Make no mistake about it. St. Mary's parishioners continue to resist the merger and subsequent closure of their church. Why? Because merger is closure and we as a parish have a right to exist and to worship in peace.

Let us be clear: If our "convener" thinks that he is going to merge St. Mary's without significant inconvenience, he is mistaken. We are not like the frog in lukewarm water that is slowly boiled by turning up the heat just a little each time. We are not that stupid.

It has been argued that in order to somehow "prove" that we are all good little Catholics, we must "cooperate" by worshiping at the other churches in our "merger group." Well many St. Mary's parishioners do in fact  worship elsewhere from time to time or even regularly: St. Martin's or St. Anthony's in Hammonton, Mater Ecclesiae in Berlin, Sacred Heart or St. Isidore in Vineland, or even Mater Dei Nursing Home to name just a few. We recognize that the Catholic Church is, by definition, universal.

However, the agenda of the convener (and those pressuring him) is to get St. Mary's to merge with other churches and to eventually close. Therefore worshiping at these locations potentially undermines the cause of St. Mary's autonomy and right to existence. This would be nothing less than false unity: a unity at the expense of Truth and Justice, a unity at the expense of the continuation of the Faith, a unity at the expense of the existence of a parish, and a unity that tramples on the God-given right of the Catholic people to worship in a church they built and maintained without incident for over 80 years. This is not unity at all, but instead the unnecessary destruction of unity and of a true community of Faith.

For that reason, if necessary, it would be better to attend any services at any other Catholic church than those in our "merger group" or even to worship privately in the home on days that are not holy days of obligation. Furthermore, if we at St. Mary's have no desire to merge with these other churches, (and as we understand the sentiment is mutual,) we should not be forced to.

We are one Catholic community throughout the world, but that does not mean we should consolidate into fewer and fewer Catholic churches. May God have mercy on those in our diocese responsible for the persecution of the Church. They will one day have to answer for their actions and for the loss of souls that results.

(As a side note, it was stated in St. Mary's bulletin this week that small children should not attend the Easter Vigil. The Easter Vigil Mass, long as it may be, is intended for everyone, even "restless little children." How dare anyone state that a member of the Body of Christ should not be welcome at mass. For shame! How anti-family and anti-life to imply that only certain people are worthy to attend mass. What about those with disabilities or those who have conditions requiring them to move or occasionally make an utterance? Lord have mercy! What are we coming to? The mass is for all people and it is not always necessary to be able to hear a pin drop.)

• It is not the work of God to tear down His Church or churches. (To do that would be to "tear the Church apart, to create factions, or create dissension in the ranks.")

Across the diocese the theme of the week directed towards all those opposed to the bishop's closure plans has been to accuse them of being "divisive." Word for word, in at least three different geographically disparate parishes now, the phrase has been "tear[ing] the church apart." Apparently these conveners must've all got the same memo. (This memo must've been close on the heels of the "if you want your church to remain open you aren't charitable" memo.)

Charity as defined by the Church, is not equivalent to niceness.

We can't link to the article for you since the Diocese of Camden, oops I meant the "Catholic Star Herald," took the article down. One wonders, why? Do they have something to hide? Why is it they do not want people to know the truth of the matter? When you're in the Truth, you have nothing to hide. But then, I guess we all know by now that our current diocesan administration is very far from the Truth.

We will share the article with you when we get it, but for now, the gist of it is this: the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy has notified St. Vincent Pallotti that their request for recourse regarding the merger was not upheld. The Congregation wrote that "decisions as to the location of the offices of the merged parish, and the appointment of the pastor for that parish, fall within the direct competence only of the local bishop, and therefore outside the scope of a canonical recourse."

One should never make haste to do a thing which is evil.

"For their feet run to evil, and make haste to shed blood." -Proverbs 1:16

For we must remember that our allegiance is first and foremost to God and not to erring man, no matter who that man may be. Blindly following man can lead us hastily to the abyss of hell.

"Had I but served my God with half the zeal had served my king, he would not in mine age Have left me naked to mine enemies." -William Shakespeare, Henry VIII

"We cannot all be masters, nor all masters can be truly followed." -William Shakespeare, Othello

"And call none your father upon earth; for one is your father, who is in heaven. Neither be ye called masters; for one is your master, Christ." -Matthew 23:9-10 (Douay-Rheims commentary: The meaning is that our Father in heaven is incomparably more to be regarded, than any father upon earth: and no master to be followed, who would lead us away from Christ.)

"No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon." -Luke 16:13, Matthew 6:24

In rushing to do what is wrong, we delude ourselves.

"With devotion's visage and pious action we do sugar o'er the devil himself." -William Shakespeare, Hamlet

In serving false masters, we run the risk of losing our very soul.

"What's done cannot be undone." -William Shakespeare, Macbeth

Justice is the treasure of those who serve God. Justice is never the treasure of liars.

"And in the midst of the church she shall open his mouth, and shall fill him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, and shall clothe him with a robe of glory. She shall heap upon him a treasure of joy and gladness, and shall cause him to inherit an everlasting name. But foolish men shall not obtain her, and wise men shall meet her, foolish men shall not see her: for she is far from pride and deceit. Lying men shall not be mindful of her: but men that speak truth shall be found with her, and shall advance, even till they come to the sight of God."  -Ecclesiasticus 15:5-8

Therefore the Lord tells us to "fear not" for He is with us 236 times throughout the Bible. In choosing to do right and resisting evil, He gives us strength against all enemies. No, fear not evil man,

"but I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear ye him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him." -Luke 12:5

We should fear only God himself, our just judge. He will separate the sheep from the goats. Which side do you choose? Good or evil? There is no middle ground.

