NEW JERSEY`
The Record
FRIDAY MAY 10, 2013
BY JEFF GREEN
STAFF WRITER
THE RECORD
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton posted a forceful message on its website this morning about a priest who attended youth ministry events in its parishes without permission, following the example of the Paterson Diocese, which took similar action earlier this week.
The message, which fills most of the Trenton diocese website – www.dioceseoftrenton.org — discusses the Rev. Michael Fugee’s “serious breach of compliance with our child protection policies” by his involvement with a Colts Neck parish youth group. The statement encourages victims of sexual abuse by clergy, or people who know victims within the diocese’s four-county territory, to report any allegations to the abuse hotline.
Fugee, who allegedly molested a Wyckoff boy more than a decade ago, recently was revealed to have attended numerous youth retreats in apparent violation of an agreement he signed with prosecutors not to minister to children. Bergen County prosecutors immediately opened an investigation when alerted about the activities in late April.
On Wednesday, the Diocese of Paterson posted a statement on its website calling on anyone with information about “inappropriate behavior” on Fugee’s part to inform diocesan staff. A spokesman for Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli said the diocese also sent the message to all 110 parishes in Passaic, Morris and Sussex counties and plans to publish it in the next edition of The Beacon, the diocesan newspaper. So far, officials have not heard any complaints.
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