Peter Leo Gerety

Peter Leo Gerety (July 19, 1912 – September 20, 2016) was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of Newark from 1974 to 1986. He previously served as Bishop of Portland in Maine from 1969 to 1974. Gerety was the oldest living Catholic bishop in the world at the time of his death at age 104.

Early life and education Peter Gerety was born on July 19, 1912, in Shelton, Connecticut, the oldest of nine sons of Peter Leo and Charlotte Ursula (née Daly) Gerety. Since there were no local Catholic schools, he received his early education at public schools in Shelton, including Commodore Isaac Hull School and the Ferry Street School. He graduated from Shelton High School in 1929, and then worked for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the New Jersey Department of Transportation for three years. He continue his studies at the Saint-Sulpice Seminary in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, in 1934. Following his return to Connecticut, he was assigned as a curate at St. John the Evangelist Parish in New Haven, Connecticut.

During his tenure at St. Martin's, Gerety became an outspoken advocate for the American Civil Rights Movement and supported programs to eliminate poverty. In 1963, he was chosen as coordinator and director of the Diocesan Priests' Conference on Interracial Justice. That same year, he called on Maine food retailers to stop selling California grapes, in support of the United Farm Workers' dispute with growers.

During his 12-year tenure in Newark, Gerety created the Office of Pastoral Renewal and began a ministry to divorced Catholics. The Office of Pastoral Renewal evolved into RENEW International, an organization now based in Plainfield, New Jersey, that provides resources for small Christian communities in the United States, Canada, Latin America, and South Africa. Gerety established the Archbishop's Annual Appeal in 1975, and supported the charismatic and ecumenical movements.

Later life Gerety submitted his letter of resignation as Archbishop of Newark to Pope John Paul II on June 3, 1986. Gerety died in Totowa, New Jersey, on September 20, 2016, aged 104, and was the world's oldest living Catholic bishop at the time.

Legacy On May 11, 2013, the Archdiocese of Newark settled two lawsuits by men who were abused as children by Carmen Sita, a priest at St. Aloysius Parish in Jersey City, New Jersey. Five men were abused in the 1970s by Sita, who in 1982 pleaded guilty to sexual assault. Gerety then allowed Sita to legally change his name to Gerald Howard and move to Missouri. Gerety never notified the Diocese of Jefferson City about Sita's name change or his conviction. Sita then abused at least three more children in Missouri. The Archdiocese of Newark agreed to pay $650,000 to the five New Jersey victims and $225,000 to one Missouri victim.

On May 11, 2021, a woman filed a $50 million lawsuit against the Archdiocese of Newark. The plaintiff claimed that Gerety had sexually abused her starting in 1976 three or four times when she was five years old. Gerety had been bringing extra food to the family and babysitting the young girl. The New Jersey Independent Victim Compensation Program had investigated her claims, but did not find them credible. The program had offered her a $5,000 settlement, which she rejected.