Archdiocese of Newark Vicar General resigning in wake of Rev. Michael Fugee scandal

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Monsignor John Doran, the Vicar General for the Archdiocese of Newark, is seen in a 1997 file photo. Doran is being removed from his position in the wake of the Rev. Michael Fugee scandal.

(File photo)

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.

"Appointing a new Vicar General will be just one step in a comprehensive plan to review, and, where necessary, strengthen our internal protocols and ensure we are doing everything we can to safeguard the children of our community," Myers said in the letter. "So, effective immediately, the Vicar General, Monsignor John E. Doran, has resigned his post and will no longer hold a leadership position with the Archdiocese.

"As a result of operational failures, both Monsignor Doran and I felt that the Archdiocese would be best served by his stepping down as Vicar General."

In the wake of the Star-Ledger stories, many have called for Myers' resignation.

In the letter to parishioners, Myers said he contacted attorneys to conduct "a full and thorough" investigation. "The investigation found that the strong protocols we
presently have in place were not always observed," Myers says in the letter.

Myers says in the letter that the archdiocese has had an exemplary record in dealing with allegations of abuse by priests, and that changes will be made.

Among the changes, Myers says, is that the responsibility for monitoring cases such as Fugee's will be transferred to the Office of the Judicial Vicar. Myers says he will also add a special adviser to the archdiocesan review board and commit more resources
to the "independent group of expert, and mainly lay, volunteers who help the Archdiocese and me investigate allegations of clergy sexual misconduct involving minors and recommend any action under Church law."

Archdiocesan officials did not immediately return calls for comment and Doran could not be reached.

According to a 2002 profile in the Catholic Advocate newspaper, Doran was ordained May 27, 1972, after studies at the College Seminary at Seton Hall and Immaculate Conception Seminary.

He was named a monsignor by Pope John Paul II in 1986, the paper said.

His other assignments included Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish in Maplewood and the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, the paper said. He was appointed secretary to then-Archbishop Peter L. Gerety in 1978 and went on to become vice chancellor of the archdiocese and later rector of the College Seminary.

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