Seeking to turn the page on a bitter public dispute among its leadership, Seton Hall University hired a new president in April. However, the unrest continues to intensify.
The latest, as reported by Politico New Jersey: The new president, Monsignor Joseph R. Reilly, is shown to have a problematic history as a former dean of the university's seminary.
An internal investigation concluded that Reilly knew about allegations of sexual abuse that he did not report, Politico reported, citing documents, and investigators recommended that he be removed as the seminary's leader.
Gannett's multiple requests to interview Reilly — when he was hired in April, at the start of his tenure in July and during his investiture in early November — were turned down by the university's communications staff. That's in contrast to previous Seton Hall presidents, who were often accessible through interviews. In November, after the investigation, media relations director Laurie Pine said Reilly was unavailable for comment as he was “traveling in the middle of the holiday season.”
Mrs. Joseph Reilly
Reilly is a 1987 graduate of Seton Hall who in 1994 served as a priest's secretary to the disgraced Theodore McCarrick, then archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. McCarrick was deposed by Pope Francis after allegations of sexual misconduct with seminary students and children over a period of decades were found to be credible.
Reilly returned to Seton Hall seminary in 2002 as an instructor 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 culture at the seminary. The university later released a one-page review of the investigation, criticizing McCarrick (who was a public member) and saying the university's Title IX policies on sexual misconduct were not always followed by the seminary.
No further details were released, and in 2019 Reilly was asked 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 previous work with McCarrick and his thoughts on the independent review conducted by the school,” the Register reported.
Politico, citing an internal memo, reported that in 2012, Reilly “investigated a student complaint of sexual harassment …
The student was expelled from the seminary, but the university was not informed of the problem and continued to study at Seton Hall, Politico reported.
None of this history seems to have surprised the members of Seton Hall's presidential search committee, who were tasked with navigating the ongoing scandal involving ousted president Joseph Nyre. After his sudden departure in the summer of 2023, Nyre and his wife Kelli sued the university, alleging that the former chairman of the board of trustees, Kevin Marino, harassed and intimidated them.
Marino slammed the claim as “outrageous” and a third-party investigation into the matter found no evidence to support it.
The public disagreement between Nyre and Marino, who supported Nyre's nomination, stemmed from a dispute between the men over how to handle the administration of Seton Hall Law School, which was embroiled in a fraud scandal. Earlier this month, a former law school assistant dean was sentenced to three years in prison for embezzling at least $1.3 million over a decade, with the help of two other law school employees.
The sum of all this was the projection of a directionless university marred by controversy and incompetence. Against this background, Seton Hall's board of trustees hired Reilly and expressed many fans about his integrity.
“There is no one better suited to lead the University right now — a time when Seton Hall is on the cusp of incredible progress,” said Hank D'Alessandro, chairman of the Board of Regents and the Presidential Search Committee, in April. “Monsignor Reilly was a great choice. He has a deep faith in God and a visible commitment to growing our students to greatness as we move forward among the nation's leading Catholic universities.”
In separate statements to Politico, the university and D'Alessandro both echoed those sentiments this week.
D'Alessandro is also an important figure in Seton Hall's athletics department, having chaired athletics on the Board of Regents for many years.
Contact Jerry Carino at jcarino@gannettnj.com.
This article originally appeared in the Asbury Park Press: Seton Hall University faces another scandal involving its president
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