So many today, St. Mary's included, are sheep without a shepherd but Jesus the Good Shepherd Himself. We have been left to the wolves, to fend for ourselves.

"Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and simple as doves." -Matthew 10:16

Yet if we follow in His ways, we will not be led into error.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?" -Psalm 26:1

This is a continuation of parts I, II, & III.

Those who promote the notion that our churches are "just buildings" deny the sacramentals contained therein, the fact of the church itself as a sacramental, the reality of the consecration of that space to God, the true Eucharistic presence of Our Lord contained in the tabernacle, and of course the right of a Catholic parish to stability and to its patrimony! What we face at this time and place in history is a much larger agenda than even just our individual churches. We face something that Pope St. Pius X predicted over a hundred years ago. In the encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis he warned us that modernists are
 

the most pernicious of all the adversaries of the Church. For...they put into operation their designs for her undoing, not from without but within. Hence, the danger is present almost in the very veins and heart of the Church, whose injury is the more certain from the very fact that their knowledge of her is more intimate. Moreover, they lay the ax not to the branches and shoots, but to the very root, that is, to the faith and its deepest fibers. And once having struck at this root of immortality, they proceed to diffuse poison throughout the whole tree, so that there is no part of Catholic truth which they leave untouched, none that they do not strive to corrupt.

The great pontiff argues that the modernist does not believe in the inherent efficacy of sacraments and sacramentals, but instead in what Pope St. Pius X calls "theological symbolism."

These errors are truly of the gravest kind and the pernicious character of both will be seen clearly from an examination of their consequences. For, to begin with symbolism, since symbols are but symbols in regard to their objects and only instruments in regard to the believer, it is necessary first of all,according to the teachings of the modernists, that the believer does not lay too much stress on the [human rather than divine] formula, as formula, but avail himself of it only for the purpose of uniting himself to the absolute truth...

The great pontiff hit the nail right on the head. The symbolic formula, the instruments, are good "only as far as they are helpful to him, for they are given to be a help and not a hindrance." Once they have outlived their usefulness, it's back to the drawing board. Time to cook up some new liturgical, dogmatic, or architectural innovation or "novelty," all of which are born of mere human "impulse" or "need."

Finally, Mr. Davies leaves us with the profound words of St. Athanasius:

The Church has not just recently been given order and statutes. They were faithfully and soundly bestowed on it by the Fathers. Nor has the Faith only just been established, but has come to us from the Lord through His disciples. May what has been preserved in the Churches from the beginning to the present day not be abandoned in our own time; may what has been entrusted to our keeping not be embezzled by us. Brethren, as custodians of God's mysteries, let yourselves be roused into action on seeing all this despoiled by others.  

Our Lady of the Lakes in Collings Lakes, formerly part of the St. Mary's Malaga, St. Rose of Lima Newfield, and Queen of Angels Parish (St. Michael's Minotola & Our Lady of Victories Landisville) merger/closure group was just permitted to remain stand-alone. Why? We have received no answer to this question. From their Nov. 15th bulletin:

I have received word from the diocesan Vicar General
that the bishop has approved the Core Team proposal that
our parish would remain a stand alone parish. But we are
encouraged to share resources and programs with the
merging parishes of Buena, Newfield, and Malaga.
This is great news for our Parish because we can continue
as usual serving the needs of the Collings Lakes area.
This is a good news 'short term' situation considering the
underlying problem of a priest shortage in our Diocese.
As more priests retire the present active priests will be
called on to do more. All of us must be ready for the future
when there may not be a priest in residence here. In the
meantime lets be a vibrant sustainable community.
To celebrate this good news we will have a wine and
cheese, coffee and cake celebration in our hall after the
Saturday evening Mass next week. Invite your friends and
family to the 5pm Mass which will have our new
'Lures of the Lakes' choir singing. Then socialize,
celebrate, and relax with your friends and neighbors.

What a slap in the face to the "process" and to all of the other churches in this diocese that would also like to remain stand-alone. "Core team" arm twisting is, apparently, part of the open and honest "process," but how such decisions are made remains a mystery to all of us. Political expedience, string-pulling, and personality conflict at high levels seem to be the order of the day. In truth, we the Catholic faithful have no real input at all, though we are required to speak the Truth by virtue of our baptism and confirmation.

This is taken from the St. Joseph's Picture Book, The Sacramentals of the Church, intended for children as young as kindergarten age. (Written by Fr. Lawrence Lovasik, SVD, Imprimatur Joseph O'Keefe, Archdiocese of NY, Nihil Obstat Daniel Flynn JCD.) There are so many other children's and general catechetical books I could quote that say similar things, but this is the one we are finishing up with today in our homeschool religion lesson.


Bishop Galante and all those who would have us believe our churches are "just buildings" ought to pay attention to what is being taught to our children at the kindergarten level: the basic Truths of the Catholic Faith. If a five-year old can grasp the concept, surely they can, too. (Although, it seems that they also believe the estate in Pittsgrove is just a house.) From the book:

Besides sacred times, there are sacred places. These places are set aside for Divine Worship. This means God is there in a presence that is more grace-filled than His usual presence in creation.

All churches are sacred places. The activities that Catholics carry out in them will be more open than any other place to God's grace and beneficial to their own salvation and that of the world.

Continued from Part I...

As you know, this is no exaggeration as the stripping of our churches of their Catholicity has already happened. You can step into churches like this any day of the week (that is, if they are unlocked).

