NEW JERSEY
Star-Ledger
By Star-Ledger Editorial Board
on May 28, 2015
When Newark Archbishop John Myers removed a popular priest at Seton Hall, he insisted through a spokesman that it had nothing to do with his Facebook posts supporting a group promoting gay marriage.
“That could not be farther from the truth,” said Jim Goodness, whose unenviable job it is to come up with excuses for Myers.
The reassignment, he said, was part of the “normal transfer cycle that involves scores of priests each June.” Only when pressed did he concede the posting “was a factor.”
Now, Fr. Warren Hall has decided to come out as gay, and open up about his removal to a gay magazine. He said he received a note to call the archbishop five months after the Facebook issue was already resolved.
It’s unclear whether Myers knew he was gay at the time. But Hall says the archbishop told him: “None of us want bullying, but you have a further agenda here, and I can’t have you at Seton Hall because of that.”
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