John J. Myers facts for kids
Quick facts for kids His Excellency, The Most Reverend John Joseph Myers |
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| Archbishop of Newark Ecclesiastical Superior of Turks and Caicos |
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| Archdiocese | Newark |
| Appointed | July 24, 2001 |
| Enthroned | October 9, 2001 |
| Reign ended | November 7, 2016 |
| Predecessor | Theodore Edgar McCarrick |
| Successor | Joseph William Tobin |
| Other posts | Ecclesiastical Superior Emeritus of Turks and Caicos |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 17, 1966 |
| Consecration | September 3, 1987 by Edward W. O'Rourke, Thomas C. Kelly, and Donald Wuerl |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 26, 1941 Ottawa, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | September 24, 2020 (aged 79) Ottawa, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Alma mater | Pontifical Gregorian University North American College |
| Motto | Mysterium ecclesiae luceat (Let the mystery of the church shine forth) |
| Styles of John Joseph Myers |
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| Reference style |
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| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Archbishop |
John Joseph Myers (July 26, 1941 – September 24, 2020) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Peoria in Illinois between 1990 and 2001, ecclesiastical superior of Turks and Caicos from 2001 to 2016 and as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey during the same period.
Contents
Biography
Early life
John Myers was born on July 26, 1941, in Ottawa, Illinois, the eldest of seven children. The Myers family farmed land near Earlville, Illinois. 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, Myers studied for the priesthood in Rome under Bishop John Franz.
Priesthood
Myers was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Francis Reh at St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for the Diocese of Peoria on December 17, 1966. He studied theology at the Pontifical Gregorian University while attending seminary at the North American College. He received a Licentiate in Sacred Theology, and a Doctor of Canon Law degree.
After his ordination, Myers served as assistant pastor at Holy Family Parish in Peoria for one year. He then went to Washington, D.C. to serve in the Department of International Affairs of the United States Catholic Conference from 1970 to 1971. Returning to Illinois, Myers was appointed as associate pastor of St. Matthew Parish in Champaign, Illinois, from 1971 until 1974.
Myers' positions with the diocese included:
- Administrator of St. Mary Cathedral (1977–1978 and 1984)
- Vice chancellor (1977–1978)
- Vocations director (1977–1987)
- Chancellor (1978–1987)
- Vicar general (1982–1990)
Myers was also a member of the presbyteral council (1968–1970 and 1984–1990) and the board of consultors (1978–1990).
Coadjutor Bishop and Bishop of Peoria
On July 7, 1987, Pope John Paul II appointed Myers as coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Peoria to assist Bishop Edward O'Rourke. Myers was consecrated on September 3, 1987, with O'Rourke as the principal consecrator. Archbishops Thomas Kelly and Donald Wuerl served as the co-consecrators.
When the Holy See accepted O'Rourke's resignation as bishop on January 23, 1990, Myers automatically became bishop of Peoria. ..... He also fired a teacher at a Catholic high school for inviting a speaker to discuss the ordination of women to the priesthood. During Myers' tenure the diocese saw a rapid increase in vocations to the priesthood, with many seminarians being drawn to his more conservative theology.
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Archbishop of Newark
On July 24, 2001, Pope Paul II appointed Myers as the fifth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Newark and third superior of the Mission Sui Iuris of Turks and Caicos. He was installed on 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", Myers preferred to be addressed as "Your Grace", which is customary in the United Kingdom and Ireland.
In 2001, Myers banned eulogies at funeral masses, saying that some of them were inappropriate and too long. After pushback from parishioners, he reversed himself.
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Settlements
In 2005 and 2007, the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark paid financial settlements to two priests who had accused Cardinal Theodore McCarrick of abuse. According to Cardinal Wuerl, no one from the Archdiocese of Newark informed him of these settlements, even though the retired McCarrick began living on the grounds of a seminary in the Archdiocese of Washington.
Fugee case
..... However, Fugee's conviction was overturned in 2006 by an appellate court. To avoid a retrial, Fugee signed an agreement with the Bergen County, New Jersey, Prosecutor's Office in 2007. He agreed to a lifetime ban working in contact with children. The archdiocese co-signed the agreement, promising it would supervise Fugee.
In September 2009, the archdiocese assigned Fugee as chaplain at Saint Michael's Medical Center in Newark. However, after learning about Fugee's record, Saint Michael's demanded that the archdiocese remove him. The archdiocese later admitted that they never informed the hospital, only the head of the archdiocese chaplain's office. In 2013, Fugee was discovered working in youth ministry at St. Mary's Parish in Colts Neck, New Jersey, a parish in the Diocese of Trenton. Myers said he was unaware of Fugee's youth work and immediately suspended him. There were calls for Myers to resign, including from members of the New Jersey State Legislature, because of his handling of the Fugee case. In early 2014, the Bergen County prosecutors agreed to not press new charges against Fugee if the church laicized him. In May 2014, the Holy See removed Fugee from the priesthood.
Honors
On December 10, 2010, Myers received the honor of knight grand cross of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus by Prince Victor Emmanuel in recognition of his "exemplary leadership" as head of his archdiocese and as an "important church and religious leader in America".
Coadjutor archbishop
On September 24, 2013, Pope Francis named Bishop Bernard Hebda as coadjutor archbishop of the archdiocese to assist Myers. However, on June 15, 2016, Francis named Hebda as the new archbishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis. Hebda was not replaced with another coadjutor.
Activities
Myers was 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.
Myers also served as a consultor to the Pontifical Council for the Interpretation of Legal Texts at the Holy See. He was also a member of the board of trustees at The Catholic University of America; and served on the board of the Pontifical North American College and Mount Saint Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, Maryland.
Myers' hobby was writing. He is the co-author with Gary K. Wolf of Space Vulture, a 1950s -style pulp science-fiction pastiche novel published by Tor Books in 2008.
Retirement
Francis accepted Myers' resignation as archbishop of Newark and superior of the Turks and Caicos on November 7, 2016. Myers moved near his family in Illinois in January 2020, as his physical and mental health declined.
John Myers died on September 24, 2020 in Ottawa at age 79.
Views
..... Myers then issued a statement saying that his letter was not aimed at McGreevey.
On April 30, 2010, Myers expressed concern about a planned offering of a course on same-sex marriage at Seton Hall University, saying it "troubles me greatly".
See also
- Catholic Church in the United States
- List of Catholic bishops of the United States
- Lists of patriarchs, archbishops, and bishops