Here is an imaginary dialogue that the author recreated. Sadly, it's not far off. A church I attended for some time had any number of statues of saints (very large ones, too), all of which had been quite literally trash picked. Yes, all in the name of "reform." I have also been to many churches where it was difficult to find the tabernacle or where the tabernacle was removed from the altar. One of these churches was a cathedral in a largely conservative diocese. Finally, I have seen heretical religious education texts and even met one such textbook writer/publisher in a graduate level class on Catholicism. He was a guest speaker, portrayed by the professor as a poor, persecuted reformer.

"Get your tabernacle off the altar, and put it out of the way in a corner."

"But why, Your Excellency?"

"Because I tell you to!"

"I hear and I obey."

"Now smash the altar up."

"Mine not to reason why."

"Burn the altar rails."

"Why stop now?"

"Throw out the statues."

"If you say so."

"Get rid of the Baltimore Catechism. Use this textbook."

"Has Your Excellency noticed that it's full of heresy?"

"Full of heresy, full of heresy--can't you tell the difference between heresy and contemporary insights? Have it in your school tomorrow."

"I'll get it there today."

It goes on. Now we need to go on to wonder, naturally, who is being obeyed here? Such dilemmas beg the question: at what point must we draw the line at supposed "obedience?" If we know that we are being told to do something in direct contradiction to the clear teaching of the Church, what are we and what are our priests to do? This is certainly a tough one.

The author gives many examples of divergence from orthodoxy in the case of one particular contemporary bishop and remarks that, in such cases, it is crucial that the flock be protected from error: "The manifest duty of a Catholic priest submitting himself to the supreme law of charity, showing true Catholic obedience, is to protect his people from such a bishop." He cites a well known description of the life of a layman, Eusebius, in 428:

When the shepherd turns into a wolf the first duty of the flock is to defend itself. As a general rule, doctrine comes from the bishops to the faithful, and it is not for the faithful, who are subjects in the order of Faith, to pass judgment on their superiors. But every Christian, by virtue of his title to the name Christian, has not only the necessary knowledge of the essentials of the treasure of Revelation, but also the duty of safeguarding them. The principle is the same, whether it is a matter of belief or conduct, that is of dogma or morals.

The implications of all this, as told by Davies, are quite alarming. One doesn't want to believe them, yet they ring horrifyingly true. In any case, the author claims that the only real choice for priests charged with true spiritual care of the faithful is to uphold orthodoxy--the Truth--at all costs.

To be continued.

I admit that watching the show, "Little House on the Prairie" is one of my guilty pleasures. I've liked this show ever since I was a small child. While traveling across the country once, I accidentally (but happily) found myself following the same trail that the real Ingalls family once followed and visited one of the museums associated with the famous pioneer family. Now my husband and I are reading the book series aloud to our children, and this nicely coincides with a homeschooler class my son is taking entitled, "Westward Ho."

In any case, I think that one of the central attractive qualities of this series is the real life struggle between good and evil. While members of the Ingalls family do not always make the right choices initially, with the help of God and by strengthening each other, in the end they always chooses the side of right.

I was reading a quote from one of the writers of the show the other day. He was commenting on the episode, "The Bully Boys" (see last few minutes of episode and transcription below). In this episode a group of thugs threaten the way of life of the entire town. By the end of the episode, virtually the entire town has been abused in some way. The writer states that what makes this episode different from many is the fact that it is acknowledged that some people are essentially bad. The soft-spoken and Christ-like Reverend Alden sums up the sentiments of the writer in his sermon, which precipitates the driving of the thugs from the community.

The reason why I am bothering to share this with you is that I think we face a similar situation on a much broader scale here in our diocese. While some bullies stand outside a church or community, some appear to be a part of it. They wield their membership and, in some cases, their authority in abusive ways. They lie, threaten others, and may even steal what does not belong to them.

Unlike the villains in this Little House episode, there are some in leadership positions in our diocese and throughout the Church who are basically just thugs and bullies. Like the tv show bullies, they think nothing of pushing people and communities around. The common street criminals, the thieving corporate CEOs, the scheming Washington politicians, and certain corrupt Church officials have one thing in common: they are out for only themselves and do not consider the wellbeing and rights of others, much less the propagation of the Faith and the Gospel. They are career-oriented opportunists. Therefore it is imperative that we pray daily not only for ourselves and our parishes, but for the conversion of all Church leaders to Christ and His Church.

In a simple and straightforward way, this episode manages to relay a few very important truths:

1. Contrary to the modern world's popular opinion, good and evil exist. Good and evil are not subjectively determined. They are not matters of perception, but are objectively true.

2. In all of our lives, we have a choice to make. We must daily choose between good and evil, right and wrong, Jesus Christ and The Deceiver. Every day when we wake up in the morning, this is the choice that is before us. We must choose our side. This is called free will. However, we cannot be on the side of both Christ and The Evil One simultaneously. When we fall, when we have made a wrong decision and sinned, we confess it, we disown it, and we choose Christ's side again.

3. "Turning the other cheek" is indeed noble, but as demonstrated by Our Lord, does not automatically exclude the necessity of resisting the devil and "those who do his bidding."

