Assignment Record– Rev. Robert G. Gibney

Summary of Case: Robert G. Gibney was a priest of the Archdiocese of Newark NJ, ordained in 1954. He assisted at parishes
in Kearney, Newark and Dumont, and was pastor of parishes in Cedar Grove and Ridgewood. For ten years Gibney was a U.S.
Navy chaplain. He also served as Director of students at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Darlington and was chaplain at
Overlook Hospital in Summit. Gibney died January 6, 2012. In a lawsuit settled in November 2014, Gibney was accused of the
sexual abuse of a child 1961-63 in Newark NJ.

Ordained: 1954
Retired:
1997
Died:
January 6, 2012



 




Start Stop Assignment Town/Accusations State Position Notes

1954

Newark archbishop was Thomas Aloysius Boland (1952-1974).

1957 St. Cecilia's Kearney NJ 4/4 St. Cecilia's had a grade school with 375-442 boys and 400-474 girls, and a high school with 95-100 boys and 130-219 girls.
1957 1961 Immaculate Conception Seminary Darlington NJ Director of Students  
1961 1965 Sacred Heart

Newark

Accused in a lawsuit settled November 2014 of sexually abusing a child 1961-63 while assigned to Sacred Heart.

NJ 4/5, 4/6 Sacred Heart had a school with 598-699 boys and 586-720 girls.
1965 1975 U.S. Navy     Chaplain  

1975

Boland was succeeded by Peter Leo Gerety (1974-1986).

1978 St. Mary's Dumont NJ 3/4 St. Mary's had a school with 286-232 students.
1978 1985 St. Catherine of Siena Cedar Grove NJ 1/3, 1/2 St. Catherine's had a school with 231-151 students.

1985

Theodore Edgar McCarrick replaced Gerety (1986-2000).

1991 Overlook Hospital Summit NJ Chaplain  

1991

John Joseph Myers succeeded McCarrick as Newark archbishop (2001-).

2005 Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Ridgewood NJ 1/5, 1/4, 2/6 (Pastor Emeritus 1997-2005) Our Lady of Mt. Carmel had a religious education program with 999-1,486 students.
1997 2012 Msgr. Kelley Residence for Retired Priests Caldwell NJ   Gibney died January 6, 2012.

 

Sources: Official Catholic Directory (New York: P.J. Kenedy and Sons 1955-2012)

Father Robert G. Gibney Obituary, Star-Ledger, January 8, 2012
Recent Priest Abuse Settlements, Boston Globe, March 28, 2016
Assignment Histories for 16 Clerics Named in Recent Settlements by Attorney Mitchell Garabedian, BishopAccountability.org, March 28, 2016

 

Priests in a Parish: We use the following convention to show a priest's place among the clergy of a parish: 1/2 means that he is the first priest listed in the Official Catholic Directory (usually the pastor) and that there is a total of two priests at the parish. The shorthand 3/4 means that the priest is listed third on a four-priest roster. See our sample page from the Directory.

Note: The Official Catholic Directory aims to report the whereabouts of Catholic priests in the United States on January 1 of the Directory's publication year. Our working assumption is that a priest listed in the Directory for a given year was at the same assignment for part of the previous year as well. However, Kenedy and Sons will sometimes accept updates well into the year of publication. Diocesan clergy records are rarely available to correct this information. The Directory is also sometimes misleading or wrong. We have tried to create an accurate assignment record, given the source materials and their limitations. Assignment records are a work in progress and we are always improving the records that we post. Please email us with new information and corrections.

This assignment record collates Gibney's career history as it is represented in the Official Catholic Directory with allegations as reported in the media. We make no representation regarding the truth of the allegation we report, and we remind our readers that the U.S. legal system presumes that a person accused of or charged with a crime is innocent until proven guilty. Similarly, individuals who may be defendants in civil actions are presumed not to be liable for such claims unless a plaintiff proves otherwise. Admissions of guilt or liability are not typically a part of civil or private settlements. For more information, see our posting policy.

This assignment record was last updated on April 11, 2016.