Father Gerard Sudol
Archdiocese of Newark
Ordained: 1980
Removed: 2002
Reassigned: 2006
Permanently removed: 2019
Assigned as follows:
- Holy Family (Nutley, NJ)
- St. Francis of Assisi (Ridgefield Park, NJ)
- St. Ann (Polish) (Jersey City, NJ)
- St. Francis Community Center (Jersey City, NJ)
- Holy Rosary (Jersey City, NJ)
- Mount St. Andrew Villa (Paramus, NJ)
- Padre Pio Friary (Hoboken, NJ)
Summary of Abuse Allegations against Father Gerard Sudol:
Father Gerard Sudol was ordained a priest in 1980 and served in the Archdiocese of Newark. He served in multiple parishes throughout his career. According to media reports, in 2002, an allegation of sexual misconduct was made against him. In October 2004, he was one of nine priests whose accusers settled with the Archdiocese of Newark for $1.07 million.
In 2006, a canonical trial acquitted Father Sudol of the abuse allegations, despite the settlement. Cleared of any wrongdoing, he was reassigned to work at a hospice by the Archbishop of Newark. In February 2007, an archdiocese church threw a festive jubilee for the 25th anniversary of his ordination, publicizing the party for "Fr. Gerry" on the Web.
In August 2018, Father Sudol, stepped down from his post as priest in residence at Our Lady of Czestochowa in Jersey City. He was accused of sexually abusing another altar boy while he was assigned to a church in Ridgefield Park in the 1980s and 1990s.
According to media reports, Father Sudol had been previously accused of sexual misconduct in the 1990s, but no criminal charges were filed against him so he was permitted to return to the ministry.
In February 2019, Father Sudol's name appeared on the Archdiocese of Newark's list of credibly accused priests, which indicated he has been the subject of "multiple" credible allegations of abuse.
According to the disclosure, Father Sudol is permanently removed from the ministry. He has not been laicized and is believed to be residing in an Archdiocesan retirement home for priests.
According to a list maintained by Bishop Accountability.org, Father Sudol was accused in a lawsuit of sexually abusing a 13-year-old girl in approximately 1985. At the time of the alleged abuse, he was assigned to Holy Family Church in Nutley, New Jersey, and the girl was a student at the affiliated Holy Family School, and occurred during a class field trip to New York. While Father Sudol was swimming in a pool with the girl, he reportedly reached inside the girl's bathing suit and penetrated her vagina and rectum with his finger.
The claim settled in 2020.
Horowitz Law is a law firm representing victims and survivors of sexual abuse by Catholic priests and other clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey. If you need a lawyer because you were sexually abused in the Archdiocese of Newark, contact our office today. Although many years have passed, those abused by Catholic clergy in the Archdiocese of Newark now have legal options, but filing deadlines will apply so do not delay in reaching out to us. Our lawyers have decades of experience representing survivors of clergy sexual abuse in New Jersey and nationwide. We can help.
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