4. A real community does not "stand alone against those who do the devil's work," but is unified by God in its insistence that evil be thwarted and right defended.*

Though the show depicts a protestant congregation, I think a valid fifth point may also be taken:

5. A pastor has an obligation to defend his flock from those who mean to harm it, from the attacks of the devil.

Transcription:

Rev. Alden: With your indulgence I would like to dispense with the hymn and go directly to my subject this morning: Heaven and hell. Sometimes we forget, in our contemplation of our reward in Heaven, that there even is a hell. But we might do well this morning to remember that hell has a purpose too. And the devil doesn't sit down there all by himself. Now I've told you that there's good in all people. But that doesn't mean that all people lead good lives. There are those who lie, who steal, who abuse those around them. Last week I told you that it was noble and courageous to turn the other cheek. Well, that's true, but this week one of you reminded me that there are times that the devil is in our midst; that no endurance, no nobility, will defend us against those who do his bidding.

Thug #1: Reverend, all that talk about the devil, you wouldn't be slurring me and my brothers, would ya?

Rev. Alden: More than that. It's strange that it took the children in this town to teach us the lesson: that we are a town, we're a community, we're a congregation. And no man should stand alone against those who do the devil's work.

Thug #2: What are you planning to do, preacher?

Rev. Alden: I intend to see you out of this church and out of this community.

Thug #2: Well that's pretty hard words but it looks like you're still standing pretty much alone.

[Reverend Alden and Isaiah Edwards slam the thugs against the wall.]

Rev. Alden: Am I?!

Thug #2: All right, all right, we'll be out of here by nightfall.

Rev. Alden: You'll go NOW. And you'll take only those things you brought with you. And maybe next time you'll think twice about taking advantage of good, decent people.

Thug #1: Tell him we'll do it, Sam, we'll do it.

Rev. Alden: [to Isaiah Edwards] Isaiah, your men can handle this?

Isaiah Edwards: Amen, Reverend!

Rev. Alden: [to Caroline Ingalls] Caroline, if you'll lead the ladies in a hymn, we'll be right back.

[Rev. Alden, Isaiah Edwards, and the men of the community march the thugs out of town. The congregation sings, "Onward Christian soldiers..."]


* St. John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood, Book II:

(Regarding pastors): ...but he who has human beings entrusted to him, the rational flock of Christ, incurs a penalty in the first place for the loss of the sheep, which goes beyond material things and touches his own life: and in the second place he has to carry on a far greater and more difficult contest. For he has not to contend with wolves, nor to dread robbers, nor to consider how he may avert pestilence from the flock. With whom then has he to fight? With whom has he to wrestle? Listen to the words of St. Paul: We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

(Regarding wolves in sheep's clothing): ....even should they capture the whole flock, they do not leave the shepherd unmolested, but attack him all the more, and wax bolder, ceasing not until they have either overthrown him, or have themselves been vanquished. Again, the afflictions of sheep are manifest...

We thought it would be a good time to remind people of the History section of the Save St. Mary's website. This history was written by a historian (an actual professional historian, now retired) and long time St. Mary's parishioner who now lives outside NJ.

It is interesting to note that we now live in a day and age where bigger is considered inherently better. One of the purposes of the destruction of our parishes and merger with others is that larger churches are considered by some to be superior. Why? Not sure. Our culture favors this model for most things these days, though, from stores to houses to cars. Churches are certainly not exempt. Part of it is human ego, we suppose. We can leave that to the sociologists.

In any case, historical perspective can lend a hand here. People tend to assume that once upon a time, there was a golden age of...fill in the blank. In the case of St. Mary's, there's the functioning assumption that once upon a time, St. Mary's was much larger. Well, that just isn't the case. Not really. St. Mary's has always been a tiny church and, when it became an actual parish, it became a tiny parish. I'll quote the history:

Completed in 1922, the new brick church could accommodate 150 worshipers.

If the people who built St. Mary's had needed a larger church, they would have built a larger church. And no, we cannot explain away its size by supposing there was more than one mass because there wasn't. Not until the 1950s was a second Sunday mass considered. The Saturday evening anticipated mass came even later.

Interestingly, the Bishop of Trenton (previous to the establishment of the Camden Diocese), Bishop Walsh,

voiced high praise for Monsignor James Bulfin, pastor of Sacred Heart...who directed the building of the church, and for the people of Malaga whose monetary sacrifices made it possible.

That was back at the opening mass in 1922, at which the bishop presided. Compare this to today's situation. We are now in a geographically smaller diocese with better transportation and an improved financial status. We have more parishioners today and more priests per capita, but our current bishop sees no need for St. Mary's or, for that matter, half the churches in the Diocese of Camden. Oh how far we have fallen in evangelical zeal!

St. Mary's didn't even have its own pastor or rectory until four decades later. So sharing a priest with another parish is nothing new to St. Mary's. In fact, it has been the case for about half its history, since it was a mission of Sacred Heart (Vineland) and then St. Rose of Lima (Newfield).

As for money, St. Mary's has always "lived" very frugally. Its less than affluent members sacrificed greatly to build the church and shortly thereafter experienced the Great Depression, the stress of which may have contributed to the death of its [shared] pastor, Fr. Jackson.

By the 1940s, St. Mary's had only about 100 families (compared to today's 250), although being farming families they were likely larger then the families most have today. Once the war and rationing were over, Fr. Naab (above), the pastor of St. Rose of Lima and St. Mary's, was able to obtain a car and visited every single family of St. Mary's. How many priests would do this today, even with better cars, better roads, lower gas mileage, and in a tiny parish?

It was also under Fr. Naab that our tiny parish commissioned its beautiful stained glass windows (right). Not shortsighted and despite the size of the parish, Fr. Naab knew how important a "church building," as so many refer to them today, is to a community. From the history:

Fr. Naab insisted on first-rate materials and workmanship. "The color in this glass will never fade," he said on numerous occasions.

