NEW JERSEY
The Star-Ledger
By Jeff Goldman/The Star-Ledger
on March 17, 2014
Clergyman removed from churches in the Newark Archdiocese following credible sexual abuse charges can be buried in their ceremonial robes, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.
The policy, approved by Archbishop John J. Myers and the Presbyteral Council in November, also mandates that obituaries not include the time, date or location of the funeral, the report said. The funeral also isn’t allowed to take place in a church where the priest worked or lived.
The archdiocese’s goal is to keep the funerals out of the spotlight and avoid giving “more pain back to the community than they’ve already been through,” spokesman Jim Goodness told the website. A letter to priests at the Newark Archdiocese’s 961 churches also indicated the policy was implemented to protect the priests’ families and avoid negative media coverage, according to the report
Victims rights groups assert that credibly accused religious figures should not have the status of a priest when they’re laid to rest. One group, Road to Recovery Inc, is upset that priests removed from their posts can be buried in Mass vestments and that other priests are encouraged to attend, the report said.
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