New Jersey survivors of abuse by Catholic priests as minors can now file claims with a compensation fund established by the five New Jersey dioceses.

The fund, the first of its kind established in the state, offers monetary settlements to those who experienced sexual assault as children or teens at the hand of clergy members. It began accepting claims on June 15.

The New Jersey Compensation Fund, operated under the auspices of the Dioceses of Newark, Paterson, Metuchen, Trenton, and Camden, will be administered and overseen by Kenneth J. Feinberg and Camille Biros. Feinberg and Biros designed and administered similar program for survivors of abuse by Catholic Priests in New York and Pennsylvania, as well as the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund.

The compensation fund opens at the same time that New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal has been heading an investigation of the Roman Catholic Church and its role in sexual abuse and cover-ups involving accused priests.

Compensation for Abuse by Catholic Priests: Compensation Fund vs. Litigation

The timing of the fund’s opening is significant. Only a few weeks ago, New Jersey governor Phil Murphy signed a bill passed by the state legislature that expands the statutory limitations period for civil actions involving sexual assault. The new law also provides an additional two years for those who were subject to abuse by Catholic priests to file lawsuits if their claims were previously barred by the old statute of limitations.

As a condition of accepting a settlement from the New Jersey compensation fund, abuse survivors must sign an agreement that they will not pursue legal action against the Church. However, there is no “gag” provision; survivors will still be able to share their stories if they choose to do so.

While Church officials state that the compensation fund represents a “good faith” effort to bring some kind of closure and healing for survivors of abuse by Catholic priests, others are skeptical. Mark Crawford, head of the New Jersey chapter of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests (SNAP), told WBGO that the fund is no more than an attempt to avoid accountability for their failure to protect vulnerable youth from sexual predators.

“This is just a way in which the institutional church can kind of make these things go away … they want to pay these victims off and they get to keep their secrets,” Crawford told WBGO.

Others are not so sure, however. Patricia Teffenhart of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault notes that court proceedings can be intimidating to survivors, opening old wounds and forcing them to re-experience the trauma. She also told WBGO, “Not all survivors will want to go back to the institution that caused them harm.”

Parish priests are not the only alleged abusers involved in the scandal. Although far less common, other Church representatives such as nuns have also faced such accusations. However, the compensation fund may limit benefits only to cases of abuse perpetrated by priests of one of the five New Jersey dioceses.

This article is not legal advice. It is presented
for informational purposes only.