NEW JERSEY
The Record
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER | THE RECORD
NEWARK — As he prepares to submit his mandatory letter of retirement this week, Newark Archbishop John J. Myers sat for an interview and reflected on his often controversial 15-year tenure as New Jersey’s highest-ranking Roman Catholic prelate.
In a wide-ranging discussion, Myers offered advice to Pope Francis on conducting himself before the media and challenged Governor Christie’s personal stance on birth control, as well as the governor’s hard line in barring Syrian refugees, even very young ones, from entering the state.
And in rare remarks, the archbishop offered a full-throated defense of his decisions in episodes in which he faced harsh criticism: his handling of two priests — one in Wyckoff — who were accused of sexually assaulting children, and the church’s $500,000 investment in upgrading his Hunterdon County retirement home.
Some of what Myers had to say is covered in what may be his last pastoral letter to his flock: “To Whom Shall We Go?” in which the 74-year-old prelate laments the secularization of society and implores people of all faiths to deeply immerse themselves in their religion.
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