Miami’s New Archbishop Was Part of Newark Leadership That Covered Up Abuse, Advocates Say

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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