On the identical time, the college is contending with a lawsuit filed final yr by former president Joseph Nyre, which alleges retaliation, breach of contract and numerous different misdeeds by the Board of Regents.
The regents have remained silent on the Reilly scenario and stated little about Nyre’s lawsuit, past a report issued in July. Now lawmakers are ratcheting up strain on the non-public establishment to take motion, elevating questions on how the board is navigating the twin controversies behind closed doorways with little public oversight.
A Bombshell Report
Reilly, who was employed as president in April, has an extended historical past with Seton Corridor.
The brand new president earned a psychology diploma from the college in 1987; in 2002, he turned rector of the Faculty Seminary at St. Andrew’s Corridor, the undergraduate seminary of the Archdiocese of Newark, which is a part of Seton Corridor. A decade later Reilly turned rector and dean of the college’s graduate seminary, a place he held till 2022. Then he took a yearlong sabbatical earlier than returning as vice provost of teachers and Catholic id.
Reilly additionally served on Seton Corridor’s Board of Trustees—considered one of two governing our bodies—throughout his time as an administrator.
It was throughout his time on the graduate Faculty of Theology that Reilly is accused of understanding about sexual abuse allegations that he didn’t report, based on paperwork reviewed by Politico. The case is linked to sprawling sexual abuse allegations involving disgraced cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the information outlet reported, who “created a tradition of worry and intimidation” and “used his place of energy as then–Archbishop of Newark”—which sponsors Seton Corridor—“to sexually harass seminarians” for many years, based on a college report launched in 2019.
McCarrick, who sat on each of Seton Corridor’s boards, was defrocked by the Vatican after he was discovered responsible of sexual misconduct in a canonical trial. A felony case towards McCarrick was suspended final yr as a consequence of his lack of ability to face trial due to a dementia analysis.
Whereas Seton Corridor by no means launched to the general public its full report on the abuse McCarrick allegedly dedicated, Politico’s evaluation of the findings revealed that Reilly knew concerning the allegations towards the cardinal and didn’t report to college officers a pupil criticism about sexual assault by a seminarian. Politico additionally reported that Reilly dismissed one other seminarian in 2012 who had allegedly been sexually abused and that he didn’t examine the incident. In one other occasion, Reilly was allegedly made conscious of a 2014 sexual harassment cost and didn’t report it.
Politico additionally reported that Reilly didn’t absolutely cooperate with a 2019 investigation into McCarrick’s alleged abuse. A activity drive arrange in 2020 to mete out self-discipline after the McCarrick scandal reportedly advisable eradicating Reilly from board and management roles.
Because the controversy has unfolded, Seton Corridor has stated little publicly.
“As a part of the seek for the college’s twenty second president, the Board of Regents reviewed a number of candidates and overwhelmingly chosen Monsignor Joseph Reilly to steer Seton Corridor in recognition of his a long time of efficient service and management,” a Seton Corridor spokesperson wrote in an e-mail to Inside Greater Ed. “The Board of Regents stays unequivocal in its assist of Monsignor Reilly and firmly believes in his skill and imaginative and prescient to reinforce Seton Corridor’s standing as one of many nation’s foremost Catholic universities.”
The college didn’t present a requested interview with regents, however the spokesperson added that following a 2019 evaluation by a regulation agency, “the board decided that Monsignor Reilly ought to stay in his function and eligible for future roles on the College.” Seton Corridor declined to offer a replica of the report.
Demanding Solutions
Seton Corridor’s silence has not gone unnoticed by Democratic state senator Andrew Zwecker, who chairs the Senate Oversight Committee and is vice chair of the upper schooling committee.
“I’m appalled at the truth that they’ve simply doubled down at this level with none transparency, simply generic statements about values and doing an excellent job, et cetera,” he instructed Inside Greater Ed.
Although Seton Corridor is non-public, Zwecker famous that it receives about $2.5 million in state funding for sure packages. He added that the state might minimize these funds—an choice he may pursue if the college doesn’t reply transparently to issues that Reilly ignored sexual abuse.
“That may be a lever that we should completely contemplate to maintain the strain on,” Zwecker stated.
He’s additionally weighing a public listening to. However Zwecker stated he would slightly see Seton Corridor deal with the problem and reply questions on what Reilly knew about sexual abuse and whether or not the Board of Regents ignored these findings when it voted to rent him.
If regents knew and “voted to put in this president anyway, they need to resign instantly,” Zwecker stated.
