St. Veronica Listed For 6 Ex-Priests Accused Of Child Sex Abuse

Updated information released by the Diocese of Trenton shows more priests who served at churches in the Howell and Farmingdale area had "credible accusations" of sexual abuse against them.

The diocese updated its list of 30 priests with parish assignment information and posted it Friday. The list initially was released Wednesday as part of a statewide release by the Catholic Church of New Jersey of clergy it says have been credibly accused of child sex abuse.

The Catholic Church in New Jersey revealed more than 180 names across the state on Wednesday, amid ongoing investigations, in what church officials said is an effort to help victims heal.

A total of 186 members of the clergy with ties to New Jersey have faced allegations of child sex abuse, according to lists released by all five Catholic dioceses in the state. 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)

Previous reporting found that six of those priests had served in Howell and Farmingdale — four at St. Veronica Roman Catholic Church, one at St. William the Abbot and one who was a deacon at St. Catherine of Siena. However, the new information shows two more priests who served at St. Veronica, bringing that total to six, and eight overall who served in Howell and Farmingdale. Read more: Trenton Diocese Lists Parishes For Priests Accused Of Sex Abuse

Various media outlets identified Richard R. Milewski, Liam A. Minogue, Robert J. Parenti and H. Brendan Williams as having served at St. Veronica. The parish assignments show that Frank J. Iazzetta and Joseph F. McHugh also served at St. Veronica. Read more: 6 Howell Area Priests Named In Church Sex Abuse List

Of the six priests who served at St. Veronica, the Trenton diocese said five of them had "multiple" victims.

McHugh, who was born in 1946 and ordained in 1973, served at seven parishes, with St. Veronica being his next-to-last stop. His final assignment was St. Thomas More, Manalapan. The diocese says there were multiple credible accusations against him.

Iazzetta, who was born 1942 and ordained in 1967, had multiple victims and 12 assignments. He was on the faculty at St. Rose High School in Belmar and at two others after that. St. Veronica was his next-to-last stop as well. He is deceased.

Milewski, 72, was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s while he was assigned to St. Veronica, the Asbury Park Press reported. He served at six parishes, with St. Veronica being his second. He had multiple credible accusations, the diocese said. His last stop was St. Rose of Lima in Freehold. He has been removed from the ministry, the Trenton diocese said.

Williams, 78, was ordained in 1965 and was Milewski's supervisor at St. Veronica, the Asbury Park Press reported. The diocese said he had four assignments, with St. Veronica being his last stop. He had "multiple" credible accusations, the diocese said, and was removed from the ministry, though a 2012 report by the diocese publication the Trenton Monitor says he retired.

Minogue, who was ordained in 1968, served at 11 churches, and was the chaplain of the Monmouth County Scouts, the diocese said. He had one victim. The Asbury Park Press reported he was named a reverend monsignor by the pope in 2004. He died in 2007.

Parenti, 79, was ordained in 1972 and removed from the ministry in December 1998, the Asbury Park Press reported. St. Veronica was his first assignment; he also served at St. Denis Church in Manasquan; Church of the Assumption in New Egypt and Our Lady of Peace in Normandy Beach. The diocese says there were multiple credible accusations against him.

Leo A. Kelty, whose final assignment was as monsignor at St. William the Abbot in Howell, was removed in 2002, according to a Times of Trenton article cited by Bishop Accountability. The diocese, which said he was ordained in 1960, had nine assignments listed but did not include St. Robert Bellarmine Church in Freehold Township, where he was serving when he was accused of sexually touching a teenage girl on at least two occasions — the accusation that led to Kelty's removal, the Asbury Park Press reported. He died in May 2018, according to his obituary, which makes no mention of his career in the clergy.

Joseph J. Prioli, 50, who lived in Howell and was ordained in 2005, was a deacon at St. Catherine of Siena in Farmingdale, according to the church. The diocese said that was Prioli's only assignment; he also was a teacher at Christian Brothers Academy. He was arrested in 2017 on charges he had sexually assaulted a relative for years beginning in 2007, the Asbury Park Press reported. Prioli pled guilty and is serving a five-year prison sentence. He has been removed from the ministry, the diocese said.

"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," Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, 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."

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