From OSV News:
Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin of Newark, New Jersey announced he has engaged a law firm to investigate whether the current president of Seton Hall University, Msgr. Joseph R. Reilly, “acted appropriately” regarding disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick.
Msgr. Reilly, a Seton Hall graduate who was named president in April 2024, was appointed rector of the school’s College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall in 2002, and from 2012 to 2022 served as rector and dean of the university’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology.
Msgr. Joseph R. Reilly S.T.L., Ph.D., Seton Hall University President
The now laicized McCarrick, who was archbishop of Newark from 1986-2000, has been the subject of sexual abuse allegations spanning the decades of his high-profile clerical career.
In November 2020, the Vatican issued a 461-page report on the Holy See’s “institutional knowledge and decision-making” regarding the influential former prelate.
In a Feb. 10 statement, Cardinal Tobin said he had retained the global practice Ropes & Gray LLP to “conduct a comprehensive third-party review of the facts” regarding previous university investigations into McCarrick.
OSV News has contacted Seton Hall University for comment on Cardinal Tobin’s announcement and is awaiting a response.
The Archdiocese of Newark posted this statement from Cardinal Tobin on its website:
It is the responsibility of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark to lead by example for our local Church, our Catholic community, and also the citizens of northern New Jersey, no matter the faith they practice or the position they hold in their community.
In the past, the inexcusable actions and shameful behavior of Theodore McCarrick, who Pope Francis has since laicized, broke the trust of the Catholics who I now serve.
Since I became Archbishop in 2017, I have attempted to help heal the wounds from the sins of the recent past. Countless stories and reports make it clear that the Catholic Church has breached the trust that is at the core of its mission to provide spiritual guidance, support, and healing to those in need.
Under the leadership of Pope Francis, I attempt every day to restore that trust by serving as the moral and trusted voice for the Catholic Church and the communities I serve in northern New Jersey.
The authority and responsibility given to the Archbishop of Newark also extends to the stewardship of our Catholic university, Seton Hall. I serve as the President of the Board of Regents and Chair of the Board of Trustees.
Questions have been raised about internal reports concerning the actions and behavior of Theodore McCarrick and an investigation into those reports authorized by the Board of Regents over five years ago. In those reports, there are references to Monsignor Joseph Reilly, who was appointed President of Seton Hall by the Board of Regents in 2024. Questions have been raised about whether Monsignor Reilly acted appropriately.
I have retained the nationally known law firm, Ropes & Gray LLP, to conduct a comprehensive third-party review of the facts regarding the investigation and report by the Latham & Watkins law firm on behalf of Seton Hall in 2019 regarding the former Archbishop, Theodore McCarrick, as well as any and all other findings, including the development of the Responsive Action Plan by the Gibbons law firm and Attorney Joseph P. LaSala.
The review by Ropes & Gray will include how the findings of these reports relate to Monsignor Joseph Reilly, including whether they were communicated to any and all appropriate personnel at the Archdiocese and Seton Hall University and Monsignor Reilly, and if so, by what means and by whom. The Ropes & Gray review will have the full cooperation of the Board of Regents and Seton Hall University. I have not placed a timetable on this review by Ropes & Gray, nor have I restricted the firm from exploring any relevant facts or avenue of investigation. A transparent review of the facts will best serve the interests of all involved and of those who have voiced a call for it.