In the 1950s a second mass was added and the church was enlarged. Yes, St. Mary's was once even smaller than it is today! In addition to enlarging the church, the organ and choir area were moved upstairs and a loft constructed. This added room for additional pews in the back.

In 1957 the land for the rectory was purchased, and finally in 1961 a third Sunday mass was added. (Saturday evening masses were unheard of previous to Vatican II.) This is also the year that St. Mary's became an independent parish (see photo top right). For almost a year, Fr. Zimmer, St. Mary's first pastor of its own, lived in the sacristy. And no, there was no bathroom in there just as there is no bathroom now. In spring 1962, the rectory was completed.

The religious education of its children was a primary and founding purpose of St. Mary's, but even in the 1980s, the all-time high of the CCD program peaked at only about 100 children. This year, even with the bishop's threat of closure hanging over our head and no nun volunteers as in the past (see photo above), we have around 60 students.

Our point? St. Mary's has never been big. It's always been small. We've shared priests and even had one live in the sacristy. Though our church has undergone many changes over the years, physically and otherwise, we must not fall into the trap of believing that because we are small today, we are somehow on a downward spiral. Nothing could be further from the truth.

What St. Mary's has that strengthens it is its small size! More people are always a welcome blessing, but a small parish enables us to know each other, and we like that. While some people may find larger parishes more to their liking, there ought to always be the option available to those who like a small church family. We're pretty uncomplicated at our church; we don't want anything big or fancy. We keep it simple at St. Mary's, and we think it's a blessing.

This was originally posted January 31, 2009. We thought it was worth republishing.

Catholic theology and Church teaching are not accidental. Holy Mother Church teaches unchanging, eternal Truths. Moreover, these Truths are all connected and interconnected. Like all systems, each Truth depends upon the other; they are the structures that support the building. We do not, after all, have an atomistic system wherein one truth may stand up as a pillar without the others. Generally speaking, it is not possible, nor is it logical, to accept one teaching of the Catholic Church and dispense with the others, as if one was unrelated to the next. Once we begin to do this, the structure loses its supports and comes tumbling down.

Take, for example, our church buildings and chapels. They are designed for the worship of Christ, the King of the Universe. They are supposed to give us a glimpse of heaven. They are to surround us with examples of how we should live (depictions of the lives of Christ and the saints), who we are and were designed to be (holy sons and daughters of Our Lord), and the physical and spiritual means of getting there.


As Catholics, we believe that Christ is truly and physically present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Altar and that his Eucharistic Presence resides in the Tabernacle. If the King of the Universe resides in the Tabernacle, it only makes sense that that Tabernacle be located in a prominent place, front and center.


If the King of the Universe in the Tabernacle is located front and center in our churches, it only makes sense that we reverently face Him. If the King of the Universe is located in the Tabernacle, front and center, and we are all facing His Majesty, it only makes sense that we be able to kneel before Him in humility and out of love and devotion to Him.


If we truly believe that Jesus Christ, King and Redeemer of our fallen race has come to be with us sacramentally in the Holy Eucharist and that He resides in our Catholic churches, then our souls and minds ought to be elevated, our whole selves reminded of Him while we are in church, whether mass is going on or not. Throughout most of human history, people have not been literate, and even today we need reminders of what it means to live the Christian life. God allows us to use our senses to know Him. To glorify God and for the help of our souls, we are given works of art in the form of paintings, stained glass windows, statues, and other things within our churches.


Consider this. When you have a guest coming to your house, you clean up. You make ready. You prepare. If you were to have an "important" guest come to your house, you would want it to look good. In this case we have an important guest--the most important Guest possible, our Creator--coming to be with us, so great is His love for us. We should want all around us to remind us of His loving and sacrificial Presence.

Says the Catholic Church of England and Wales:

A Church for us is more than a building - it is a Sacred Space, filled with God's presence. Everything within that space - the paintings, the statues, the stained glass - exists for a spiritual purpose.

This is to provide people with a focus for prayer and an insight into God: literally a 'glimpse of heaven'. The word 'Patrimony' describes the Church's cultural inheritance in terms of architecture, art and artefacts. All witness to our Catholic past: a history of persecution, struggle and ultimately, revival. We are just custodians, with a duty to preserve these sacred treasures for the future. Today we also create the Patrimony of tomorrow by commissioning high quality Sacred art.

But now, after roughly two thousand years of Holy Mother Church teaching us

• about the sacredness the church building,
• about how we must be ever vigilant of the possibility of sacrilege not only personally but also in our churches and shrines,
• about how Our Lord would be with us even until the end of time both spiritually and in the Holy Eucharist in our churches and sacred places,
• about Christians sacrificing all they had materially and even their own lives for the sake of their holy churches erection and continuation,
  
• to fall on our knees before God in our beloved churches,

now, in late twentieth and early twenty-first century America we are told to believe that our churches are "just buildings" and we ought not be attached to them. I don't know about you, but my mother taught me when I was just a child that this is one of the most important things that distinguishes us as Catholics from the protestants: our churches are open because we believe that they are holy places, that Our Lord is there, and that they are not just buildings. My mother was no liar.

