Ex-St. Mary Of The Lake, Sacred Heart Priests On Sex Abuse List

Two local parishes have former priests on the list of those released Wednesday who the Catholic Church says had "credible accusations" of sexual abuse against them.

Rev. Gerard J. Brown, who served at St. Mary of the Lake, Lakewood, and Rev. Patrick Francis Magee of Church of the Sacred Heart in Bay Head were among 30 names released by the Diocese of Trenton on Wednesday. The Catholic Church in New Jersey revealed more than 180 names across the state, in an effort to help victims heal, church officials said.

The list shows 186 members of the clergy with ties to New Jersey who have faced allegations of child sex abuse. Nearly all of them were either sanctioned by the church, charged with a crime or both. Read More: List Of 186 NJ Priests Accused Of Child Sexual Abuse (UPDATED)

Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, said the list includes all those from New Jersey who were credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors dating back to 1940.

"The revelations of clergy sexual abuse of minors throughout this past year have provoked feelings of shock, anger, shame, and deep sorrow throughout our Catholic community," he said. "In an effort to do what is right and just, we are publishing the names of diocesan clergy credibly accused of sexual abuse of minors."

Brown, who died in June 2013 at the age of 77, was ordained in 1961 and served as a priest at the parishes of Saint Francis of Assisi, Metuchen; Saint Mary, Perth Amboy; Saint Michael, West End section of Long Branch and Corpus Christi in Willingboro as well as his tenure in Lakewood, according to his obituary on Legacy.com. He retired in the mid-1990s, and after retirement attended the Church of the Sacred Heart, Bay Head, and was a member of the choir.

There are no news reports on any accusations against him; the diocese's release of his name is the first public statement of wrongdoing by Brown.

Magee, 77, was ordained in 1970 and served at Sacred Heart in Bay Head from 2001 to 2003, according to the church's records. The church site says he retired in 2003, but Bishop Accountability, a website that tracks church sex abuse allegations, quoted a Times of Trenton article saying he was arrested in Ireland in December 2003 after he was accused of sexually abusing a child 30 years earlier.

The incident happened when Magee was a seminary student in Northern Ireland, studying to become a priest, the Asbury Park Press reported. The report said he was charged with indecent assault on a child.

The charges were dropped in the fall of 2004 after the accuser died by suicide, the Times of Trenton report said.

The Trenton diocese has not yet released full lists of parish assignments for each priest on the list.

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