Archdiocese Responds to SNAP Statements at June 5 Press Conference Claims by the group SNAP that the Archdiocese of Newark and Archbishop Myers have not been responsive to people who have brought allegations of abuse to our attention, and that the Archdiocese has not acted to address these allegations, clearly and maliciously disregard the facts and history of the Archdiocese’s procedures for handling such claims. In 1993, long before this heightened attention to the issue of abuse by members of the clergy, the Archdiocese of Newark instituted a review board of lay people – with medical, psychological, law enforcement, investigation and legal experience – to investigate all claims of morally inappropriate conduct by members of the clergy. In the ten years since its institution, this group of committed and professional laypeople has remained the primary tool for the Archdiocese, and the Archbishop of Newark, to evaluate allegations of sexual misconduct by clergy. The offer of counseling and other services as needed have been an integral part of the process for those who have come to the Church for justice, support and healing. We have offered it willingly. Today, as part of the current procedures for the review board, the Archdiocese immediately offers counseling even before the lay review board undertakes any investigation. The Archdiocese is now seeking to institute a group support program for victims based on specific requests of people who have taken advantage of the counseling services that the Church offers. Since the sexual abuse crisis began, Archbishop Myers has on many occasions, publicly and privately, reaffirmed his own commitment and that of the Archdiocese of Newark to investigate allegations and work to heal those who have been abused. He has called on people who have suffered from sexual abuse to bring their stories forward so that the Church and the civil authorities can act. Mr. Serrano and SNAP need only look through television, radio and print interviews, the Archdiocesan website and any number of other publicly available media sources for evidence of his statements and his commitment. Mr. Serrano and SNAP only need to contact the prosecutors in the four counties of the Archdiocese to see that, indeed, the Church has sought and obtained information about alleged sexual abuse by clergy, and has reported it to authorities for possible criminal action. In fact, the Archdiocese has provided prosecutors with information about allegations dating back some 50 years. Almost all of this information has come to the Archdiocese only since the heightened attention began some 18 months ago. They also can look no further than the Archdiocese’s own newspaper, The Catholic Advocate, as well as a videotape that Archbishop Myers sent to parishes in the Archdiocese immediately after the US Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Dallas in June 2002 for his commitment. A number of priests of this Archdiocese remain on administrative leave because the review board and/or the prosecutors’ offices have not completed their investigations, further evidence that the Archdiocese takes all allegations seriously. Archbishop Myers has stated publicly that this Archdiocese will not return a priest to ministry if there is a credible allegation against him. He has been true to his word. The Archdiocese of Newark has not finished some of its investigations, and has not yet taken specific action against some priests. There are a number of reasons for this. The primary one, however, is that we are still developing information on cases. Because people’s reputations and lives are at stake, the Archdiocese will not act prematurely. The Archdiocese does not appear to be alone in this. County prosecutors are also taking time to review cases. It is true that some of the cases now with the prosecutors will not result in action because of statutes of limitations. However, the Archdiocese will pursue all available canonical actions against priests with credible allegations. This process also will take time. It is important to remember that, in most cases, we are working to discover the facts about events that may have taken place 20, 30 or more years ago. The information was not made available to us until now. It appears, however, that SNAP’s only wish is for a rush to judgment, rather than a reasoned and thorough investigation and revelation of the facts. The Archdiocese is committed to justice. We will do it according to both civil and canon law. One last item regarding the June 5 press conference and SNAP’s statements concerning Fr. Robert Hoatson. Fr. Hoatson’s early end to his term as director of Our Lady of Good Counsel Schools was based on problems at the school and his own admitted desire to leave. We have since been contacted by parents of children at Good Counsel Schools who have expressed thanks to the Archdiocese for the actions we took last month. We will have no more to say about Fr. Hoatson, except that we expect him to be available to take on a new assignment somewhere in the Archdiocese in the near future. We continue to extend our invitation to anyone who feels he or she has been harmed to come forward directly to us. The person to contact is Ms. Sheri A. Rickert, Chancellor for the Archdiocese of Newark, at (973) 497-4009.
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