Archdiocese of Newark

With an announcement Wednesday by the Archdiocese of Newark that all daily and Sunday Masses will be suspended until further notice, public gatherings are now on hold at every Catholic church in New Jersey.

The names of more than 180 priests accused of sexual abuse were released Wednesday by the state's five Catholic dioceses.

Catholic Church officials are reacting to calls by a New Jersey lawmaker for the state to impanel a grand jury to embark on a comprehensive investigation of potential sex-abuse by clergy.

Catholic Church officials in New Jersey have paid tens of millions of dollars to men and women who have accused priests and clergy of child sexual abuse in the last three decades.

No allegations were reported against Cardinal Theodore McCarrick by either the Newark Archdiocese or the Metuchen Diocese.

A Catholic Charities program to help refugees in New Jersey is being phased out because so few refugees are being allowed to enter the United States.

Scott Phillips said the court battle has not broken the spirit of his girls Sydney and Kaitlyn . "Mine they have but my daughters they haven't." Sydney and Kaitlyn continue to be part of the alter service program.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin testified he decided not to allow 13-year-old Sydney Phillips and her younger sister, to re-enroll because of their parents' behavior.

Many of the communities within the Archdiocese are deciding whether or not to declare themselves "sanctuary cities" at the risk of losing federal funds.

Catholics will be allowed to eat meat on St Patrick's Day but are encouraged to find other ways to observe the Lenten season on that Friday.