The Office of Child and Youth Protection is responsible for assisting the Bishop in the Diocese’s efforts to combat and prevent child sexual abuse. The Diocesan Response Officer receives complaints of sexual abuse and notifies diocesan authorities. The diocesan liaison then immediately notifies law enforcement of the complaints.
Notify the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCPP) at 1-877-NJ ABUSE (652-2873) or 1-800-835-5510 (TTY/TDD for the deaf), available 24/7 and also contact Doranne Rossiter at (908) 930-4558, (24 hours/7 days a week) or any of the law enforcement or other governmental agencies .
Parish Facilitators or individuals should initially contact Nevin Mathew at (732) 562-2445 for questions related to the Virtus program, processing background checks or listings in the ParishSoft program.
In the Diocese of Metuchen, protecting God’s children from sexual abuse is our highest priority. We have updated our policies, enacted stringent reporting procedures, expanded our Diocesan Review Board, and established the Office of Child and Youth Protection, to ensure sexual abuse of any kind will be rooted out of our local Church.
All allegations are handled immediately, responsibly and legally. We work closely with our county prosecutors and other law enforcement personnel.
Any allegation should be reported to our Diocesan Response Officer. Any and all allegations, whether credible or not, reported to us are immediately forwarded to law enforcement.
We have implemented the VIRTUS program, “Protecting God’s Children,” to create a safe environment for our children. Information about that program and our other initiatives may be found on this website.
Sexual abuse is a heinous crime that robs its victims of their innocence and devastates not only the life of each victim, but also the lives of their loved ones. We are committed to doing all that is humanly possible to prevent and address it. Be assured that we will remain ever vigilant and may the Lord bless our efforts.
A Child Assault Prevention (CAP) booklet for families in the Diocese of Metuchen includes a Parent's Guide to Internet Safety