Overcast 51°
Tag:

Archdiocese of Newark

News
Pregnant Out Of Wedlock: NJ Supreme Court Rules Teacher Can Be Fired Pregnant Out Of Wedlock: NJ Supreme Court Rules Teacher Can Be Fired
Pregnant Out Of Wedlock: NJ Supreme Court Rules Teacher Can Be Fired Nearly a decade after a New Jersey Catholic school fired one of its teachers for getting pregnant out of wedlock, a New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the school was within its rights. The Supreme Court ruled on Monday, Aug. 14 in favor of the Church of St. Theresa in Kenilworth, which fired Victoria Crisitello — a second grade art teacher — in 2014, after she told them she was pregnant out of wedlock. The school said that Crisitello had violated her employment agreement and fired her. The agreement requires teachers to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with the discipline, no…

SHARE

by Sam Barron
News
Feds Charge Exiled Chinese Tycoon With $1B Fraud That Funded $26.5M NJ Mansion Buy, More Feds Charge Exiled Chinese Tycoon With $1B Fraud That Funded $26.5M NJ Mansion Buy, More
Feds Charge Exiled Chinese Tycoon With $1B Fraud That Funded $26.5M NJ Mansion Buy, More Exiled Chinese tycoon Miles Guo was arrested by the FBI Wednesday on charges of swindling his online followers out of more than $1 billion that the government said he used, in part, to buy a 58-room mansion in Mahwah. Some of the agents were still at Guo’s 15-room penthouse in the Sherry-Netherland Hotel on Manhattan’s Upper East Side the afternoon of March 15, six hours after he’d been arrested there, when a mysterious fire broke out on the 18th floor, responders said. No injuries were reported, but authorities said the blaze significantly damaged Guo’s unit. No one drew any immediate conn…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Teacher Who Made National Headlines Jailed On Child Sex Charges NJ Teacher Who Made National Headlines Jailed On Child Sex Charges
NJ Teacher Who Made National Headlines Jailed On Child Sex Charges A teacher at a Hasbrouck Heights Catholic school who once made national headlines for participating in a prestigious space program was charged with sexually assaulting a child. James Falletti, 43, of Hackensack was released from the Bergen County Jail on Wednesday, March 15, pending court action following his arrest on Monday, records show. Falletti "sexually assaulted [a] child, who was younger than 16 years old, in Elmwood Park," Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella said. The married Falletti taught science and world languages for seven years at St. Leo's Catholic School in Elmwood Par…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Repetitive Pedophile Priest Formerly Of Jersey City Church Dies Repetitive Pedophile Priest Formerly Of Jersey City Church Dies
Repetitive Pedophile Priest Formerly Of Jersey City Church Dies A twice-convicted pedophile priest who'd been an associate pastor at a Jersey City church reportedly has died. The death of the Rev. Carmen Sita -- who changed his name to Gerald Howard after getting probation for his first conviction -- was announced by SNAP, a survivors network that provides support for sex abuse victims. Sita had been at St. Aloysius Roman Catholic Church on West Side Avenue for six years when he was arrested in 1982 on charges of repeatedly sexually abusing a 17-year-old boy and giving him pot. After pleading guilty the following year, Sita was sentenced to five months…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Vatican City, NJ Priests Using Hookup Apps Alarms Catholic Church Officials, Reports Say Vatican City, NJ Priests Using Hookup Apps Alarms Catholic Church Officials, Reports Say
Vatican City, NJ Priests Using Hookup Apps Alarms Catholic Church Officials, Reports Say A conservative Catholic media organization has published a series of reports claiming that priests at New Jersey churches and the Vatican have been using hookup apps. "The Pillar" collected and reviewed commercially available app signal indicating patterns on location-based hookup apps at more than 10 rectories within the Archdiocese of Newark between 2018 and 2020, the blog reported July 23. The data apparently shows evidence that "both homosexual and heterosexual hookup apps were used in parish rectories or other clerical residences with a frequency suggesting, in several cases, residence…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
NJ Catholic Diocese Sells Sprawling Luxury Home Of Former Archbishop For Less Than $1M (PHOTOS) NJ Catholic Diocese Sells Sprawling Luxury Home Of Former Archbishop For Less Than $1M (PHOTOS)
NJ Catholic Diocese Sells Sprawling Luxury Home Of Former Archbishop For Less Than $1M (Photos) The controversial retirement home formerly occupied by Newark Archbishop John J. Myers sold for $910,000, church officials announced. The 7,300-square-foot home at 51 Lower Kingtown Road in Pittstown (Hunterdon County) sits on more than eight acres of land and features many luxury amenities, according to the real estate listing (click here for photos). Those include two elevators, a heated outdoor pool, an indoor exercise pool, four fireplaces, a central vacuum and more. The home has five bedrooms, five bathrooms and a three-car garage, with two distinct living areas that share a…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Catholic NJ High School Pair In Profane, Racist Video Draw Wrath, Shake Community Catholic NJ High School Pair In Profane, Racist Video Draw Wrath, Shake Community
Catholic NJ High School Pair In Profane, Racist Video Draw Wrath, Shake Community Two seniors at a respected Catholic Bergen County high school used a racial epithet and then cursed “Black Lives Matter” while downing shots in an offensive viral video that has brought widespread wrath on a shaken community. "Don't be snowflakes," one student from the all-girls Immaculate Heart Academy in Washington Township says, before the other utters a racial epithet during a 25-second clip recorded at a Valentine’s Day party in earshot of other underage teens. Laughter is heard, after which the second girl leans into the camera leans and repeats the epithet, then says "Black Lives Mat…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Former NJ Catholic School Chaplain Charged With Endangering Welfare Of Students Former NJ Catholic School Chaplain Charged With Endangering Welfare Of Students
Former NJ Catholic School Chaplain Charged With Endangering Welfare Of Students A priest and former chaplain of a North Jersey Catholic school was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of six students, authorities announced Thursday. Salvatore DiStefano, 61, who most recently resided at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church New Providence, is charged with engaging in a pattern of behavior that threatened the welfare of six Oratory Preparatory School students, acting Union County Prosecutor Lyndsay V. Ruotolo said. DiStefano -- known to students as "Father Sal" -- was placed on leave last January pending an investigation.  He is the fourth …

