Four Former Woodbridge Priests Accused Of Sex Abuse

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Four former priests who served at various Woodbridge Twp. churches have now been named by the Catholic church as having "credible" sexual assault allegations made against them at one point in time.

The four priests were 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."

The Woodbridge-area priests are:

Michael Cashman
Multiple Accusations. Parish Assignments: Immaculate Conception, Spotswood; Our Lady of Peace, North Brunswick; Sacred Heart, New Brunswick; St. James, Woodbridge

Mark Dolak

Multiple Accusations. Parish Assignments: Our Lady of Peace, Fords; Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi, Metuchen; St. Thomas the Apostle, Old Bridge; St. John the Evangelist, Dunellen; St. Matthias, Somerset; St. Catherine of Siena, Pittstow

Michael Santillo

Multiple Accusations. Parish Assignments: St. Joseph, Bound Brook; Our Lady of Lourdes, Whitehouse Station; St. John Vianney, Colonia; St. Jude, Blairstown; St. Mary, Perth Amboy; St. Joseph, Washington

Thomas Ganley

One Accusation. Parish Assignments: St. Ann, Raritan; St. Cecilia, Monmouth Junction; St. Matthew, Edison; Immaculate Conception, Spotswood; St. Cecelia, Iselin; Our Lady of Fatima, Piscataway; Sacred Heart, South Plainfield; St. Ann, Raritan; St. Philip and St. James, Phillipsburg

Santillo has since died. Cashman and Dolak were removed from ministry by the church. Patch wrote about Ganley earlier this year: He was arrested in January at his Phillipsburg home and charged with sexually assaulting a girl who is between the ages of 14 and 17. Ganley was working as a priest at Saint Cecelia Church in Iselin when the alleged criminal acts occurred from 1990 through 1994. He was currently assigned to Saint Philip & Saint James Church in Phillipsburg before the church removed him from ministry.

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...

Related: Woodbridge Priest Charged With Sexually Assaulting Teen In '90s