NEW JERSEY
The Record
BY ABBOTT KOLOFF, REBECCA D. O’BRIEN AND JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITERS
THE RECORD
The man who prosecutors said was the victim of a former Wyckoff priest put the blame squarely on church officials Tuesday for allowing the cleric to continue in ministry, promoting him to prestigious positions, and failing to stop him from working with children in violation of an agreement with law enforcement.
He said the arrest of the priest, the Rev. Michael Fugee, for failing to abide by that agreement “put some finality” to a saga that alienated him from the Catholic Church. And he was critical of the Archdiocese of Newark for allowing Fugee to continue in ministry despite his confession to groping him when he was 13.
“He should have been removed from the priesthood,” said the man, now 27, who lives in North Jersey and asked that his identity not be revealed. “I am happy he seems to be getting what he deserves, after 14 years. But there are mixed feelings, because he never should have had the opportunity to be around children.”
His statements came hours after Fugee appeared in Superior Court in Hackensack, wearing shackles and an orange jumpsuit, after being charged with seven counts of violating an agreement that barred him from working with children. As word of Fugee’s activities in parishes in Bergen County and elsewhere emerged, so did anger among parishioners on Tuesday.
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