New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy is adding his voice to the rising chorus of political leaders who want transparency from Seton Hall University about its new president being named in a secret report on sexual abuse.
The new president, Monsignor Joseph Reilly, was not accused of abuse himself, but POLITICO reported last month that investigators found in 2019 that he knew of sexual abuse allegations and did not properly report them. They recommended, under an action plan the university adopted, that Reilly not serve on boards or in leadership at the school.
“The governor is deeply concerned by the allegations and believes Seton Hall University must release the full report,” spokesperson Natalie Hamilton said in a statement.
The school’s Board of Regents last year unanimously approved Reilly to lead the Catholic university, which is located in North Jersey. Many current regents, including the chair who led the presidential search, were on the board when investigators laid out their findings about Reilly in 2019.
The university declined to release the report, saying “it is essential to respect the privacy and confidentiality promised to all individuals who participated in the review.”
Murphy is one of the latest to call for the school to release the report on Reilly. State Sen. Joseph Cryan, the Democratic chair of the Senate Higher Education Committee, said in a brief interview Thursday: “I think having the public understand making the selection they did is good for everyone involved. They should release the report.”
Last week, Democratic Rep. Mikie Sherrill, who is running to replace the term-limited governor, said that “Seton Hall needs to address this situation immediately and can start by publicly releasing the findings of their investigation and recommendations related to Monsignor Reilly.”
Two state lawmakers also issued a strongly worded joint statement calling for Reilly’s resignation and condemning the Board of Regents for making him president, saying it “blatantly disregards the principles of transparency, accountability, and justice for survivors.”
“The allegations surrounding Monsignor Joseph Reilly’s egregious mishandling of sexual abuse allegations are utterly atrocious and absolutely unacceptable. It is outrageous that an individual who reportedly failed to disclose sexual abuse allegations and violated university, State, and federal policies has been appointed as president of Seton Hall University,” said Sens. Joseph Vitale, chair of the health committee, and Andrew Zwicker, vice chair of the higher education committee.
“Seton Hall must take immediate and decisive action to restore faith in its leadership. The university must unequivocally demonstrate that it stands with survivors and upholds the principles of justice rather than shielding those who enable abuse through inaction. Anything less is a blatant failure to protect its community and fulfill its mission.”
The school had commissioned a report following decades of sexual abuse allegations by former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, who was the longtime archbishop of Newark before being named to lead the diocese in Washington, D.C.
The university has stood by Reilly since POLITICO reported his knowledge and handling of sexual abuse claims on campus. Board of Regents Chair Hank D’Alessandro, who led the search committee, last month called Reilly “a man of profound faith and deeply compassionate character” whose “honesty and humanity are impeccable.”
Seton Hall had hired two law firms — Gibbons P.C. and Latham & Watkins — to review McCarrick’s “influence and actions” at the university during his 24 years leading the Newark archdiocese. Latham then produced a report of its findings in 2019, and Gibbons summarized them in a memo delivered to the Board of Regents that year. The school also released a summary, but it did not offer details beyond confirming McCarrick had sexually harassed seminarians and “created a culture of fear and intimidation.”
Reilly spent a year in 1994 as priest-secretary to McCarrick. In 2012, when Reilly led the school’s Immaculate Conception Seminary that trains for priesthood, he investigated a student complaint of sexual assault “in house” and did not report it or follow the school and federal Title IX policies and procedures, according to the memo viewed by POLITICO.
The memo also said Reilly dismissed a seminarian in 2012 who was an alleged victim of sexual abuse without investigating the incident or escalating the matter, a violation of university policy.
Reilly also told investigators that he received information about a 2014 allegation of sexual harassment at the St. Andrew’s Hall seminary on campus.
A Responsive Action Plan, which the university approved in August 2019, said any employee or board member “with knowledge of sexual misconduct claims involving ICS seminarians” could not continue to serve on any board or any leadership position if they had failed to report the conduct or take other actions required under the school’s sexual harassment policies.
Reilly took a sabbatical in 2022 and returned in 2023 as a vice provost before being elevated to president last summer. He is not the only one named in the memo. It also included allegations against about a dozen other university priests, so it’s known only to a small universe of people who they are and what discipline, if any, they faced.