St. Mark, Our Lady Of The Mountain Priests On Sex Abuse List

LONG VALLEY, NJ — Two priests who have served at Catholic churches in Long Valley faced credible sexual abuse allegations, the Diocese of Paterson said.

Ralph Sodano, a former pastor at Our Lady Of The Mountain, and Allen Stepien, formerly of St. Mark, are both named on a newly released Diocese list of credibly accused priests. Both served at other North Jersey churches during their careers (you can find a full list of churches at the bottom of this article).

The priests were included on a list of 28 from the Diocese of Paterson who face credible abuse allegations. All the priests are either deceased, removed from the ministry, or laicized.

"Such misconduct by those ordained as ministers of our faith can never be tolerated. The faithful of our diocese have a right to know that the diocese is doing everything it can to ensure the safety of our children and to report perpetrators to law enforcement authorities," Bishop Arthur Serratelli said in a letter.

Sodano faced several allegations dating back to the 1980s, some of which resulted in settlements. He was removed from the ministry in 2002 and died in 2008.

Stepien was removed from the ministry in 2002 after facing multiple accusations dating back to the 1980s.

The Archdiocese of Newark and the Dioceses of Camden, Trenton, Paterson and Metuchen said they are committed to the establishment of a "Victim Compensation and Counseling Program."
This program will provide the resources to compensate those victims of child sexual abuse by clergy and employees of the Dioceses in New Jersey whose financial claims are legally barred by New Jersey's statute of limitations, according to the authorities.

Authorities said the program also will assure that victims who have not received any financial compensation will be paid, regardless of whether their claims meet the time requirements of the statute of limitations.

"While this is a positive first step towards transparency and accountability, I hope this spirit of openness continues during the course of our ongoing investigation and in response to our requests for records and information," Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal said.

The Attorney General's Office urges survivors and others with information to contact its toll-free tip line, 855-363-6548, which is staffed by trained professionals on a 24/7 basis.

Here is a list of where all the accused priests also served:

Ralph Sodano

• St. Brendan, Clifton
• Diocesan Director of Catholic Scouting
• Teacher, Pope Pius XII High School, Passaic
• St. Rose of Lima, East Hanover
• Chaplain, United States Navy
• Sacred Heart, Dover
• Our Lady of the Mountain, Long Valley

Allen Stepien

• St. Rose of Lima, East Hanover
• Assumption, Morristown
• St. Anthony, Hawthorne
• St. Philip, Clifton
• St. Mark, Long Valley

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