A New Jersey Catholic diocese this week agreed to a $180 million settlement to resolve allegations of clergy sexual abuse, a figure far exceeding agreements in some large dioceses though still dwarfed by other massive settlements.

New Jersey’s Supreme Court says the state can have a grand jury investigate allegations of clergy sexually abusing children and report findings.

The Catholic bishop of a New Jersey diocese says he would no longer oppose a state grand jury investigation of clergy sexual abuse that the church has been fighting behind closed doors in court for years.

In an open-ended question, those priorities far outpace others, like foreign affairs, immigration, climate change or racial inequality. In a reflection of the series of national traumas from last year, another issue moved sharply up Americans' priority list for 2021 — racial inequality. Even so, the impact of the virus dominates Adams' top issue: the economy. It remains a higher priority for Republicans, with 24% mentioning immigration, though that is down from 51% one year ago. Even as it falls lower on Americans’ priority list, Biden is expected to send a massive immigration overhaul bill to Congress on the first day of his presidency.