Newark Archdiocese Leader Resigns Amid Priest Child Molestation Scandal

The second-highest official in the Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., is stepping down in the wake of a scandal involving a former priest accused of violating an agreement with law enforcement barring him from working with children.

Church officials say Monsignor John Doran resigned Friday as vicar general and will no longer hold a leadership position with the archdiocese.

The move is among several changes the archdiocese says it's implementing to protect children. The changes are noted in a letter from Archbishop John Myers, which will be read in parishes across the archdiocese this weekend.

Myers wrote that an outside review found "operational failures" in the handling of the Rev. Michael Fugee.
 
Fugee was convicted of fondling a teenage boy in 2003. The charges were thrown out by an appeals court.