Democratic governor Phil Murphy additionally weighed in final week.
“The Governor is deeply involved by the allegations and believes that Seton Corridor College should launch the complete report,” press secretary Natalie Hamilton instructed Inside Greater Ed by e-mail.
The Star-Ledger editorial board has challenged the college on its opacity, publishing an opinion piece on Monday below the headline “Why is Seton Corridor hiding this intercourse abuse report?”
School members at Seton Corridor are additionally urgent for transparency.
Nathaniel Knight, chair of Seton Corridor’s School Senate, famous “appreciable concern” among the many professoriate and stated he desires to see a “higher diploma of transparency” from the college.
Knight stated he supported Reilly’s hiring when he was named president, noting he “had the institutional reminiscence” given his years of service and appeared to “embody the spirit of Seton Corridor.” However now Knight desires the college to totally clarify the issues across the new president.
“I assist Monsignor Reilly. I supported his hiring. I feel he’s an excellent man, a person of integrity and non secular religion, and is somebody who introduced a promise of bringing the college, the group, collectively round its core values as a Catholic establishment of upper schooling. No matter is on the market, I’d like to have the ability to weigh that towards the positives that I see with Monsignor Reilly,” Knight stated.
An Explosive Lawsuit
For Seton Corridor, the Reilly controversy comes on the heels of Nyre’s sudden exit in 2023, which shocked many in the neighborhood.
“It was a shock. I feel we have been bewildered. He had been introduced in with nice fanfare not lengthy earlier than,” Knight stated. “He noticed the college by way of the COVID years with a gentle hand and was within the technique of implementing this strategic plan that he had crafted. We noticed no indication that there have been any issues within the works. It was out of the blue and had us all scratching our heads.”
Nyre sued Seton Corridor final February, alleging breach of contract and retaliation by the board.
Within the lawsuit, Nyre alleges he was pushed out by the Board of Regents following a conflict with then-chair Kevin Marino, whom he accused of micromanagement, improperly inserting himself into an embezzlement investigation on the regulation faculty and sexually harassing his spouse, Kelli Nyre, amongst different expenses. Marino, who’s not on the board, was not named as a defendant within the lawsuit regardless of being on the heart of lots of the allegations.
“Our litigation facilities on the alleged systemic failures of the Board of Regents and their unwillingness to adjust to federal legal guidelines, together with Title IX, Title VII, and Title IV, in addition to college bylaws and insurance policies,” Matthew Luber, an legal professional representing Nyre, stated in an announcement. “As alleged within the Criticism, the Defendants prioritized self-preservation, suppressing dissent and retaliating towards people like Dr. Nyre who reported misconduct and advocated for significant change. As additional alleged within the Criticism, the Board of Regents not solely uncared for their fiduciary tasks, however uncovered the College and its personnel to important threat. Regardless of the result, change is urgently wanted at Seton Corridor.”
The college has pushed again in court docket. Officers filed a movement to dismiss final March, alleging that Nyre didn’t state a declare and that the phrases of his exit settlement barred him from submitting a lawsuit towards Seton Corridor and/or its Board of Regents. Attorneys for Seton Corridor wrote in a quick that Nyre’s lawsuit “can greatest be described as gamesmanship, and at worst sheer dishonesty.”
College officers didn’t deal with the Nyre lawsuit in an announcement to Inside Greater Ed, however final July they launched a report from an outdoor regulation agency rejecting the claims towards Marino. Attorneys for the agency, Perry Regulation, wrote that they “discovered no proof to substantiate Mrs. Nyre’s allegations concerning Mr. Marino, regardless of the purported harassment allegedly occurring in public locations in shut proximity to quite a few different people.”
The Perry Regulation report was issued July 2, at some point after Reilly assumed workplace. The report didn’t embody interviews with the Nyres, who the authors famous didn’t take part within the investigation. Witnesses current for the alleged incidents instructed investigators that they didn’t see Marino have interaction within the habits he’s accused of, and the previous board chair has denied the claims and blasted the lawsuit as “determined and pathetic.” And, in an announcement to Inside Greater Ed final yr, Seton Corridor stated the claims have been with out benefit.
As controversies round Seton Corridor’s present and former leaders play out, extra particulars are prone to emerge within the Nyre case, barring a dismissal or settlement. However the Reilly evaluation might stay shrouded in thriller as Seton Corridor hunkers down, ignoring widespread requires transparency.
