Archdiocese of Newark: One Resignation Submitted, One Still Needed

A Bad Shepherd: Archbishop John J. Myers

Archbishop John J. Myers probably thinks he's off the hook with the (forced?) resignation of Father Michael Fugee.  But as with another arrogant, corrupt American churchman, Cardinal Law, Myers is going to find it impossible to appear in public or say Mass in his own cathedral.  He's also going to find that Catholic school enrollments will drop and Sunday collections will dry up.  If he has any shred of decency, he will submit the resignation that the overwhelming number of Catholics in New Jersey and throughout the United States are demanding.  

You've wreaked ruin and destruction, Archbishop.  For God's sake, GO!

Call the Archdiocese of Newark and let Myers know what you think:  973-497-4000.

His spokesman, James Goodness, can be E-mailed at: goodneja@rcan.org

The Pope's representative to the United States, Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, can be reached at 202-333-7121.

Priest at center of Newark Archdiocese scandal quits ministry

The Roman Catholic priest at the center of a public furor enveloping Newark Archbishop John J. Myers has resigned from ministry, a spokesman for the archdiocese said tonight.

The Rev. Michael Fugee, who attended youth retreats and heard confessions from minors in defiance of a lifetime ban on such behavior, submitted his request to leave ministry this afternoon, said the spokesman, Jim Goodness. Myers promptly accepted the resignation, Goodness said.

Fugee, 52, remains a priest but no longer has authority to say Mass, perform sacramental work or represent himself as an active priest, Goodness said. It was not immediately clear if Fugee or Myers would petition the Vatican to remove him from the priesthood altogether, a process known as laicization.

Asked if Myers had requested that Fugee step aside, Goodness said, “I only know that he offered to leave ministry and the archbishop accepted.”

Under terms of a 2007 agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, Fugee is not permitted to have unsupervised contact with children, minister to children or hold any position in which children are involved.

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