Key facts
- A report acknowledged that Monsignor Reilly did not report an alleged assault to Seton Hall's Title IX office.
- Reilly's leadership is being questioned again after a July report.
- A state legislator requested an investigation into the university.
- Former President Joseph Nyre refiled a whistleblower lawsuit alleging discrimination and retaliation.
- A seminarian filed a lawsuit against Reilly, Seton Hall, and the seminary, alleging retaliation and misconduct.
Seton Hall University is facing a cascade of legal and investigative challenges stemming from an ongoing abuse scandal. The university's leadership, particularly Monsignor Reilly, is under renewed scrutiny following a July report by Ropes & Gray, which acknowledged that Reilly did not report an alleged assault on a seminarian to the school's Title IX office, citing a lack of training.
Despite initial reaffirmations of support for Reilly from Cardinal Joseph Tobin and Board of Regents Chair Hank D’Alessandro, his leadership is now being questioned. On August 11, a state legislator, Vitale, formally requested the New Jersey attorney general to investigate the university, citing differing conclusions between previous and recent reports and the need to restore public trust.
The following day, former Seton Hall President Joseph Nyre refiled a whistleblower lawsuit that had been previously dismissed. Nyre claims he faced discrimination and retaliation after raising concerns about alleged misconduct within the university's senior ranks. He resigned in 2023 before his contract concluded.
Two days later, on August 14, the seminarian who initially reported being sexually assaulted in 2012 filed his own lawsuit. The suit names Reilly, Seton Hall, and the Immaculate Conception Seminary as defendants. The seminarian, identified by initials and now a priest in Brooklyn, New York, alleges he faced retaliation after confiding in Reilly about the assault by a fellow seminarian. While the lawsuit largely echoes findings from the Ropes & Gray report, it introduces new claims, including that Reilly acknowledged using a private investigator to follow the seminarian and attempted to delay his ordination by suggesting he was not sufficiently a "man of community."