NEW JERSEY/ILLINOIS
The Star-Ledger
[Read Archbishop Myers deposition here.]
By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger
on August 13, 2013 at 2:47 PM
The mother of a boy allegedly abused by a priest in the Diocese of Peoria called today for Newark Archbishop John J. Myers to be jailed, saying he could have prevented the molestation because he knew of a previous allegation when he served as bishop there.
Joanne Ward, speaking at a press conference outside of the Archdiocesan Center in Newark, said Myers knew in 1994 that Msgr. Thomas Maloney allegedly molested a girl but took no action against Maloney because the two were friends.
A year later, Ward said, Maloney allegedly abused Ward’s son, Andrew Ward, then 8, at a church in Normal, Ill.
“Bishop Myers knew Monsignor Maloney was molesting children and allowed him to go into my son’s school, and because of that, my family went through devastation,” said Joanne Ward, 50. “I don’t want his resignation. I want Bishop Myers to go to jail.”
The press conference was held to announce a $1.35 settlement in a lawsuit against the Diocese of Peoria. As part of the settlement, the diocese agreed to the release of Myers’ deposition in the case and other documents.
Myers served as bishop of Peoria from 1990 to 2001.
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