The Record Editorial: Archbishop Myers" Princely Palace
The Record
WITHIN THE Catholic hierarchy, a priest has to reach the rank of cardinal to be called a prince of the church. But in the Newark Archdiocese, a soon-to-retire archbishop can lack the title and still have the princely lifestyle. John J. Myers turns 73 this summer and must hand in his resignation at age 75. He could retire sooner; the Vatican named a coadjutor bishop last year to begin taking over the reins of the archdiocese. This was a good development for North Jersey Catholics. Myers' poor handling of the case of the Rev. Michael Fugee, who had entered into an agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office to avoid jail time, showed how little Myers cared about the people he was charged with shepherding. Fugee was not supposed to have any unsupervised contact with minors, but he did. Myers' response was to chastise the media for reporting the story. Now, Myers is looking toward retirement, and his lifestyle is looking up. So far up that he needs a private elevator, a hot tub and an indoor exercise pool. The archdiocese is expanding a 4,500-square-foot home in Franklin Township, Hunterdon County, that Myers has used as a weekend retreat. The house is expanding by 3,000 square feet. The prince of Newark will live in a 7,500-square-foot home. This is more than outrageous; this is an obscenity. According to the Census Bureau, the average size of a new single-family home in the Northeast in 2012 was 2,582 square feet, and that is a big leap from the average size of 1,595 square feet in 1973. Any way you look at it, Myers' house will be huge. Diocesan bishops do not take vows of poverty. No one expects them to live on Skid Row. But Pope Francis expects bishops to live modestly. The pope has chosen to live in small quarters and has admonished bishops not heeding his example. The full weight of the Vatican should descend on Myers. The archdiocese says the expansion of the house will not affect archdiocesan finances because it is largely being paid for with funds from the sale of other church-owned properties. Well, those properties were purchased at one time with archdiocesan funds or perhaps may have been gifts to the archdiocese. Either way, they do not exist as an ATM for the lavish life of John Myers. If this expansion cannot be stopped — and from photographs it is too far along for that — the archdiocese should complete the renovations and then sell the house. Let the profits from the sale fund something more important than Myers' desire to live like one of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. His lavish retirement home will be in sharp contrast to the homes of many of the people of the Newark archdiocese. The money spent on the addition could have been spent on the poor and the sick and for acts of charity. Perhaps Myers has forgotten that this is the mission of the church he serves. Yet, in his pitch to potential donors to the Archbishop's Annual Appeal, Myers speaks of that very mission as the reason for giving generously, saying money raised from the appeal provides "the poor with food, shelter and clothing; makes religious education, spiritual guidance and CYO athletics available for the young; insures the future leadership of the Church with seminarian education and training; and most importantly, brings Christ's Good News to the people of the Archdiocese." Last year, the Archbishop's Annual Appeal collected nearly $10 million. Myers' palace is estimated to cost $500,000, minus architectural costs, furnishings and landscaping. While the money for the mansion is not coming from the appeal, it is hypocritical for the archdiocese to ask parishioners to give generously when it is spending generously on luxuries for Myers. The theme for the current appeal is: "When I called, you answered." Prospective donors should think twice about giving when Myers' motto should read: "When I called, you paid for my hot tub."
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