Seeking to turn the page on a nasty public spat among its leadership, Seton Hall University hired a new president in April. The turmoil, however, keeps intensifying.
The latest, as reported by Politico New Jersey: The new president, Monsignor Joseph R. Reilly, is depicted as having a problematic history as the former dean of the university’s seminary.
An internal investigation concluded Reilly knew of sexual abuse allegations that he did not report, Politico reported, citing documentation, and investigators recommended he be removed as a seminary leader.
Multiple Gannett requests to interview Reilly – at the time he was hired in April, at the start of his tenure in July and at the occasion of his investiture in early November – were rebuffed by the university’s media relations staff. That stands in contrast to previous Seton Hall presidents, who were generally accessible for interviews. In November, after the investiture, associate director of media relations Laurie Pine said Reilly was unavailable to speak as he “navigated through the holiday season.”
Msgr. Joseph Reilly
Reilly is a 1987 graduate of Seton Hall who in 1994 served as a priest secretary to the since-disgraced Theodore McCarrick, who was archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark at the time. McCarrick was defrocked by Pope Francis after allegations of sexual misconduct with seminarians and minors over a period of decades were found to be credible.
Reilly returned to Seton Hall’s seminary in 2002 as a rector and in 2012 became dean of the university’s Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology.
In 2018, Seton Hall’s board of regents retained an outside counsel to examine McCarrick’s actions and the culture at the seminary. The university later released a one-page review of the investigation, slamming McCarrick (who already was a public pariah) and stating that the university’s Title IX policies addressing sexual misconduct were not always followed by the seminary.
No further details were released, and in 2019 Reilly was queried by the National Catholic Register, an independent Catholic publication, about the situation.
“Msgr. Reilly told the Register he had no comment when asked (about the seminary), his past work with McCarrick and his thoughts on the independent review the school had conducted,” the Register reported.
Politico, citing an internal memo, reported that in 2012, Reilly “investigated a student complaint of sexual assault…and did not report it or follow the school and federal Title IX policies and procedures.”
The seminarian was dismissed from the seminary, but the university was not alerted to the problem and he continued as a student at Seton Hall, Politico reported.
It seems likely that none of this history would have surprised members of Seton Hall’s presidential search committee, who were tasked with moving past the ongoing embarrassment involving deposed president Joseph Nyre. After his sudden departure in the summer of 2023, Nyre and his wife Kelli sued the university, claiming the former chairman of the board of regents, Kevin Marino, had harassed and intimidated them.
Marino blasted the claim as “disgraceful” and a third-party investigation on the matter found no evidence to support it.
The very public falling out between Nyre and Marino, who originally championed Nyre’s appointment, stemmed from a dispute between the men on how to handle the governance of Seton Hall’s Law School, which was embroiled in an embezzlement scandal. Earlier this month, a former assistant dean at the law school was given a three-year prison sentence for embezzling at least $1.3 million over more than a decade, with the help of two other law school employees.
The sum of all this was the projection of a rudderless university marred by infighting and impropriety. Under this backdrop, Seton Hall’s board of regents hired Reilly and projected much fanfare about his integrity.
“There is no one better suited to leading the University at this moment — a time when Seton Hall stands at the cusp of extraordinary progress,” Hank D’Alessandro, chair of the Board of Regents and the Presidential Search Committee, said in April. “Monsignor Reilly was the ideal choice. He possesses a deep faith in God and a demonstrable commitment to nurturing our students to greatness as we advance among the nation’s foremost Catholic universities.”
In separate statements to Politico, the university and D’Alessandro both doubled down on those sentiments this week.
D’Alessandro also is a significant figure in Seton Hall’s athletic department, having overseen athletics for the Board of Regents for many years.
Contact Jerry Carino at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall University faces another mess involving its president
