NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger
By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on June 26, 2013
In his first interview on the scandal that spawned calls for his resignation, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said he will no longer sign off on agreements that require the church to monitor priests placed on restricted ministry over sexual abuse allegations.
Myers, in a lengthy exchange with the National Catholic Register, responded to the controversy involving the Rev. Michael Fugee, who was criminally charged last month with violating a lifetime ban on ministry to children.
The ban was outlined in a 2007 agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office. Both Fugee and the archdiocese were parties to the agreement.
“We would not enter into a memorandum of understanding that places a burden on the church,” Myers said. “The state has more resources. Our advice would be to tell the priest, ‘Go back for a second trial and clear your name.’”
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