Places where Our Lord has come to us sacramentally in His unbloody sacrifice, day after day after day, we are now told to believe are buildings like any other. That isn't Catholicism. That is materialism. And that, my friends, is precisely what the devil himself would have us believe. To believe our churches are only buildings would be to deny Our Lord's Eucharistic Presence, our ultimate and eternal destiny, and that for which we were created--the worship of God. In fact, to claim that our churches are just buildings would be to deny our spiritual nature, the indwelling of the Holy Ghost, and even our sacred baptisms and confirmations. To claim that our churches are just buildings is to deny the validity of their consecrations and blessings. To claim that our churches are just buildings is an insidious lie. And a lie is a lie no matter who says it.

By a decree of the Council of Trent (Sess. XXII), Mass should not be celebrated in any place except a consecrated or blessed church. Hence it is the wish of the Church that at least cathedrals and parish churches be solemnly consecrated, and that smaller churches be blessed (Cong. Sac. Rit., 7 Aug., 1875), but any church and public or semi-public oratory may be consecrated (Cong. Sac. Rit., 5 June, 1899). Both by consecration and by blessing a church is dedicated to Divine worship, which forbids its use for common or profane purposes. Consecration is a rite reserved to a bishop, who by the solemn anointing with holy chrism, and in the prescribed form, dedicates a building to the service of God, thereby raising it in perpetuum to a higher order, removing it from the malign influence of Satan, and rendering it a place in which favours are more graciously granted by God (Pontificale Romanum).  (From New Advent, the Catholic Encyclopedia.)

In the past, Catholics and Catholic buildings alike have been the targets of hatred and persecution. I need not list the litany of specific examples, but priests have been tarred and feathered, buildings blown up, altars desecrated, the Sacred Body of Our Lord maligned, churches vandalized. The history of anti-Catholicism in this country is well-documented and is, in fact, alive and well today. Of course in this country Catholics not even permitted to run for public office (and even when they were, there was serious doubt about their "patriotism"). Catholics have experienced horrible persecution in this and other countries, and by extension our houses of worship desecrated in the worst possible ways. Suffice it to say that many of you have likely heard the stories of your own ancestors and what they went through to preserve the faith, or even just to get to mass. I know I grew up hearing these stories of perseverance in the Faith, and my own family sacrificed much and for that I am so proud and so grateful. It is a great privilege to be born into a good Catholic family and to receive the benefits of our patrimony. The fruit of all that sacrifice is made real to us by virtue of worshiping in the places bequeathed to us by our ancestors and by the grace of God.


It is amazing that at this point in American Catholic history, instead of the Catholic Church being the object of hostile attacks from without, our church buildings and even the Church itself is being attacked from within. Sadly, our shepherds are leading their sheep astray, and many souls will be lost. Instead of protecting our churches, our patrimony, they are being closed (and often the contents sold on ebay) and when faithful Catholics hold tight to the timeless teachings of their Faith, they are called all manner of things from "disobedient" to "unchristian" and worse. Sometimes these attacks are leveled, shamefully, by their own priests and bishops. Yes, many of the very bishops who

• harbored child abusers, shuffling them from one parish to the next
• affiliate themselves and do business with the likes of criminals who would steal churches and schools right out from under unsuspecting Catholics
• allow the rampant sexual impropriety of priests in their diocese
• advocate such unorthodox doctrine as married, gay, and "womyn" priests; as well as downplay of the sacrificial nature of the mass and many other things
• repeatedly lie to the faithful in matters ranging from real estate transactions to canon law to theological Truth
  
• justify closing churches by claiming there's a "priest shortage" and then persecuting and sending away priests by the dozen...
  

...yes, some of the very same bishops would be so blind and arrogant as to criticize the faithful Catholics who merely want to worship their Lord and Savior in the manner they always have: in their own churches. This is an outrage, and it should not be tolerated by any thinking Catholic.

Somehow we must've missed these. We receive a lot of email from very upset Catholics. They are from back in the summertime. We have withheld the names of the senders.

Notice the continued lies. Notice the clear financial motives. We've said it before and we'll say it again: Bishop Galante, you cannot serve both God and mammon (Luke 16:13). Furthermore, transparency means truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32). How sad it is that anyone who believes their bishop and his cronies nowadays is a sucker. What a crime, what a travesty! Oh how many souls are leaving the Faith now over this alone! Bishop Galante, we want to believe you and to have faith in the leadership of our church, so for God's sake, tell the truth! Do what is right!

(1) We are all so taken back with what Galante is doing to our churches.  We have heard that a group from the Camden Diocese is going to Rome to stop this nut from destroying our churches.  Is this true?  If so, when will it happen?  Everyday we hear of priest leaving our churches.  Now we hear that Fr. Patsy of Sacred Heart Parish has received permission from Bishop DiMarzio to serve in the Brooklyn Diocese.  When are we going to be able to stop this mass exit of priest.  This is exactly what Galante wants.  Is there any hope for us and what can the Vatican do?

(2) I am guessing you have probably heard about the closure of our school by Bishop Galante.  We plan on fighting it to the fullest extent and would love to join your efforts in sharing any information we come across.  One of our fellow parents, [name withheld], just started yesterday in building a web site.  The web address is http://www.savestaroftheseaschoolcapemay.org/   Our school is slated to be "merged" with St. Ann's in Wildwood, just 2 yrs after the "merger" of St. Raymond's and Our Lady Star of the Sea School.  I don't know if your dealings have involved Nick Regina but he ranks right along with Bishop Galante in his cold/callous behavior.  We hope to attend mass at St. Mary's next weekend and get to meet some of you who are involved in this fight against the Bishop.  Your website is incredible- very informative!!!  Thanks so much, good luck to you all and God bless!

