ILLINOIS/NEW JERSEY
The Record
MONDAY SEPTEMBER 2, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
Newark Archbishop John J. Myers said in sworn testimony that a priest accused of child sexual abuse in the Illinois diocese he once led was “not a close personal friend.”
And in a letter to clergy last month, Myers dismissed press accounts that Monsignor Thomas W. Maloney vacationed with him and gave him gifts of gold, silver and cash. He recalled receiving only one gift from Maloney, a collector’s coin he said was of “minimal value,” and he defended any gifts he received as bishop as tokens of appreciation customary from all his priests.
But a trove of documents, released last month after a lawsuit against the Diocese of Peoria was settled for $1.35 million, show that their relationship lasted from the 1960s to 2009, when Maloney died.
Over the course of the relationship, Myers received numerous gifts from Maloney, including on his birthday and on holidays. The two dined together and visited each other informally on several occasions. And Myers also invited Maloney on vacation at least two times, the documents show.
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