Catholic World News

Priest once found guilty of molesting given supervisory post in Newark archdiocese

February 04, 2013

Archbishop John Myers of Newark, New Jersey, has given a key archdiocesan assignment to a priest who was once convicted for molesting young boys.

Father Michael Fugee, who was named to co-direct the archdiocesan office of priestly formation, was convicted in 2003 of sexual contact with minors. The conviction was later overturned by an appeals court, which ruled that the trial judge had improperly allowed jurors to review a statement in which the accused priest said that he is homosexual or bisexual.

“We have every confidence in him,” a spokesman for the archdiocese said of Father Fugee. The spokesman assured reporters that in his new role Father Fugee will not have any contact with children.

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