Former East Brunswick Priest Accused Of Sexual Abuse

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — A priest who served at St. Bartholomew's Catholic church in East Brunswick has been named by the Catholic church as having several "credible" sexual assault allegations made against him at one point in time.

Father Patrick Kuffner, 71, was ordained as recently as 2002. He was assigned to parishes including Queenship of Mary in Plainsboro, Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Middlesex and St. Bartholomew in East Brunswick.

There are multiple allegations against him of sexual assault; the church did not elaborate. He has since been removed from ministry and is no longer working as a Catholic priest.

Kuffner was on this list the Metuchen archdiocese released Wednesday: The Trenton diocese and Newark diocese released similar lists (see below for full lists). In total, 186 priests across the state were named, all of whom have "credible" sexual assault allegations made against them in the past seventy years or so.

Many of the priests have since died. The archdiocese said it was releasing the list in an effort "to help bring healing and restore trust in the leadership of the Catholic church."

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."

"This list of names is the result of an extensive review of Archdiocesan records dating back to 1940. It is our sincerest hope that this disclosure will help bring healing to those whose lives have been so deeply violated. We also pray that this can serve as an initial step in our efforts to help restore trust in the leadership of the Catholic Church."

Tobin had announced that the Roman Catholic Dioceses in New Jersey were undertaking a complete review of their files so that the names of all priests and deacons who have been credibly accused of the sexual abuse of minors could be made public.

The dioceses are undertaking this action in coordination with the Attorney General of New Jersey's ongoing task force examining the issue of clergy sexual abuse.

186 priests in total across New Jersey:
The list of priests released by the Trenton archdiocese: https://dioceseoftrenton.org/d...
The list of names released by the Newark archdiocese: https://healing.rcan.org/uploa...
The list of names released by the Metuchen archdiocese: https://diometuchen.org/clergy...

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