As he exits, Newark Archbishop Myers opens up; criticizes secular culture, by Jeff Green, Record (July 24, 2016)

NEWARK — As he prepares to submit his mandatory letter of retirement this week, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers sat for an interview and reflected on his often controversial 15-year tenure as New Jersey’s highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate.

In a wide-ranging discussion, Myers offered advice to Pope Francis on conducting himself before the media and challenged Governor Christie’s personal stance on birth control, as well as the governor’s hard line in barring Syrian refugees, even very young ones, from entering the state.

And in rare remarks, the archbishop offered a full-throated defense of his decisions in episodes in which he faced harsh criticism: his handling of two priests — one in Wyckoff — who were accused of sexually assaulting children, and the church’s $500,000 investment in upgrading his Hunterdon County retirement home.

Some of what Myers had to say is covered in what may be his last pastoral letter to his flock: “To Whom Shall We Go?” in which the 74-year-old prelate laments the secularization of society and implores people of all faiths to deeply immerse themselves in their religion.

But Myers expanded on those ideas in the one-on-one interview with The Record, saying that an increasingly secular culture has “undermined” the family and diminished the role faith plays in shaping public policy, understanding the world and healing humanity.

“I’ve been a bishop 29 years this year and I’ve just seen the culture changing,” Myers said in his chancery office on July 14. “I think one of the problems is that if you take the secular position, that it’s just what we can see, hear, taste and touch and contain within our thought process, that’s eliminating most of reality, because reality is beyond us.”

The archbishop, who must submit his retirement to Pope Francis when he turns 75 on Tuesday, talked about how the Catholic Church can and has maintained relevancy in people’s lives under the leadership of the popular pope, whom he mostly praised, although he suggested the pontiff curb off-the-cuff commentary he says some people have misconstrued.

Myers outlined a vision of a church that welcomes everyone, as Francis has insisted, but is also pure in its ideals, saying it’s important for Catholics to be “honest” about their beliefs and to follow the church’s social doctrine. In that vein, he pushed back against positions held by Christie — a friend and confidant. The governor’s personal use of birth control and opposition to Syrian refugees, he said, are not in line with Catholic teachings.

He also talked about his proudest achievements in the Newark Archdiocese, saying that “there really are some dramatic changes which have occurred and I’m very happy about that.”

The archbishop said he’s leaving behind a legacy of two “thriving institutions,” Seton Hall University and Catholic Charities, as well as a new structure for elementary schools that has proved to be a success.

Myers ordained 192 priests in his time in Newark, in addition to more than 70 in his former diocese in Peoria, Ill., another point of pride.

Myers said he was unsure whether “To Whom Shall We Go?” would be his last pastoral letter. He plans to offer his retirement on his birthday, but it’s up to Francis to accept it and name a replacement — a process that could take days or months.

“That’s the Holy Father’s prerogative,” he said. “It could be three months, it could be six months, it could be nine months, I don’t know. When I get the word, I will certainly be obedient and happily obedient.”

In his letter, Myers said there was a need for “re-evangelization,” suggesting that Catholics seek out adult formation classes, pray and read Scripture on a daily basis.

The archbishop wrote that there were many things working against evangelizing efforts in the Catholic Church, including its own hierarchy and members and an increasingly secular culture.

In the interview, Myers faulted the media, new technology and the busy lifestyles many people have adopted for not making room for faith and quality family time.

“The schools, including Catholic schools, some of them, they schedule sports and music straight through the weekend,” he said. “Even Sunday, you can’t have a family meal together because everyone’s so busy. Giving guidance to the young children is important. … That is really at the heart of what keeps our society together.”

The archbishop cited the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks — which occurred a month before he came to Newark — as a testament to the power of faith. Many people sought out religious services and relied on prayer, and they also came together.

Myers said other Catholic dioceses donated huge sums of money, which was used to help the families of victims with house payments and medical bills. He noted that $250,000 was set aside for long-term counseling, an archdiocesan fund that didn’t dry up until 2008.

Myers pointed to Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II and Pope Francis as role models in the Catholic Church who have lived their faith. Teresa helped poor people in India “die with dignity,” John Paul “changed the world” and Francis has emulated Jesus in his humble way of living, he said.

“If I had any suggestion for him, and I don’t give orders to the pope, it would be, ‘Don’t give so many informal comments on airplanes,’” Myers said. “Because those are the things that can get used by other people for their own purposes.”

Myers was referring to Francis’ tendency to hold impromptu meetings with the media aboard his plane heading to and from Rome. During one such session, he famously said “Who am I to judge?” in response to a question about gay priests. The church opposes same-sex marriage, but under Francis it increasingly has welcomed gay worshipers.

Laying out his own vision of the church, Myers said he agreed entirely with Francis about welcoming everyone, regardless of their sins. But Myers, a self-described culture warrior, doubled down on his long-expressed view that Catholics who are out of line with social teachings should refrain from seeking Holy Communion.

“I don’t think they should, but that doesn’t mean I say, ‘Don’t come to church,’ that you’re not one of our community,” Myers said. “[Participate] to the degree you honestly can, and be honest with the church, too. One of the reasons I do it, I think honesty is something that very much appeals to Americans today. If they’re honest, we’ll work from there.”

The archbishop, who years ago challenged former Gov. James McGreevey, a Catholic, on the issue of abortion rights, did not shy away from commenting on the state’s current Catholic leader. He said Christie was “missing something” when he told supporters at a presidential campaign rally last summer that he didn’t consider himself “a bad Catholic” for using birth control.

“I think the alternative is more respectful of human sexuality and of the marriage union,” Myers said about refraining from contraceptive use.

