NJ Priest with History of Molestation Resigns

By Katie Zezima
ABC News
May 4, 2013

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/nj-priest-history-molestation-resigns-19106383#.UYdp38qFnKd

The agreement with prosecutors, reached after a priest's conviction on charges that he fondled a teenage boy were thrown out, was unequivocal.

The Rev. Michael Fugee could return to ministry in the Archdiocese of Newark, but was barred from having unsupervised contact with minors or a job that requires him to oversee or minister to children under the age of 18.

But despite the legally binding agreement, Fugee was a presence at a church youth group, traveling with teenagers to Canada on a mission to help disabled Catholics, hearing confessions from teenagers and participating in retreat trips.

This week's disclosure that Fugee continued to work with children has roiled the faithful in New Jersey, opening up wounds from the church abuse scandal that started in Boston more than 10 years ago and raising questions about how closely the archdiocese monitored Fugee's activities.

Fugee submitted a letter of resignation Thursday night, saying the archdiocese was unaware of his youth ministry work.

"My failure to request the required permissions to engage in those ministry activities is my fault, my fault alone," Fugee wrote. "I am sorry that my actions have caused pain to my Church and to her people."

But that hasn't stopped victim advocates and politicians, including gubernatorial candidate Barbara Buono, from calling for the resignation of Archbishop John J. Myers, who oversaw Fugee.

Archdiocese spokesman James Goodness called such comments "rash and reckless." He said the archdiocese followed all rules set down by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in dealing with Fugee.

But exactly how those rules square with the agreement that allowed Fugee to remain in the priesthood is unclear.

The child protection policy, formally known as the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People, states that a priest should be permanently removed from ministry "for even a single act of sexual abuse of a minor—whenever it occurred—which is admitted or established."

Thomas Plante, a psychologist who has served on the bishops' National Review Board and counsels sex offender priests, said only a reasonable accusation is needed for removal and most priests and bishops are "hyper-vigilant" about the issues.

"It doesn't matter if the person is convicted of a crime or not," Plante said. "All you need is a reasonable accusation."

The details of Fugee's criminal case are clear. He confessed to police that, during a vacation to Virginia with a parishioner and her son from his Wykoff church in 2000, he wrestled with the boy and "grabbed his crotch" and became sexually "excited" by what he'd done.

Although his lawyers argued at trial his confession was coerced, Fugee was convicted of aggravated criminal sexual contact. But Fugee's conviction was thrown out after the courts revised jury instructions tied to a procedural aspect of the case.

Prosecutors opted not to retry him. Instead, they reached an agreement with Fugee and the archdiocese in July 2007 that reinstated Fugee as a priest — the archdiocese said he was removed from ministry in 2000 — and prohibited him from working with children. Goodness, the archdiocese spokesman, said the local archdiocesan review board concluded that "sexual abuse did not take place" and Fugee could serve as a priest.