FLORIDA
Miami New Times
By Allie Conti Fri., Feb. 21 2014
Yesterday, Pope Francis tapped Peter Baldacchino of the Newark archdiocese for a promotion in Miami. During the 18 years he spent under the New Jersey bishop, the 53-year-old rose to become a chancellor serving the Turks and Caicos islands and learned to speak both Spanish and Haitian Creole.
But one advocacy group says Miami should beware Baldacchino. That’s because he was a member of the leadership in a troubled diocese where dozens of priests have been accused of molesting kids.
According to the site Bishop-Accountability.org, 42 priests in the Newark archdiocese have been publicly accused of molesting kids. John J. Myers, the archbishop there, told the Star-Ledger in 2002 that an internal investigation had found 51 credible accusations against his archdiocese from 1950 until then.
Still, he defended a personal policy of not naming the priests involved. The Star-Ledger also reported four instances in which Newark’s culture of secrecy helped cover up the molestation of three children and the assault of one woman.
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