(3) I am a parent at Our Lady Star of the Sea School in Cape May.  Three weeks ago we were told that our school is to merge with St. Ann's school in Wildwood.  We were given no notice of this and all of the us parents did not even know this was in the works.  At a terrible meeting with Nick Regina, only 48 hours after we were all sent letters regarding the merger, he told us that this was being discussed since Oct. 08.  Our Monsignor got up and told us that he and the Principal felt it was better not to involve the parents in this decision.  What made this even worst was that only 2 years ago Bishop Galante merged the school that my children were at called St. Raymonds in the Villas with Star of the Sea in Cape May.  My husband and I believed the Monsignor and the Bishop when they advised us to attend the new school.  But now after 2 years we thought the merger had been successful.  The PTA...[had successful fundarisers].  We also not only met our assessment to the church, but exceeded by $6,000 this year.  We all were told that the Bishop would not look at this area for another 5 years.  But now we are being told that we are merging with St. Anns even though our enrollment numbers are higher and we have not drop as much in enrollment of the last 7 years as St. Anns has. We gave our all information to Nick Regina from the Diocese when he met with us and he just replied that he was not aware of those numbers.  We told him that the enrollment numbers were taken from the Star Herald Newspaper that the Bishop puts out.  He just replied, "Next Question."  After that meeting we have been reaching out to anyone that would listen.  We have been writing letters, we have had a Senator and two Assemblymen write to the Bishop for us.  Cape May City Council along with 2 other adjoining towns have passed a Resolution to stop the closing of our school and asking for the Bishop to meet with the town council.  We have been on Channel 40 news, have had stories written for us in the Atlantic City Press, and 3 local papers in town and have signed petitions.  We need your help.  Please give us any advice who we can turn to next.  Our school is right in the middle of town and land in Cape May worth millions.  The Diocese stated that they are not even sure if the building will be used for CCD classes as it is now.  Please, Please help us.  Our children and parents are devastated.  I feel like I cannot even sit through mass.  All I keep thinking about is how the men of my faith have hurt children over and over again.  Today the Monsignor was talking about his 50th class reunion from Catholic School and how wonderful it was and all I kept thinking about was that my children will never be able to celebrate that with St. Raymond's school and now Star of the Sea School thanks to this Bishop.

Thank you for your time.

Re: "Cares deeply" (letters, Sept. 2).

Andrew Walton, spokesman for the Camden Diocese, implies (erroneously) that St. Gregory's in Magnolia is a struggling parish. This could not be further from the truth, unless he is referring to the morale of our parishioners since the announcement that our church would be closing.

Financially, St. Gregory's is not struggling. We are probably on better financial footing than Mary Mother of The Church in Bellmawr, the parish we will merge with under the reconfiguration plan.

Our mortgage was paid off many years ago. And our weekly collections and stipends bring in enough money to cover our parish expenses and then some -- including contributions monthly to diocesan debt and other special collections.

I believe the proceeds from the sale of St. Gregory's assets are earmarked to pay off or reduce the debt of Mary Mother of The Church, which is the true struggling parish. Yet, Bishop Joseph Galante wants St. Gregory's to merge with this parish. And therein lies the hurt we feel.

It makes no sense. Mary Mother of the Church should merge with St. Gregory's, not the other way around. Or it seems to make more sense if it were merged with the other parish in its own community.

In addition, our dissatisfaction with the bishop's decision is not entirely about the assets our parishioners worked hard to pay for and that we are about to lose. Our struggle is more about our loving parish community and the fond memories that are about to be snuffed out. God bless us all.

WALTER ZUBRZYCKI

Magnolia

Read the CP letter to the editor here

A friend of mine who's my age (early 30s) recently moved with her husband and little daughter to a new town in a nearby state. They were over our house yesterday. In her words, she wanted to start "living right." She wanted to have her house blessed, begin going to church again, and have her daughter baptized. She also hoped to have her daughter attend the local Catholic preschool. She went to the church hoping to schedule a date to have her house blessed. When the priest opened the door, before she even had the chance to introduce herself or tell him why she had come, he said to her, "I can't help you financially" and closed the door.

Needless to say, my friend was devastated. Here was a woman who has not had the easiest time of it in life. She once was very devout. She had fallen away from the faith for awhile and wanted to start over, so to speak. I don't think she was expecting much from the priest at this church, but she did not expect to be treated so rudely. It occurred to me that even if she had been a "vagrant" looking for a handout, what harm would it have done this man to say, "I'm sorry that I can't help you out right now, but please allow me to give you a blessing?" Is it to be assumed that any youngish person who comes to a Catholic church in the middle of the day is just looking for a handout? Anyway, she's so upset. And this happened months ago.

I feel terrible for her. But worse, I don't know what to say to her. I have no practical advice for her. The most I could come up with was something along the lines of, "Hey, at least it ain't 16th century England. Much worse has happened in the history of the church. This is small potatoes in the vast scheme of things," to which she responded, "It still sucks. It still makes me feel nauseous." And you know what? She's absolutely right. It might not be the worst thing that's ever happened in the history of the world, but it still feels like crap.

I hope this was just a case of someone waking up on the wrong side of the bed. But whatever it was, if a man of God, a priest of Christ, can treat someone he's never met so horribly, what does that say about his Faith, about THE Faith? We cannot afford to make these kinds of mistakes.

For those of us "on the inside," who are able to persevere in the Faith by the grace of God, it may seem silly to consider that such an interaction could so upset a person. But it does. It's only natural.

