NJ Priests Leave Parishes Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations

Two North Jersey priests have left their parishes amid church officials investigating sexual misconduct allegations against them.

The Rev. Jim Weiner of St. Andrew's Church in Westwood and the Rev. Gerard Sudol of Our Lady of Czestochowa Catholic Church in Jersey City have left while the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark reviews the cases, said Jim Goodness, an archdiocese spokesperson.

The archdiocese did not remove the priests from the ministry, they agreed to step down, Goodness said. They remain employees of the archdiocese, but are not currently doing any ministerial work. They will remain inactive until a review board renders a decision regarding the allegations made against them.

Weiner's Sept. 15 installation as pastor of St. Andrew's has been cancelled, Goodness confirmed.

Weiner previously had sexual misconduct allegations brought against him. The archdiocese investigated the allegations in 2003, but found them to be "unsubstantiated" and he was allowed to return to the ministry, Goodness said.

More information has been brought forth recently related to those allegations, Goodness said, and Weiner agreed to step down as a result.

Ridgefield Park native Ed Hanratty alleges parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Church knew of Sudol's alleged sexual misconduct when he served there from 1986 to 1994.

The church investigated sexual abuse allegations against Sudol in the mid-1990s, but permitted him to continue serving in the ministry on a limited basis. The investigation was reopened in 2002 after a widespread sex-abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, but he was cleared of any wrongdoing and allowed to return to ministry.

"If he had come to the archdiocese in 2002 with his allegations he would have been a part of the review process, but on the advice of his counsel, decided not to be a part of it," Goodness said. "We have extended the offer of having him meet with the review board again."

Hanratty told NorthJersey.com Sudol would give him bearhugs, open-mouth kisses, and would try to force his tongue into his mouth.

"I don't know why he was let back around children in the first place," Hanratty told NorthJersey.com.

The investigation is the latest chapter of sexual abuse allegations involving North Jersey priests.

A former top Vatican diplomat alleged in a recent letter that Pope Francis was complicit in covering up sexual abuse by seminarians by Theodore McCarrick, a former New Jersey priest and Roman Catholic cardinal. (See related: Pope Knew Of NJ Priest's Sexual Abuse Of Boys, Archbishop Says)

Francis knew about the abuses years before they became public and did not punish McCarrick, but instead gave him the power to help select powerful American bishops, retired Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano said in his letter, dated Wednesday. (See related: Bergen Man Alleges Ex-Priest Sexually Abused Him For 20 Years)

A former Tenafly man, known only by his first name, James, recalled the abuse he endured that started when he was 11 and McCarrick was 39, The New York Times and NorthJersey.com reported earlier this month.

Email: daniel.hubbard@patch.com

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