NEW JERSEY
Asbury Park Press
Written by
Kevin Pentón
@kevinpentonAPP
COLTS NECK — With hugs, tears and wistful smiles, hundreds of parishioners gathered at St. Mary’s Church on Friday to share their emotions and their concerns about the presence of the Rev. Michael Fugee amidst their congregation.
As they spoke with each other outside the community meeting, held a day after Fugee submitted his letter of resignation, some parishioners questioned the actions of St. Mary’s leaders in allowing Fugee to be part of a youth group at the church. Several wiped tears.
An agreement with prosecutors, reached after Fugee’s conviction on charges that he fondled a teenage boy were thrown out, had been unequivocal.
Fugee could return to ministry in the Archdiocese of Newark, but was barred from having unsupervised contact with minors or a job that requires him to oversee or minister to children under the age of 18.
But despite the legally binding agreement, Fugee was a presence at St. Mary’s, traveling with teenagers to Canada on a mission to help disabled Catholics, hearing confessions from teenagers and participating in retreat trips.
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