Seton Hall University President Reportedly Knew of, but Failed to Report, Sexual Abuse Allegations on Campus, Implicated in Scandal Surrounding Defrocked Cardinal
According to an investigation reported by POLITICO, Seaton Hall University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly knew about but failed to report sex abuse allegations on campus. He stepped down from his role as the school’s Rector and Dean in 2022, but has since been restored to serve as university President.
According to POLITICO, in 2022, Seton Hall University President Monsignor Joseph Reilly was implicated in the sexual abuse scandal involving former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick. Reilly stepped down from his role as Rector and Dean of Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology amid the fallout at the recommendation of the school’s governing body after an investigation found that Reilly knew about sexual abuse allegations involving McCarrick but did not report them. In 2024, the University decided to ignore those findings, and instead, elevated Reilly to the Seton Hall University President.
“It’s shocking in 2024, but not surprising,” said Patrick Wall, a former priest trained in canon law, and an advocate for clergy sex abuse survivors. “It’s like defrocked Cardinal McCarrick never left the Archdiocese of Newark — that his spirit still reigns in the archdiocese.”
Reilly attended Seton Hall Prep, and graduated from the University in 1987. He rose through the ranks before silently stepping away from his position in 2022 during the McCarrick investigation. McCarrick was named cardinal in 2001 despite decades of allegations that he had sexually abused children. More allegations surfaced from multiple states, leading to his removal from ministry in 2019. McCarrick became the first American cardinal to be defrocked after child sexual abuse claims surfaced against him, in a process known as laicization. Because of the McCarrick scandal, the Vatican issued a 449-page report on McCarrick’s career. The report detailed decades of instances where Church officials minimized or simply ignored concerns and allegations against McCarrick.
Given the implications of Reilly’s role in the McCarrick scandal, the Board of Regents’ decision to appoint him to lead Seton Hall is curious to say the least. Even more so because some current Regents—including the chairperson—were on the board when investigators detailed their findings about Reilly. Although he was not accused of abuse, POLITCO reports that the investigation found that Reilly knew about the allegations on campus and “appeared to be aware of rumors about McCarrick since his earliest days in the ministry.”
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