John J Myers

Early years

The eldest of seven children, Myers has an ancestry that traces its roots to England, Ireland and France. Ancestors settled in northern Illinois in the late 19th century. The Myers family farmed land near Earlville, Illinois. Prayer was an important part of their family routine and John Myers became an altar server in his parish, St. Theresa, from an early age. He attended the Earlville schools and graduated from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa in 1963. While he was a student at Loras, Bishop John Baptist Franz offered him the opportunity to prepare for the priesthood in Rome.

Priesthood

He was ordained to the priesthood (by Bishop Francis Reh at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome) for the Diocese of Peoria (Illinois) on December 17, 1966. His education for the priesthood and as a priest included study in theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University while attending seminary at the North American College, where he received the S.T.L., or licentiate (post-master's certification) in sacred theology, and a doctorate in church law, the J.C.D.

Episcopacy

John Myers, at 46, was consecrated coadjutor Bishop of Peoria in 1987, with Peoria's Bishop Edward William O'Rourke as the principal consecrator, and Louisville's archbishop, Thomas Cajetan Kelly, O.P., and the Bishop of Pittsburgh, Donald William Wuerl, serving as the co-consecrators. He served as coadjutor Bishop of Peoria, and became Bishop of Peoria upon O'Rourke's resignation and retirement in 1990.

On July 24, 2001, he was appointed the fifth Archbishop of Newark and third superior of the Mission Sui Iuris of Turks and Caicos. He was installed October 9, 2001, and the pallium was conferred on June 29, 2002. Though the customary form of spoken address for an archbishop is "Your Excellency", he prefers to be addressed as "Your Grace".

In 2013, Archbishop Myers was given a coadjutor archbishop: Bernard Hebda, until then the bishop of Gaylord, Michigan. However, in 2016, Hebda was named Archbishop of Saint Paul and Minneapolis instead. He had been administering that archdiocese as apostolic administrator for nine months from Newark.

Pope Francis accepted Myers' resignation on November 7, 2016.

Activities

Myers is active in the Canon Law Society of America, having worked with committees dealing with the revised Code of Canon Law, diocesan fiscal officers, lay ministry, and diocesan governance, and served as a member of the CLSA Board of Governors. He helped present workshops on the revised Code of Canon Law for members of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Archbishop Myers also served as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legal Texts at the Holy See. He is also a member of the Board of Trustees at The Catholic University of America; and serves on the board of the North American College and Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.

His hobby is writing and is the co-author with Gary K. Wolf (creator of Roger Rabbit) of Space Vulture, a 1950s pulp sci-fi pastiche novel published by Tor Books in 2008.

Views

Myers has been both praised and criticized because of his strong conservative views and management style. Many praise his leadership and say he champions authentic Catholic doctrine at a time when many feel Catholics are drifting from strict observance. But his critics describe a domineering bishop who places undue emphasis on the letter of the law at the expense of compassion. Myers defended his actions stating: "We live our faith in communion with the church in Rome...It's sometimes difficult for us as Catholics to follow a way that appears to be different from what others in our society practice or believe. This can, understandably, cause confusion or frustration in some people." While Bishop of Peoria, Myers:

On April 30, 2010, the Archbishop expressed concern about a planned offering of a course on same-sex marriage by his diocese's Catholic university, Seton Hall University, saying it "troubles me greatly".

Church sex scandal

In 2002, Archbishop Myers was among the two-thirds of sitting bishops and acting diocese administrators that the Dallas Morning News found had allowed priests accused of sexual abuse to continue working.

Myers has been linked to several cases in which priests convicted or accused of sexual abuse have either been shielded or transferred to positions where they would come in further contact with children, dating back to his days as a bishop in Peoria, Illinois.

In 2009 the Newark archdiocese installed the Rev. Michael Fugee as chaplain at Saint Michael’s Medical Center in Newark. Fugee had signed a confession admitting to fondling a teenage boy and a jury convicted him in 2003 of criminal sexual contact, but that conviction was eventually overturned by an Appellate Court in 2006, for reasons unrelated to his admission.

In order to avoid a retrial Fugee then signed an agreement with the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office in 2007 agreeing to a lifetime ban prohibiting him from work that would put him in contact with children. The Archdiocese co-signed the agreement stating they would supervise Fugee and keep the agreement in force. However, by 2013 Fugee was again working with children, this time with the youth ministry at St. Mary’s Parish in Colts Neck, a parish outside of the archdiocese. The archdiocese has stated that it was unaware of the activities and that it would not have permitted Fugee to engage in them. The Bergen County prosecutor is investigating possible criminal charges.

There were calls for Archbishop Myers to resign, including from members of the New Jersey legislature, because of his handling of an accused sexually abusive priest, the Rev. Michael Fugee. Archbishop Myers had reportedly allowed Fr. Fugee to minister to children despite a binding agreement entered into with the Prosecutor's Office that he would never work with children.

Honors

On December 10, 2010 Myers received the honour Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by Prince Victor Emmanuel in recognition of the Archbishop’s exemplary leadership as head of his large Catholic archdiocesan flock and as an important church and religious leader in America.

Retirement home controversy

In February 2014, the New York Times reported Archbishop Myers planned to retire to a "palace" being expanded to 7,500 square feet (700 m²) at his direction in Pittstown, New Jersey. Without the new wing, Myers' home is currently assessed at $776,700. The retirement home improvements will cost at least $500,000 with architects' fees. Furnishing promises to add to the existing $500,000 bill.

Archdiocese spokesman Jim Goodness defended the installation of a 14 by 7 feet (4.3 m × 2.1 m) pool by saying "The press says it's a hot tub; it's a whirlpool..." The proceeds from the sale of other properties owned by the archdiocese will pay for the expansion.

An elementary school giving opportunities for immigrant children to study was closed when the church claimed it could not afford to continue running it. Dorothy Gawronski, a local said, "It was a loved place, that school, but the church, I don't think it’s rich anymore." Renovations to the archbishop's retirement home contrast with this.

The Franklin Township residence where Myers plans to live in retirement has been called "lavish." This contrasts with the lifestyle of Pope Francis who is said to live frugally, has urged bishops to avoid living "like princes" and has advocated a "poor church for the poor." Charles Zech, faculty director of the Center for Church Management and Business Ethics at Villanova University business school said that Myers was not paying attention to Pope Francis and was taking money out of the pockets of parishioners.

A petition requesting that Myers sell the property garnered 17,000 signatures.