NJ BENEDICTINE SCHOOL PAYING FOR CRIMES

Clergy sex abuse bill comes due

by William Mahoney, Ph.D. • ChurchMilitant.com • June 15, 2020

"MORRISTOWN, N.J. (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Benedictine monks of an all-boys school in New Jersey recently lost their legal battle to protect themselves financially from a new state law extending the statute of limitations for sex abuse, after having acknowledged a shocking amount of clergy sexual abuse at their school two years ago.

Delbarton School in Morristown, New Jersey describes itself as "an independent Roman Catholic learning community conducted by the Benedictine monks of St. Mary's Abbey with their lay colleagues" that "welcomes young men in grades 7–12 from diverse backgrounds to pursue excellence, to develop leadership and to build character by educating the whole person — mind, body, and spirit."

On May 13, 2019, the New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signed legislation that provided victims of sexual abuse more time to sue individuals and participating institutions by expanding the statute of limitations for filing civil sex abuse lawsuits. The law went into effect Dec. 1, 2019.

Attorneys for St. Mary's Abbey and the Order of St. Benedict challenged the law in court, arguing such suspension of the statute of limitations is unconstitutional, and requested the judge dismiss a clergy sex abuse case brought against them two years before the new law went into effect.

But Morris County Superior Court Judge Paul Bogaard shot down the challenge, filing a court order denying the Benedictine's "motion to dismiss on statute of limitations grounds, constitutionality grounds and grounds for setting a Lopez hearing." Lopez hearings determine if accusers have met the requirements for the statute of limitations.

"We are glad that Judge Peter Bogaard saw through their argument and denied the Delbarton motion," said Mark Crawford, the New Jersey State Director of SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests). "This story is a reminder of the challenges faced by survivors as they come forward and seek justice. By allowing these cases to be heard, children and communities are safer as abusers are made public and institutions held responsible."

In 2018, St. Mary's Abbey sent a letter to alumni and others connected to Delbarton to inform them that 13 of the monks had been accused of sexually abusing 30 people over three decades.

One of the homosexual clergy predators, Timothy Brennan, was at the center ofeight lawsuits. Brennan admitted to having sexual encounters with roughly50 boys, having been convicted

50 years agofor aggravated sexual contact with a 15-year-old student at Delbarton. "

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