Exclusive details of clergy abuse at New Jersey elite Catholic school in to be made public

Saturday, August 16, 2025 - Disturbing details of clergy abuse at the elite Catholic school  in New Jersey is reportedly set to be made public.

Auxiliary Bishop Elias R. Lorenzo, a potential successor to Newark Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who will reach the mandatory retirement age in May 2027, served for three decades as a teacher and clergy leader at the all-boys Catholic school in Morristown.

During his time, at least 30 students came forward with s£xual abuse allegations against Delbarton clergy, the Survivors Network of those Abused By Priests said some with lurid claims of being brutally abused hundreds of times by Benedictine monks.

In June, the state’s top court ruled that a new grand jury investigation into clerical abuse across the state can move forward, which insiders say will include examining claims of a cover-up at the exclusive school.

The Camden Diocese battled to block the investigation in court for seven years but announced they were dropping the fight in May, according to NorthJersey.

“From what I know, it would make sense for them to include Delbarton in the investigation,” New Jersey State Senator Joe Vitale told The Post of the grand jury investigation.

“You would certainly want to know how leadership played a role in all of that,” Vitale said. “And everyone who played a role at Delbarton at the time that abuse was alleged to have occurred should be part of the discussion.”

When current Cardinal Tobin reaches his mandatory retirement age in 2027, insiders said Lorenzo will be among four bishops who could be in contention for the prestigious role. 

One organization — Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, or SNAP — is calling for Lorenzo to be removed from consideration to become Newark Cardinal, claiming in a statement last week that he was “complicit in the cover-up at Delbarton.”

“Bishop Lorenzo’s rise cannot erase the pain experienced by Delbarton survivors,” said Mark Crawford, SNAP’s New Jersey coordinator. “It is unacceptable that someone who held authority during decades when so many students were being preyed upon should now be considered for further promotion. 

“Our members demand transparency and accountability,” Crawford added. “Under Lorenzo’s watch, children were abused by wolves in sheep’s clothing.”

A similar grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania in 2018 revealed that over 1,000 children had been victims of clergy abuse, the AP reported. It was considered the most extensive examination of a state’s Catholic clergy abuse at the time.