NEW JERSEY
CBS New York
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) – The New Jersey priest who attended youth retreats and heard confessions from youngsters in defiance of a lifetime ban has resigned.
The Rev. Michael Fugee submitted his request and it was promptly accepted by Newark Archbishop John Myers on Thursday evening.
Fugee remains a priest but no longer can say Mass, perform sacramental work or represent himself as an active member of the clergy, archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness told The Star-Ledger of Newark.
The 52-year-old was convicted in 2003 of fondling a teenage boy, however, that verdict was vacated because of judicial error.
Fugee entered into an agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office to avoid retrial on the abuse conviction after the groping incident six years ago. The agreement required Fugee never again to have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 18.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.