New Jersey lawmakers continue to call on Seton Hall to confront allegations surrounding SHU’s president, Msgr. Joseph Reilly.
On March 5, Politico released Democratic Representative Mikie Sherrill’s full letter to SHU, originally sent on Feb. 2 of this year, asking questions regarding allegations surrounding Msgr. Reilly. Sherrill asked for a response by Feb. 7, but the university did not respond.
As reported previously by The Setonian, the university consistently declines requests to release the full report that allegedly implicates Msgr. Reilly in failing to properly report allegations of sexual misconduct at SHU’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology (ICS) and the College Seminary at St. Andrew’s Hall.
Politico has published eight articles reporting on the subject at the time of publication.
According to The Setonian, Sherrill, whose district includes South Orange, told Politico in January that SHU must address the allegations made against Msgr. Reilly and can start by “releasing the findings” of the investigation and “recommendations related to Monsignor Reilly.”
In the newly released letter, Sherrill requested that SHU’s Board of Regents and the university act “to either fully clear Monsignor Reilly with transparency into the investigations, findings, and recommendations, or to find a new president.”
Sherrill also emphasized the importance of accountability and how harmful silence can be.
“SHU and the Board have a duty to the students, faculty, alumni, and all New Jerseyans to foster trust in your institution and its leadership—and cannot continue to stay silent in the face of these serious concerns,” she said.
The university has not made a public statement in the wake of Sherill’s letter and public request for the release of the full report, which the law firm Latham & Watkins produced at SHU’s request. However, SHU has been in “regular communication” with Sherill and her staff, according to university officials.
“We are committed to addressing concerns responsibly and are actively engaged with Ropes & Gray to facilitate the independent review of the 2019 Latham & Watkins report initiated by Cardinal Tobin,” said SHU spokesperson Michael Hyland in an email to The Setonian.
Hyland said this process of addressing concerns may take time.
“We believe it is the best approach to restore trust in our policies and procedures while upholding appropriate confidentiality of legal and personnel-related records,” Hyland wrote. “We look forward to the conclusion of the Ropes & Gray review, and a full and transparent airing of the facts.”
Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the Archbishop of Newark and the president of SHU’s Board of Regents and chair of the Board of Trustees, enlisted the law firm Ropes & Gray to conduct a “comprehensive third-party review of the facts” regarding the 2019 Latham report. Their review will include how the findings relate to Msgr. Reilly.
“I have not placed a timetable on this review by Ropes & Gray, nor have I restricted the firm from exploring any relevant facts or avenue of investigation,” Tobin said in a February statement.
Avion Benjamin, a state Superior Court judge in Essex County, is overseeing the litigation of 450 claims of sexual abuse within the Archdiocese of Newark and at SHU, according to Politico. Her predecessor in the case, which began in 2019, ordered both institutions to disclose their evidence to lawyers for the alleged victims years ago.
Benjamin said she was shocked to learn about the existence of the report.
“This report is from 2019. They had to find out about it in 2025 in Politico,” she said of the alleged victims’ attorneys, according to a transcript of a hearing held on Feb. 12. “I mean, that just sounds crazy to me.”
Benjamin ordered SHU to release the report and any related documents to her by Feb. 19. However, the university has continued to keep these documents private.
Some of the claims of abuse date back decades, and six of them are specifically against the university, according to Politico. SHU made the argument at the hearing last month that it is “not part of” the archdiocese, but Benjamin said that she was “not really convinced.”
The university by-laws state that both the president of the Board of Regents and the chair of the Board of Trustees “shall always be the Most Reverend Archbishop of Newark.” As stated previously, this person is currently Cardinal Tobin. SHU is also a diocesan university.
If a judge rules that the report should not be private, it could influence the university to release the Latham report that includes allegations against a dozen other university priests who knew of sex-abuse but did not report it.
Another hearing is set for later this month.
Sofia Kasbo is the assistant editor for The Setonian’s News section. She can be reached at sofia.kasbo@student.shu.edu.
Dominique Mercadante is the head editor for The Setonian’s Campus Life section. She can be reached at dominique.mercadante@student.shu.edu.