But he qualified his comments, saying “we have the sacrament of penance — all kind of things that can help deal with that. … I can understand the fact that there’s a lot of confusion in that. If the governor were to talk to me about it, I would say that to him, but I don’t want to attack him in public.”

And he added that there were “degrees of rightness and wrongness,” but declined to say where the use of birth control fell on that spectrum.

Asked about Christie’s view of barring Syrian refugees from entering the U.S., Myers also rebuffed the governor. In an interview with a conservative talk show host after the terrorist attack in Paris last year, Christie said, “I don’t think that orphans under 5 should be admitted to the United States at this point.”

“The policy of the archdiocese and of the dioceses of New Jersey is quite different from that,” Myers said. “Whoever gets here, arrives here, we welcome. If they’re Catholic, we welcome them in our parishes. We do not ask if they’re legal or not. Our point is to care for them, to help them, to nurture their faith if we can, to say we don’t exclude anyone.”

“People are being murdered for their faith,” he continued, referring to Syrian Christians. “That’s just a fact. And to pretend it isn’t happening is burying your head in the sand. Christians are being murdered for being Christians.”

Brian Murray, a spokesman for Christie, on Friday issued a written response to the archbishop’s remarks about Christie’s hard line on Syrian refugees:

“The governor respects the archbishop’s desire to help those seeking relief against religious persecution. That is part of his job,” the statement said. “The governor’s number one responsibility is to protect all the people of this state from violence and terrorist attacks. The FBI director has testified to Congress that the refugees could not be fully vetted. As a result, the governor has stated repeatedly he has no confidence in the current administration’s ability to ensure those refugees do not pose a threat to New Jersey’s safety.”

Reflecting on his tenure as archbishop of Newark, John J. Myers answered his critics on some of the most controversial episodes of his career.

Myers was most sharply rebuked during a scandal three years ago that centered on a former Wyckoff priest, Michael Fugee.

Fugee admitted to groping a 13-year-old teenager and was found guilty of criminal sexual contact in 2003. His conviction was overturned on a technicality a few years later, and as part of a deal to avoid a retrial and dismiss the criminal charges, he and the archdiocese signed an agreement with Bergen County prosecutors that Fugee would not minister to children.

But in 2013, Fugee was found to have violated that order by hearing confessions at youth group retreats across the state.

Critics said Myers should not have allowed Fugee to remain a priest, but given that he had, he should have done a better job at supervision. Under a 2002 compact agreed upon by U.S. Catholic bishops, priests are to be removed from ministry after one credible allegation of abuse of children.

In a July 14 interview with The Record at his Newark office, Myers said news reports of the case were “very inaccurate and unfair.” He said a psychiatrist hired by prosecutors deemed Fugee fit to return to ministry — an assertion that Fugee’s attorney had made at the time — and he maintained that he had no knowledge of Fugee’s excursions with youth groups.

But Myers said his second-in-command at the time, Vicar General John Doran, took responsibility by resigning over a failure by his office to fill out documentation allowing Fugee to work outside the archdiocese. Fugee was later defrocked.

In another clergy sexual abuse case, which came to light months after the Fugee scandal emerged, Myers was criticized for failing to act on an abuse complaint against a priest in his former diocese in Illinois.

Though a woman complained to a church official in December 1995 that she had been molested by the Rev. Thomas W. Maloney, no action was taken. A month later, an 8-year-old boy, Andrew Ward, was abused by the same priest, Ward later alleged in a lawsuit against the Diocese of Peoria.

Myers gave a four-hour deposition in the case, released after a $1.3 million settlement of Ward’s lawsuit. He testified that he had no knowledge of the woman’s complaint — an assertion that he repeated during the recent interview.

“Absolutely none,” Myers said. “They searched the diocesan records and there wasn’t anything. And I knew — we weren’t exactly classmates — but I knew Father Maloney and I never would have suspected anything like that of him.”

The archbishop stopped short of discrediting Ward, saying, “This young man, I know something about him because my youngest brother and his wife lived in Bloomington-Normal (Illinois). And they had other information about this young man. I don’t want to go into it anymore.”

Ward’s father, David Ward, said in a July 16 interview that he was “appalled” by Myer’s comments about his son, which seemed to be alluding to troubles that he faced after being molested. Rather than stab at his credibility, Ward said the archbishop should be showing sympathy for him and own up to mistakes that were made.

“It’s supposed to be a church, it’s supposed to be compassion,” Ward said. “He and the church have been anything but compassionate throughout the process.”

Myers most recently faced a torrent of criticism for spending more than $500,000 in church money to expand his future retirement home in Hunterdon County, a project that was completed in 2014.

Myers said people became angry because the expansion was “not properly, accurately reported” by the media.

Though it was paid for upfront by general archdiocese funds, he said it was ultimately covered by a restricted donation intended for the archbishop’s residence.

Last year, the archdiocese sold a home formerly used by Archbishop Peter Gerety in New Canaan, Conn., for less than $1 million, which had been purchased with the restricted donation. The proceeds from the sale, the archbishop said, “more than paid for” the 3,000-square-foot addition to his residence.

He said the new wing was needed to include an office, though there was a basement office in the original house.

He also said he wanted a more private area for guests. The addition featured a fifth bedroom, three fireplaces and an indoor exercise pool.

“The reason I did the expansion, first of all I didn’t have an office out there,” he said about the house, which sits on 8 acres. “… And there was no guest bedroom with a private bath. When Cardinal [Timothy] Dolan or other bishops visit, there was no place really for them to stay with privacy.”

“Being an Illinois farm boy, to have houses two feet, three feet apart — those farmhouses are a mile apart — I would not have been comfortable with that,” he added, explaining his decision to buy the rural property.

In the end, the archbishop said it would be up to others and for history to judge his leadership of the church in Bergen, Essex, Union and Hudson counties.