Archdiocese of Newark Vicar General resigning in wake of Rev. Michael Fugee scandal, N.J priest charged with violating ban on working with kids, Jimmy Savile driver

- Archdiocese of Newark Vicar General resigning in wake of Rev. Michael Fugee scandal   
- N.J priest charged with violating ban on working with kids appears in court
- Evangelical leaders stand by pastor accused of abuse cover-up
- Jimmy Savile driver at Cambridge court on sex offences

Archdiocese of Newark Vicar General resigning in wake of Rev. Michael Fugee scandal     By Ron Zeitlinger/The Jersey Journal May 24, 2013
An Archdiocese of Newark official who was born and raised in Jersey City is resigning in the wake of the Rev. Michael Fugee scandal.

In a letter that will be read to all parishioners during this weekend's Masses, Archbishop John J. Myers said that Monsignor John E. Doran, previously a pastor at St. Cassian in Montclair and Our Lady of Sorrows in South Orange, is stepping down as Vicar General, effective immediately.

Fugee was charged last week with violating a lifetime ban on ministry to children by working with a Monmouth County youth group. The Star-Ledger has reported that Fugee has gone on numerous retreats with children over the years since the agreement, an that the interactions were never hidden from the Archdiocese.

A jury convicted him in 2003 of aggravated criminal sexual contact, but three years later the verdict was overturned in appellate court. In that decision, the panel said that the trial judge should not have allowed jurors to hear the part of Fugee’s confession in which he questioned his sexual identity.

Fugee, 52, signed the agreement in July 2007 to avoid retrial on the groping charges. The archdiocese also signed onto the agreement, pledging to supervise the priest. Doran's signature is on the document.... http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2013/05/post_309.html



N.J priest charged with violating ban on working with kids appears in court
By Mark Mueller/The Star-Ledger May 24, 2013

HACKENSACK — Stripped first of his ministry and then his freedom, the priest shuffled into a Hackensack courtroom yesterday, his arms and legs shackled, a dazed expression on his face, to hear the charges that could land him in prison for 18 months.

He said nothing during his five-minute appearance, staring almost exclusively at the wooden wall before him, his left arm and left leg twitching.

It has been a dizzying descent for the Rev. Michael Fugee, who was given a second chance in the priesthood after admitting to police 12 years ago that he groped a teenage boy.

It was a chance that Fugee squandered, authorities say, by interacting with children in violation of a 2007 agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office.

“Michael Fugee purposely and knowingly disobeyed a judicial order,” Assistant Prosecutor Demetra Maurice announced to the courtroom.

In an efficient, emotionless tone, Maurice laid out the heart of the state’s case, saying Fugee had heard confessions from children at youth retreats, churches and a private home over the past three years.

The contact with children, first reported by The Star-Ledger late last month, was clearly barred under the agreement, Maurice said, adding that authorities would soon seek an indictment before a grand jury.... http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/05/priest_charged_after_violating.html

Evangelical leaders stand by pastor accused of abuse cover-up
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey Religion News Service, Friday, May 24, 2013

Several leading evangelical pastors and authors have come to the defense of a pastor accused in a lawsuit for covering up sexual abuse of children.

C. J. Mahaney was named as a defendant in a lawsuit, which charged that he and other leaders of Sovereign Grace Ministries permitted the abuse of children to occur in churches that formed part of the group. Sovereign Grace, an association of 80 Reformed evangelical churches, is based in Louisville, Ky.

Maryland Judge Sharon V. Burrell dismissed the lawsuit ruling that nine of 11 plaintiffs waited too long to sue under the statute of limitations. Their attorney plans to appeal the judge’s decision.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/evangelical-leaders-stand-by-pastor-accused-of-abuse-cover-up/2013/05/24/30d6208a-c4b9-11e2-9642-a56177f1cdf7_story.html


Jimmy Savile driver at Cambridge court on sex offences
Written by CHRIS HAVERGAL  Friday 24 May 2013
A former BBC chauffeur was due to appear at Cambridge Crown Court today facing five sex charges as part of the Jimmy Savile investigation.

David Smith, who drove celebrities including Savile during the 1980s, faces one count of sexual assault on a boy aged under 16, two counts of gross indecency on a boy aged under 14, and two counts of indecent assault on a boy aged under 14.

The 66-year-old from Lewisham is alleged to have committed the offences against a single victim between June and July 1984.... http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/News/Jimmy-Savile-driver-at-Cambridge-court-on-sex-offences-20130524093217.htm