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
'Where's The Compassion?' NJ Boy With Autism Kicked Out Of Church During Sister's Baptism 'Where's The Compassion?' NJ Boy With Autism Kicked Out Of Church During Sister's Baptism
'Where's The Compassion?' NJ Boy With Autism Kicked Out Of Church During Sister's Baptism A Union County mom says her son who has autism was kicked out of church by the priest during her daughter's baptism. Nicky, 7, was playing with a ball during his sister Sofia's baptism at Christ the King Church Saturday in Hillside, Julia Vicidomini said on Facebook. The service was private, for family only, which Vicidomini said made her feel more comfortable as Nicky -- who is non-verbal -- doesn't do well during long mass services. "Yes, he was playing with a toy where he should not have been, however, the way the priest kicked him out of the church was completely rude and disrespectful…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Defrocked Cardinal McCarrick Accused Of Leading Sex Ring At Jersey Shore Beach House Defrocked Cardinal McCarrick Accused Of Leading Sex Ring At Jersey Shore Beach House
Defrocked Cardinal McCarrick Accused Of Leading Sex Ring At Jersey Shore Beach House The 90-year-old defrocked former Cardinal Theodore McCarrick stands accused of running a sex ring out of his Jersey Shore beach house in Sea Girt. One victim claims in a lawsuit that he was molested by McCarrick and three other priests during overnight stays at the then-Bishop's home in Monmouth County, the New York Post reports. Last year, Pope Francis defrocked McCarrick after a church investigation found he sexually abused minors and adult seminarians.  The suit was filed Tuesday night in New Jersey Superior Court in Middlesex County against the Diocese of Metuchen, the Archdi…

SHARE

by Jon Craig
News
North Jersey Pastor Resigns Amid Pre-2000 Abuse Allegations North Jersey Pastor Resigns Amid Pre-2000 Abuse Allegations
North Jersey Pastor Resigns Amid Pre-2000 Abuse Allegations The pastor of Cliffside Park’s Church of the Epiphany has resigned amid allegations that he abused a minor before he was ordained. The Rev. Bruce Harger, 66, “has not been convicted of any civil or canonical crime” and has denied any wrongdoing, a spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Newark said. He decided “after thorough and careful consideration” to step down until the matter is resolved, however, “out of concern for the people of the parish and for the benefit of the church,” the spokeswoman, Maria Margiotta, said in a statement. "The alleged abuse occurred before Fr. Harger was associa…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
Schools
BREAKING: Newark Archdiocese Permanently Closing 10 Schools In Three Counties BREAKING: Newark Archdiocese Permanently Closing 10 Schools In Three Counties
Breaking: Newark Archdiocese Permanently Closing 10 Schools In Three Counties The Archdiocese of Newark said Thursday that it is closing a number of its schools in Bergen, Essex and Union counties -- and consolidating them into others -- at the end of the current school year. Factors considered in the closings included "declining enrollment numbers and increasing and unsustainable dependence on archdiocesan funding over time," the archdiocese said. "Consideration also was given to geographic locations and proximity to nearby matched archdiocesan schools that will accommodate new students." The schools being closed are: Academy of St. Therese of Lisieux, Cresskill …

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco
News
Kearny Man With Love Of Birthdays Dies Of Coronavirus On His 30th, Days After Mom Kearny Man With Love Of Birthdays Dies Of Coronavirus On His 30th, Days After Mom
Kearny Man With Love Of Birthdays Dies Of Coronavirus On His 30th, Days After Mom A Kearny man with a love of birthdays died of coronavirus on his 30th -- nine days after the virus took his mom. Thomas Martins, who had Down syndrome, died of the virus on April 6. His mom, Carolyn Martins-Reitz -- a graphic designer for the Archdiocese of Newark -- passed away March 28 at Clara Maas Medical Center. Surviving them are Reitz' husband and Martins step-dad Rudy Reitz, who mourns alone with his daughter -- Martins' half-sister -- Sharon Reitz. Carolyn and Thomas, born in Belleville, were "each other's whole word," Rudy told BuzzFeed News. The doting mom made sure her son was…

SHARE

by Cecilia Levine
News
Luxury Watch, Jewelry Exec From Bergen Is Newark Archdiocese's First Chief Operating Officer Luxury Watch, Jewelry Exec From Bergen Is Newark Archdiocese's First Chief Operating Officer
Luxury Watch, Jewelry Exec From Bergen Is Newark Archdiocese's First Chief Operating Officer He’s been photographed with supermodels and movie stars, but in the coming days, Bergen County’s Larry Boland – a former top executive with Tourneau and Piaget North America – will be seen more with archbishops, priests and even a cardinal. Boland, of Rutherford, began work Wednesday as the the Archdiocese of Newark's very first chief operating officer, reporting directly to Cardinal Joseph W. Tobin. “This new post is a key part of our ongoing efforts to re-organize the Chancery to deliver improved service in the mission of the church while achieving greater operating efficiency,” said Tobi…

SHARE

by Jerry DeMarco