ILLINOIS
Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests
POSTED BY BARBARA DORRIS ON MAY 06, 2013
Peoria’s former Catholic bishop is now in hot water in New Jersey.
Newark Archbishop John Myers – who headed the Peoria diocese for more than a decade (1990 to 2001) – may face criminal charges of violating an agreement to keep an admitted predator priest away from kids.
He’s essentially behaving in New Jersey the same way he behaved in Illinois – recklessly, callously and deceitfully.
In 2001, Fr. Michael Fugee admitted to police in New Jersey that he molested a boy several times.
In 2003, Fr. Fugee recanted, was tried, and was found guilty of child sex crimes.
In 2006, a higher court reversed the verdict due to improper jury instructions.
In 2006, Myers agreed to keep Fr. Fugee away from kids (in a written deal with prosecutors).
But a Newark newspaper has disclosed that Archbishop Myers put Fr. Fugee in a hospital chaplaincy and a parish. Facebook photos also show that Fr. Fugee heard kids’ confessions, went on retreats with kids and even took kids to Canada.
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