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[RELATED DOCUMENTS via The Star-Ledger
• Read the Rev. Michael Fugee’s agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office
• Read the Rev. Michael Fugee’s confession to police
• Read Archbishop John J. Myers’ February letter to priests about the Rev. Michael Fugee]
By Steve Adubato
on May 05, 2013
Sometimes people play games with words. I call it “the communication game.” Often the game doesn’t matter very much, but sometimes the stakes can be very high. Do you remember when former President Bill Clinton argued the definition of the word “is” and boldly said on camera, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky”? Corporate executives often play the communication game when trying to avoid responsibility.
Often our children play communication games with words. If you don’t ask exactly the right question, even if they know the intent behind the question, they will parse your words and give you an answer that gets them out of a jam or shades the truth.
Now consider the case involving the Rev. Michael Fugee who, according to an April 28 Star-Ledger editorial, was convicted, “after he confessed to fondling a 14-year-old boy …”
Fugee’s conviction was later overturned on a technicality, and prosecutors decided they would not try the priest again, but rather allow him to evade going to jail by entering a program for first-time offenders. According to The Star-Ledger editorial, part of the deal was an agreement that Fugee signed along with the Archdiocese of Newark, in which all parties committed to keeping Fugee away from minors. Specifically, “he would have no affiliation with youth groups. He would not attend youth retreats. He would not hear the confessions of minors.”
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