If the pastor is asked to resign, what about the archbishop?
By Phil Lawler ( bio - articles - email ) | May 08, 2013
A pastor in the Trenton diocese has resigned--apparently at his bishop’s request—because he allowed Father Michael Fugee to join in youth-ministry activities, despite an agreement with prosecutors that barred Fugee from unsupervised contact with children.
There might be a message here for Newark’s Archbishop John Myers, who allowed Father Michael Fugee to join in youth-ministry activities, despite an agreement with prosecutors that barred Fugee from unsupervised contact with children.
Ah, but there’s a difference. Perhaps the Trenton pastor should have known better, but he wasn’t actually a party to the agreement with prosecutors. The Newark archdiocese was.
Phil Lawler has been a Catholic journalist for more than 30 years. He has edited several Catholic magazines and written eight books. Founder of Catholic World News, he is the news director and lead analyst at CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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Posted by: fwhermann3492 -
May. 09, 2013 10:12 AM ET USA
Excellent point. The church's witness has been compromised by these sex abuse scandals, as well as by the other scandals of late (e.g., bishops getting arrested for DUI). We must hold ourselves accountable to a higher standard, and we must have zero tolerance for errors in judgment that reach this magnitude.
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Posted by: koinonia -
May. 08, 2013 7:24 PM ET USA
Bishop Finn got into trouble and what he did was not nearly as grievous and inexcusable (and inexplicable) as what apparently happened here.
