Community Corner

Monument 'Expands Message' With Third Dedication

Mendham resident Patrick Kelly, whose life was directly impacted by Fr. Jim Hanley's sexual abuse, says monument more than just a reference to St. Joseph's 'dark chapter.'

Patrick Kelly does not refer to himself as a victim.

The Mendham resident says he was one of the men abused as a child by Fr. James Hanley and has spent a significant portion of his life since helping others who are working through similar circumstances.

When Kelly comments on the Millstone Monument, the twice-destroyed tribute to the victims of sex abuse committed by clergy on the grounds of St. Joseph, it comes with hard won perspective. 

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When the monument was first dedicated back in 2004, Mark Serrano, another man abused by Hanley as a child, said that St. Joseph's was transformed from hunting grounds to healing grounds.

At the time, Kelly said he had difficulty with the statement.

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"I was troubled; filled with anger, resentment, fear and shame.  Emotionally, I could not appreciate the full meaning of Mark’s words as I was just becoming fully aware of the destruction left behind by Fr. Jim Hanley’s sexual abuse of my family members, my friends and me," Kelly said.

Patrick Kelly’s brother, James Kelly, killed himself at the age of 37 by placing himself in front of an oncoming train in Morristown. It was James Kelly’s suicide that led to Bill Crane Jr., another man abused by Hanley, to begin the campaign to place the monument outside St. Joseph.

The first incident of vandalism of the statue dates back to November of 2011, when police charged Gordon D. Ellis with using a sledgehammer to destroy the monument. The monument was rebuilt and rededicated in April of 2012.

The monument was defaced for the second time in the early morning hours of March 7. That was the day brothers, Bill Crane Jr., and Thomas Crane were scheduled to go to court in their lawsuit against Delbarton and St. Mary’s Abbey for failing to stop alleged sexual abuse by the Rev. Luke Travers, who served as Delbarton headmaster from 1999 to 2007.

According to Kelly, in the ensuing years since the Millstone's first dedication, his opinion has changed.

"In the years since, I’ve been able to recognize this memorial as the very place of peace and recovery that Mark spoke of in 2004," Kelly said.

The third dedication of the monument, held Sunday, focused on female victims of clergy sex abuse. Angela Rose of Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE), an organization dedicated to “shattering the silence of sexual violence,” traveled from Washington, DC, to speak at the event. Rose was tweeting before the event started about the number of people assembled and described the day as “incredible.” New York City sex crimes prosecutor Jill Starishevsky, author of “My Body Belongs to Me,” also spoke.

Kelly said the gathering took on a different tone and had a different message than the message from the past.

"Instead of the memorial being a place to exclusively recognize sexual abuse of children by religious, it was broadened to acknowledge and raise awareness to the abuse of girls and boys by pedophiles from all walks of life," Kelly said.

Kelly said that Sunday's ceremony was "wonderful" and that Bill Crane's expanded message to "Protect Kids First" was a fitting direction to take.

"I hope that those who pass by this memorial will no longer avert their eyes, shield their children from it meaning or view it as just a dark chapter in St. Joseph’s history," Kelly said. " It’s my hope that all will see it as a reminder that our children are the most cherished of God’s creation."


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