Former Holmdel Priest At St. Catharine's Accused Of Sex Abuse

HOLMDEL, NJ — A priest who up until 2007 served as the weekend assistant at the Church of St. Catharine in Holmdel has been named to a shocking list released Wednesday of New Jersey Catholic priests against whom "credible" sexual assault allegations have been made.

Father Richard C. Brietske served as a weekend assistant at the Church of St. Catharine in Holmdel until 2007. He later became the chaplain at Monmouth College, now called Monmouth University.

The list was released by the Trenton archdiocese; the full list can be found here: https://dioceseoftrenton.org/d.... Both the Newark and Metuchen archdioceses released similar lists today; the church said they were releasing the names in an effort "to help bring healing and restore trust in the leadership of the Catholic church."

Statewide, the list names 186 priests in New Jersey who have been "credibly accused" of child sex abuse in the past seventy years. Nearly all of these priests were either sanctioned by the church, charged with a crime or both. Many of the priests on the list have died or been removed from the ministry by the church.

Brietzke was ordained in 1962. He later served as pastor for two parishes from 1982-95: the Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven and St. Gregory the Great in Hamilton Square, the Monitor said.

Brietske, 82, was removed from the ministry, according to the Trenton Diocese.

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."

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark is currently engaged in civil litigation as to certain claims of clergy sexual abuse of minors. None of the 99 names on that list are involved in any active litigation, the church said. Indeed, many of the priests named on the list have been removed from the ministry or have since died.

New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said the Catholic Church decided to make this list public after he convened a statewide task force last fall to investigate allegations of sexual abuse by clergy in the Catholic dioceses of New Jersey.

"I am pleased to see that our task force's grand jury investigation has prompted the dioceses to finally take some measures to hold predator priests accountable," the New Jersey Attorney General said. "While this is a positive first step towards transparency and accountability, I hope this spirit of openness continues during the course of our ongoing investigation and in response to our requests for records and information.

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"We know from the hundreds of calls that we have received over our tip line that there are many others who were abused as children and as adults, both by diocesan clergy and clergy members in various religious orders," he continued. "The investigative work of the task force continues so that we may assure that all survivors of clergy abuse are heard and all abusers and institutions are held accountable for their acts."

The list of priests released by the Trenton archdiocese: https://dioceseoftrenton.org/d...

The list of priests released by the Newark archdiocese: https://healing.rcan.org/uploa...

The list of priests released by the Metuchen archdiocese: https://diometuchen.org/clergy...

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