church: he is a member of the College of Cardinals, which elects the pope, sits on the Vatican’s equivalent of the Supreme Court, and advises the pope on bishop nominations.
Just months after pledging transparency, the archdiocese reportedly instructed Joseph Reilly, a seminary leader, not to respond to questions regarding a 2014 sexual harassment allegation at Seton Hall University. Despite independent recommendations for his removal due to failure to report past abuse allegations, Seton Hall appointed Reilly as its new president last year.
Additionally, during a secret court hearing two years ago, which was not disclosed until recently, one of New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses successfully persuaded a judge to quash part of a state investigation into clergy abuse, effectively keeping findings from becoming public. Critics argue that Tobin’s approval was necessary for the Camden diocese’s actions.
“Instead of taking action to stop Camden, they sat idly by while Camden essentially shut down this whole investigation,” said Greg Gianforcaro, a lawyer representing abuse victims who have sued the state’s dioceses.
Tobin’s office stated that four of the five dioceses—Metuchen, Newark, Paterson, and Trenton—“have fully cooperated” with the state and “have not filed or joined any motions before any court to delay or impede any investigation by the State of New Jersey.”
Now, facing a public relations crisis, Tobin has once again promised transparency. Last Monday, he announced the hiring of a law firm to conduct a “comprehensive third-party review” of the 2019 investigation that identified Reilly and about a dozen unnamed priests. Reilly was not accused of abuse but of failing to report allegations appropriately.
Democratic Governor Phil Murphy and three state lawmakers have urged Seton Hall to release the report. Two of those lawmakers have called for Reilly’s resignation, but Seton Hall, part of the Newark archdiocese, has ignored their calls and reaffirmed its support for him.
Tobin’s announcement of the investigation, to be conducted by the law firm Ropes & Gray, came a week after state Senators Joseph Vitale and Andrew Zwicker urged him to take “immediate corrective action” and for Seton Hall to “stand unequivocally on the side of transparency, accountability, and justice.”
They expressed dissatisfaction with Tobin’s hiring of another law firm, calling it “deeply troubling” that he provided no timeline for the new investigation. They highlighted unresolved questions, such as why the university ignored recommendations from the previous investigation and why it hasn’t acknowledged any flaws in that investigation.
“With those questions in mind, we cannot ignore a troubling thought: that this new investigation is meant to delay meaningful action and to shield the release of the existing report under the protection of attorney-client privilege,” wrote Vitale and Zwicker, who lead the Senate’s health and higher education committees. They added that they are reviewing public funding for Seton Hall, which, while a private university, receives some state money for programs.
“Survivors and the Seton Hall community deserve answers and action now, not in an indefinite future determined behind closed doors. Accountability delayed is accountability denied,” they stated. “Hiring a law firm does not absolve Seton Hall of its responsibility to act in the best interest of students and survivors. A report already exists, and anything less than its release and immediate decisive action would be yet another attempt to sweep a grave injustice under the rug.”
In his announcement, Tobin stated there would be “a transparent review of the facts,” but his words were met with skepticism beyond the Statehouse.
“This is an investigation of the investigation — or a cover-up of the cover-up,” remarked Mark Crawford, a victim of clergy abuse and member of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP).
Pope Francis appointed Tobin, a Detroit native, to lead the Archdiocese of Newark on November 7, 2016 — one day before Donald Trump was elected president. Tobin inherited a challenging situation: McCarrick had faced accusations of decades of sexual abuse and was the first cardinal in history to be defrocked for sex crimes. Another archbishop, John J. Myers, was scrutinized for his handling of abuse allegations and for lavish spending at his residence.
Tobin’s installation Mass in 2017 was attended by then-Governor Chris Christie, a Seton Hall law school graduate, and former Senator Bob Menendez. At that time, Tobin acknowledged the “daunting proposition” and high stakes ahead. Since then, he has participated in an annual train ride to Washington that draws many of New Jersey’s political figures, and his Masses have attracted attendees like Murphy and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, who is running for governor.
When allegations against McCarrick became public in 2018, Seton Hall — with Tobin on its boards — hired two law firms to investigate. That review uncovered decades of sexual harassment and a “culture of fear and intimidation” under McCarrick, according to a summary published by the university.
A separate memo, reviewed by POLITICO, detailing key findings from that investigation was delivered to the university’s governing body, the Board of Regents. It described how Reilly, then rector and dean of the Immaculate Conception Seminary, investigated a student complaint of sexual assault “in-house” without reporting it or adhering to school and federal Title IX policies and procedures. The memo also noted that Reilly dismissed a seminarian in 2012, who was an alleged victim of sexual abuse, without investigating the incident or escalating the matter, violating university policy.
Reilly, who previously served as priest secretary to McCarrick, told investigators he received information about a 2014 sexual harassment allegation at St. Andrew’s Hall, a seminary at Seton Hall, but did not report it. The archdiocese had instructed Reilly not to discuss that allegation, but the reasons for this are unclear. Tobin’s office indicated that “this and other questions will be examined” during the new investigation.
Investigators recommended in 2019, as part of a responsive action plan adopted by the school’s governing body, that Reilly be removed as a seminary leader and member of university boards. He acknowledged the findings and stepped down from a hiring committee but remained in a leadership role.
Reilly took a sabbatical in 2022 but returned as vice provost and became university president last year “with the endorsement of the University’s leadership and the Archdiocese of Newark,” according to the school.
Reilly’s promotion infuriated John Bellocchio, who claims in a lawsuit that he was abused by McCarrick as a teenager.
“I am just completely sick of the bullshit of the Archdiocese of Newark,” Bellocchio stated in an interview before Tobin’s announcement. “The record speaks for itself that Joe Reilly shouldn’t have this job and Joe Reilly shouldn’t keep this job.”
Around the same time as the McCarrick-related investigation, New Jersey’s attorney general established a task force to investigate clergy abuse statewide. However, documents reported last week by NorthJersey.com and obtained by POLITICO indicate that the five dioceses, led by Camden, appeared before a Superior Court judge in May 2023. Camden challenged whether the state had the authority to present its findings to a grand jury for consideration of charges.
The judge, Peter Warshaw, ruled in favor of the Camden diocese, and the matter is now before the state Supreme Court. The attorney general’s office stated that it remains committed to the mission of the Clergy Abuse Task Force and will “continue to work to bring justice to the victims and survivors of unimaginable abuses, and hold accountable not only their abusers but also the individuals and entities facilitating that abuse.”
Tobin’s office asserted that all dioceses “have fully cooperated” with the state and “have not filed or joined any motions before any court to delay or impede any investigation by the State of New Jersey.”
Crawford, from SNAP, said Tobin could have intervened to allow the state to fulfill its responsibilities and provide some accountability to victims.
“If he really wanted to, he could have directed Camden to stand down and let this unfold so victims can heal and there’s closure,” Crawford remarked. “That’s been a long tactic of the church — delay, delay, delay. It’s worked for them.”
