The highest court in New Jersey ruled that a grand jury should be permitted to examine sexual abuse allegations of children against clergy members in the Catholic Church. The Supreme Court ruling comes after the Diocese of Camden attempted to block the state attorney general’s efforts to create a grand jury two years ago.

For years, a New Jersey diocese fought in secret to kill a grand jury investigation into claims of sexual abuse by members of the clergy. On Monday, the state Supreme Court found no legal basis for a judge to put a stop to the investigation,

The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled Monday that the state attorney general's office can proceed with a grand jury investigation into decades of clergy sexual abuse. The decision ends a seven-year effort by the Diocese of Camden to prevent the state from presenting its findings to a grand jury.