Diocese of
Trenton, New Jersey
TThe Diocese of Trenton (“the Diocese”), established in 1881, encompasses Burlington, Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean counties in central New Jersey and serves a Catholic community of 712,000 parishioners. The Diocese consists of 126 parishes, 289 diocesan priests, 276 deacons, 52 Catholic elementary schools, and 11 high schools. The Most Reverend John M. Smith has led the Diocese as bishop since June 1997. A compliance audit was conducted during the period of June 21-24, 2003.

The information presented below represents conditions as they were found to exist during the week of the audit. Information regarding necessary corrective actions taken by the Diocese subsequent to the audit will be found in the last paragraph.

Findings

To Promote Healing and Reconciliation
The Diocese has an outreach program. The bishop has met with available victims/survivors interested in doing so. Msgr. Walter E. Nolan is the victim assistance coordinator. At the time of the audit, the Diocese intended to hire Maureen Fitzsimmons, a licensed professional counselor and review board member, to assist in providing outreach assistance to persons reporting allegations of sexual abuse. A Recommendation was issued to expedite the hiring process. A ten-member review board, comprising diverse and highly-qualified professionals, provides confidential counsel to the Diocese. The Diocese has not entered into confidentiality agreements since June 2002 unless requested to do so by the victim/survivor.

To Guarantee Effective Response to Allegations of Abuse of a Minor
The Diocese has reported all allegations of sexual abuse by clergy and has signed a memorandum of understanding with the county prosecutors on the policy and procedures for such reporting. The Diocese has a procedure in place to advise victims/survivors of their right to report allegations of clergy sexual abuse. Standards of clergy behavior and appropriate boundaries for personnel who have regular access with children are in place and have been publicized. The Diocese has a demonstrated commitment to transparency and openness. The bishop has personally visited and supported parishes directly affected by clergy misconduct.

To Ensure Accountability of Procedures
The Diocese has participated in the research study regarding the “nature and scope of the problem” of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic clergy.

To Protect the Faithful in the Future
The Diocese recently adopted the VIRTUS program to administer its safe environment program for all of its personnel and volunteer components. The Diocese has adopted the New Jersey Catholic Conference Statewide Policy on Criminal History Background Checks for Employees and Volunteers of Non-Profit Youth-Serving Organizations. However, the Diocese had not yet determined whether state police or private firm resources would be relied on to conduct criminal records searches. A Recommendation directed implementation of these checks as soon as possible. No priest who has allegations of abuse of a minor has been transferred for ministry to another diocese. One priest with such a background had relocated for residency, and the appropriate information regarding his background has been confidentially provided to the bishop in that location. The bishop of Trenton has been in contact with major superiors or their representatives in the region regarding responses to allegations of sexual misconduct. Screening and evaluation procedures are used to consider the fitness of candidates for ordination. There is a systematic ongoing formation program for clergy, including a series of relevant convocations and workshops.

Compliance with the Provisions of the Charter

At the conclusion of the audit, the Diocese of Trenton was issued two Recommendations.

RECOMMENDATION 1—That the Diocese complete the process of hiring a part-time assistant to the victim assistance coordinator.

RECOMMENDATION 2—That the Diocese implement a policy using the state police or another private firm or agency for conducting background evaluations on diocesan and parish personnel who have regular contact with children and young people.

As of December 1, 2003, both Recommendations had been addressed. The Diocese of Trenton is compliant with the Charter as measured by the process described in Chapter 2 of Section I.


The compliance audit measured activity that has occurred since the adoption of the Charter in June 2002 with the exception of certain mandated actions found in Articles 5 and 14. Actions taken by the diocese/eparchy prior to June 2002 to address allegations of sexual abuse of minors by priests and deacons are not included in this summary report.




__________________________________

Office of Child and Youth Protection
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194
(202) 541-5413 | FAX: (202) 541-5410
Email: ocyp@usccb.org