The Catholic Church in the states of New York and New Jersey says it will cooperate with a new investigation of sex abuse in the Church’s dioceses.

New Jersey Catholic Conference executive director Patrick Brannigan says the group welcomes the investigation and will “cooperate fully.”

The conference represents the state’s bishops.

Attorney General Gurbir Grewal said Thursday that he is establishing a task force to be headed by a former county prosecutor.

The group is authorized to present evidence to a state grand jury and will have the power of subpoenas to compel testimony and the production of documents.

The announcement comes three weeks after a grand jury investigation found rampant sexual abuse of more than 1,000 children by about 300 priests in Pennsylvania.

Earlier Thursday, New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has subpoenaed all eight Catholic dioceses in the state as part of an investigation into the handling of sex abuse allegations.

A law enforcement source familiar with the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly told The Associated Press the subpoenas went out Thursday.

The subpoenas seek documents relating to abuse allegations, payments to victims or findings from internal church investigations.

Underwood’s office is pursuing a civil investigation into the Church’s response to abuse reports and has also reached out to local prosecutors authorized to convene grand juries or pursue criminal investigations.

Church officials say they will cooperate.

Crux staff contributed to this report.