Rev. Michael Fugee Should Not Have Been Allowed in Youth Ministry at Colts Neck Church

Asbury Park Press
April 30, 2013

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St Mary's Church in Colts Neck. / Robert Ward / Staff Photographer

A Catholic priest once accused of molesting a child 10 years ago should not have been allowed to be involved in youth ministry at a Colts Neck church, Bishop David M. O’Connell said Monday.

The Rev. Michael Fugee, 52, was convicted in 2003 of criminal sexual contact involving a boy in New Jersey. It was overturned by an appeals court and the priest eventually entered a pretrial intervention program. Fugee recently spent time working with minors in weekend youth retreats and heard confessions at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Colts Neck. But he never had permission to do so, according to O’Connell, the bishop with the Diocese of Trenton, who issued a statement Monday.

“Father Fugee had been given no permission to exercise ministry there by the diocese nor had he filed the letter of suitability required of all priests outside of the diocese with the chancery,” said O’Connell in the statement. “The diocese had no knowledge of his activity prior to this time.”

O’Connell said he immediately contacted the pastor of the parish and indicated that Fugee may not exercise ministry there, including any ministry involving youths. O’Connell then contacted officials in the Archdiocese of Newark to inform them of Fugee's activities.

David Clohessy, executive director of SNAP — the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests — applauded the letter by O’Connell, but said it stopped short of a solution. Clohessy said Newark Archbishop John J. Myers should be held accountable for Fugee’s violation. Myers is the highest-ranking Catholic official in the state.

“This was a deliberate reckless, callous and selfish move by Myers. It wasn’t an oversight,” said Clohessy.

Fugee is currently under investigation by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office and could face civil penalties, criminal charges, or both, if he is found to have violated the agreement with prosecutors, according to previous reports published by the Associated Press and The Star-Ledger of Newark . It’s not clear whether just Myers or both he and the archdiocese could face consequences.

Earlier this year, Fugee had been named co-director of the Office of Continuing Education and Ongoing Formation of Priests by the Archdiocese of Newark. The Archdiocese defended Fugee in that job as it did not involve contact with children, according to previous reports.

According to voter registration, Fugee lists his current address as Terrace Avenue, Rochelle Park in Bergen County.

Clohessy said he did not know when Fugee arrived in Monmouth County, but called those associated with the priests move “enablers.” A call to St. Mary’s Church in Colts Neck seeking comment about Fugee was not returned on Monday.

“We believe there is a clear violation. He (Fugee) is in violation of the plea deal with the prosecutor which explicitly said no contact and no confessions with kids,” Clohessy said.

“He (Fugee) has clearly violated that and church officials have violated it. Both Fugee and Myers have violated the letter the 2002 USCCB (United States Conference of Catholic Bishops) sex-abuse policy,” Clohessy said.

The policy, also known as the Charter for the Protection of Young People, mandates that accused child molesters be kept away from children, and that the church provide openness and transparency in sex cases, Clohessy said.

Colts Neck parishioners said Fugee has attended weekend youth retreats in Marlboro and on the shores of Lake Hopatcong in Mount Arlington, according to published reports.

Fugee also has traveled with members of the St. Mary’s youth group to Canada, according to previously published reports. And reports said that at all three locations, he has heard confessions from minors behind closed doors.

O’Connell said he didn’t know Fugee was in the Diocese of Trenton until he was contacted by a newspaper reporter on April 23. O’Connell then contacted officials in the Archdiocese of Newark to inform them of Fugee's activities, according to the Bishop’s statement.