Paramus Priests Named On 'Credibly Accused' List

PARAMUS, NJ — The journalism site ProPublica, a Patch Partner, recently released the most comprehensive list so far of Catholic clergy "credibly accused" of sexual abuse.

The list includes seven accused abusers with ties to Paramus.

The searchable database — which includes nearly 200 priests accused from the dioceses of Metuchen, Newark, Trenton, Camden and Paterson — comes on the heels of various reports identifying hundreds of "predator" priests across the state.

Related: Full List Released Of NJ Catholic Clergy Accused Of Sex Assault

Here are the priests on the ProPublic list with ties to Paramus.

John X. Bergeur

Reported assignment history:

• Our Lady of the Visitation, Paramus
• EMS, Newark
• Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary/St. Michael, Elizabeth
• St. Anthony, East Newark

He was born in 1918, ordained in 1945 and has died.

Francis T. Maione

Reported assignment history:

• St. Lucy, Newark
• Catholic Community Services, Newark
• Blessed Sacrament/St. Charles Borromeo, Newark
• American College, Louvain
• St. Pius X, Old Tappan
• Holy Family, Union City
• Immaculate Conception Seminary, Mahwah
• Our Lady of Grace/St. Joseph, Hoboken
• Our Lady of the Visitation, Paramus

He was born in 1939 and ordained in 1965. According to the database, he has been permanently removed from ministry.

Joseph Rice

Reported assignment history:

• Chaplain - Bergen Regional Medical Center, Paramus
• Chaplain - St. Michael Medical Center, Newark
• St. John the Apostle, Linden
• St. Mary, Jersey City

He was born in 1940 and ordained in 1977. He has died.

Dennis Cocozza

Reported assignment history:

• Assumption, Roselle Park
• St. Anthony of Padua, Newark
• St. Henry, Bayonne
• St. Mary, Dumont
• Sacred Heart, Rochelle Park
• Paramus Catholic HS,Paramus
• St. Cassian, Upper Montclair

He was born in 1949 and ordained in 1975. He has died.

Robert Morel

Reported assignment history:

• Our Lady Of the Visitation, Paramus
• Catholic Community Services, Newark
• St. Joseph, Jersey City
• St. Peter the Apostle, River Edge
• Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, Roseland

He was born in 1943, ordained in 1969 and has died.

Mario Salazar

Reported assignment history:

• Chaplain - Bergen Regional Medical Center, Paramus
• Carmelite Chapel Of St. Therese, Paramus
• St. Joseph of the Palisades, West New York
• St. Mary, Jersey City

He was born in 1952, ordained in 1979 and has died.

Gerald Sudol

Reported assignment history:

• Holy Family, Nutley
• St. Francis of Assisi, Ridgefield Park
• St. Ann (Polish), Jersey City
• Chaplain - St. Francis Community Center, Jersey City
• Holy Rosary, Jersey City
• Mount St. Andrew Villa, Paramus
• Padre Pio Friary, Hoboken

He was born in 1954 and ordained in 1980. He has been permanently removed from ministry, according to the database.

Along with the list, ProPublica outlined the challenges of identifying offenders long after such widespread abuse became known. The database is a collection of 178 lists released by U.S. dioceses and religious orders as of Jan. 20. There are still more than 40 dioceses and religious orders that have not released information, including five out of seven Florida dioceses.

New Jersey enacted a law last month that extends the statute of limitations in civil actions on sexual abuse claims, creating a two-year window to file cases for which the statute of limitations had previously expired. A number of law firms have announced they were filing lawsuits.

Attorneys from Rebenack, Aronow & Mascolo, LLP and Pfau Cochran Vertetis Amala PLLC (PCVA) said they planned to file 38 lawsuits on behalf of dozens of abuse survivors.

The ProPublica project was prompted by a massive grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania that was described by Associated Press as the "biggest and most exhaustive ever" into priest sex abuse by an individual state. The investigation revealed many priests admitted to their actions and were allowed to continue in the ministry for years despite having confessed to molesting children.