Michael Richard Cote

Michael Richard Côté (born June 19, 1949) is a retired American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, recently serving as the bishop of the Diocese of Norwich in Connecticut and parts of New York from 2003 to 2024.

[1] Côté was ordained to the priesthood for the Diocese of Portland by Pope Paul VI on June 25, 1975, in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.

[1] Following his return to Maine from Catholic University in 1981, Bishop Edward O'Leary appointed Côté as adjutant judicial vicar of the diocesan tribunal.

[2] In 2004, Côté became embroiled in a dispute with Reverend Justinian B. Rweyemamu, the parochial vicar at St. Bernard Parish in Rockville, Connecticut.

After Rweyemamu filed a complaint with the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Côté allegedly removed him from his parish and his chaplain job in retaliation.

In response, Côté said he removed Rweyemamu due to his refusal to answers any questions about Bugurka Orphans and Community Economic Development, his private charity in Tanzania, and the content of some of his homilies.

[3] On April 3, 2010, Côté announced his opposition to a bill in the Connecticut General Assembly that would remove the statute of limitations for sexual abuse crimes.