Currently Jailed Catholic Priest Served At Middlesex Church

METUCHEN, NJ — A Catholic priest currently in prison for raping a 7-year-old boy served at St. James in Woodbridge, St. John Vianney in Colonia and Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Middlesex borough in the mid-'80s.

The priest is Rev. Romano Ferraro, convicted in 2004 for child sexual assault that occurred in Massachusetts decades ago. Clergy abuse victim advocates and an attorney representing victims of the Ferraro's alleged abuse met Thursday outside St. John Vianney Church in Colonia to share documents depicting how Ferraro was transferred from Brooklyn to the Metuchen Diocese.

They say the Metuchen diocese should have been aware of complaints against Ferraro, as they uncovered a personnel file full of allegations against him dating back to the 1970s.

He was not included on this damning list put out by the Metuchen diocese earlier this winter, naming all the priests in their diocese who had been accused or convicted of child molestation. That is because Ferraro's abuse allegations started in Brooklyn, a spokeswoman for the Catholic church said.

However, Ferraro was sent to St. John Vianney even after the Catholic church was aware he was accused of abusing boys, a watchdog group named Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests(SNAP) alleged this week. His transfer happened under now-disgraced Bishop Theodore McCarrick.

Tara Smith, a spokesperson for the Diocese of Metuchen, told MyCentralJersey that at the time of his transfer, McCarrick was not aware of allegations against Ferraro.

Patrick Noaker, an attorney representing several of Ferraro’s alleged victims, obtained several private letters from McCarrick's personnel file. These letters, which you can read here, are dated from the 1970s onwards and they detail concerns other priests had about Ferraro. One memo, dated 1977, was sent from Monsignor Anthony Bevilacqua, who went on to become the archbishop of Philadelphia. It specifically notes two incidents where Ferraro was accused of molesting boys while he was stationed at St. Joseph's parish in Kings Park, Long Island.

It is not clear who exactly that memo was sent to.

"A small son of the family claimed that Father Ferraro had sexually touched him twice in the evening," read the memo. "... Father Ferraro claims that his major problem is with boys 13 to 15 years of age ... he wants to go to a psychiatrist so he can better control himself."

You can read those letters here: https://noakerlaw.com/wp-conte...

Ferraro was transferred from the diocese of Brooklyn to the Metuchen Diocese in the mid-1980s. He served at three churches in Middlesex County, first at St. James in 1984 and then at St. John Vianney Church from 1985-1986, as well as a short stint at Our Lady of Mount Virgin in Middlesex borough in between.

Ferraro is currently in prison: In 2005, he was charged and convicted of raping a 7-year-old boy in Massachusetts for a long period, from 1973 to 1980, and sentenced to life in prison. County prosecutors in Massachusetts were able to prosecute him, despite a statute of limitations on sex crimes. That's because when a crime occurs and the suspect leaves the state, and then returns, he can be tried. The legal term for that is "tolled," which is the pausing of time set forth by a statute of limitations. That sexual assault happened in Billerica, Massachusetts.

At his trial, Ferraro admitted to molesting dozens of other boys, MyCentralJersey reported.

Although Ferraro was sentenced to life in prison, he is up for parole and could be released as early as April 9 of this year, according to

Was he at your church? Ferraro's history in Middlesex County:

• 1984: St. James; Woodbridge, NJ
• 1984-1985: Our Lady of Mount Virgin; Middlesex, NJ
• 1985-1986: St. John Vianney; Colonia, NJ

Despite that personnel file, Smith, the church spokeswoman, maintained that the Metuchen diocese was not aware of complaints against Ferraro until 1991.

"The first allegation against Ferraro, resulting from an incident in 1984, was not received by the Diocese of Metuchen until 1991. At that time, Ferraro had been gone from the Diocese of Metuchen for several years," she said, according to MyCentralJersey. "Neither then-Bishop Theodore McCarrick nor Bishop Edward Hughes had any records to indicate Ferraro had a history of sexual misconduct. Ferraro's faculties and candidacy for becoming a priest of the Diocese of Metuchen were terminated in January 1987, due to matters unrelated at the time to his unknown history of sexual abuse history. We denounce the actions of sexual abuse and stand with the survivors in their healing journey."

McCarrick is the former archbishop of Newark, who eventually rose to cardinal, the highest position in the Catholic Church in the United States. McCarrick was defrocked by Pope Francis last month, after the Vatican found him guilty of sex crimes against adults and minors and abuse of power.

Before he went to prison, Ferraro was repeatedly transferred to Diocese in Florida, the Philippines, West Virginia, the Carolinas as well as New Jersey. Early in his ministry he served as a Naval military chaplain in Key West, Florida and was dishonorably discharged for abuses of children committed there.

Watch the press conference Thursday outside St. John Vianney:

Similar incidents: Four Former Woodbridge Priests Accused Of Sex Abuse