She's not so strong in her faith, but she wanted to grow in it. She is hurt, and she is very, very angry. Now she and her family are considering attending a church of a protestant denomination, but she said, "I don't want to go there. I want to be Catholic." But she's so hurt and conflicted she doesn't know what to do. She does seem to know she needs God and needs a community of faith to help her know Him. We are all made to know God, but if she can't even get in the door of the church, she's got to go somewhere.

So it seemed ironic when I read the pastor's column in the St. Mary's bulletin today. Fr. Namiotka wrote about the importance of community:

So when people tell you that they can "pray alone without a church" remind them that they are meant to be a part of something much bigger than themselves. Jesus didn't mean for us to go it alone. He established the Church for us. We are called to be a part of it. The priest is meant to be there for his people and the people are supposed to support their priest(s).

Our pastor is, of course, absolutely right. Fr. Namiotka goes on to encourage us to invite people to attend mass with us. And I did this yesterday with my friend, but St. Mary's is special, our pastor is (thank God) orthodox, and the people kind and friendly. Not all Catholic churches are like St. Mary's, and besides, she doesn't live nearby.

Well, I would like to say that this experience is merely an isolated incident. However in the course of the past year and a half I have heard way too many stories like this to count. Lately I think I'm averaging one a week. I heard another one only this past Thursday about a parish (actually several parishes that are supposedly merging into one massive church) in our own diocese. A mother in this parish had worked very hard to establish a youth group intended for high school age kids, only to suddenly lose the support of the pastor. He had, apparently, decided that this youth group was "not necessary" and that instead he would like to establish a youth group for the younger children, six and up. She was mystified, frustrated, and said she wouldn't be volunteering her help anytime again real soon. To add insult to injury, this capable mother and college graduate was told that they needed to find "qualified" people to teach CCD and head up such groups...certified school teachers and persons with advanced degrees. Uh-huh.

I do not want to perpetuate any stereotypes about young adults or young families as religiously indifferent, because I believe this is far from the truth. In case you wonder why there aren't more young adults and young families in your parish, though, let me assure you, this kind of stuff is why. I'm not saying every younger adult has had a "run-in" with a priest or an "incident" at their parish. Not at all. But what I am saying is that people want to be treated decently. If they can't even get in the door, there's not much chance they're going to keep coming back.

Further, if we don't start supporting people's efforts to help young adults, kids, and all Catholics to grow closer to the Lord in the context of their own parishes, the fall-off is going to continue. Frankly, we ought to be nothing short of amazed to witness any religious and priestly vocations at all.

Finally I'd like to mention something I've noticed about my generation. It's been my observation (and I know I'm not alone in this) that my generation, for whatever reason, has a desire for the authentic and a general distaste for the hypocritical. If they catch a whiff of hypocrisy, they're outta there. Maybe it's because they are a generation that grew up in broken families and divorce, who knows? We can leave that to the sociologists. But whatever the reason, they are realists. They want to live their lives authentically--in whatever way that may be to them. They dislike people and organizations, be they religious or secular, that say one thing and do another. This is why--at least in part--we see such personal devastation when someone representing the church behaves so badly. It stinks of both inauthenticity and hypocrisy. It's just yucky. So I think the resistance of younger people to institutional religion, as they may see it, is not accidental. It is not intellectual or religious laziness. It is deliberate, and it is often well thought out. They have their reasons. And yes, sometimes they are understandable. After all, what good is a religion that turns us into mean people, liars, or worse, totally corrupt people?

So let's all try to remember that, whether we're lay or religious or priest, we all represent the Church. People will enter its doors based--at least in part--on how we treat them and how we live our lives. If we want people to come into the Church, we have to act like people matter. 

Update: We have been informed that the church in question is the new Assumption Church in Galloway Township. How sad. You'll notice on the website that the exterior of the facility isn't so bad, but the inside is pretty sparse. I've been to the old Assumption Church and school, which is sitting on prime real estate in Pomona (and presumably why the new one is not located there) since I grew up not too far from there. It wasn't the most beautiful church in the world, nor was it the first one in that location. However it at least looked "Catholic" and was not a generic auditorium. If you're nervous about what your new McChurch would look like, just take a gander at the newest churches in the Diocese to get an idea.

Here are a couple of snippets of the comments sent to savestmarys in response:

• It looks like an evangelical, non-denominational Protestant place of worship. it reminds me of the River of Life Church in Cherry Hill, which is the church that my son's friend attend. On the outside, it does not look like a warehouse. The service begins with music which is scrolled on a screen in front of the church.

• I don't know where this church is; not familiar as one I have been to recently but it sure looks like a Catholic Charismatic Conference thing to me.  The Charismatic Ministry was once called Hearts Afire and Let the Fire Fall when it was so active in Steubenville, Ohio. That was in the 80's.The people from Steubenville used to travel around doing special presentations, especially around Pentecost. I can remember  being at masses where people sang like that and were "on fire" with the spirit.  People spoke in tongues and rested in the spirit...The altar is visible in one picture but it does seem diminished; does this happen every week at this church supposedly? We were to a church in Colorado where they had the big screens like this; it was so people could know the prayers being said we were told.  In some areas where there are great singers and musicians who volunteer their talents , I could see this happening.  The people seem middle aged and the right age to have been "charismatic Catholics" back in the day. Just an opinion.

In response to the Bishop of Scranton being removed, we received emails to this effect. Here is one of them:

• Terrific.  Maybe our diocese will be as lucky and this person some call our bishop will be recalled or whatever

***

We couldn't find any details, so does anyone know where in the diocese this mystery church is located? Click HERE for pictures. It is something called the "Hearts of Fire Ministry" and it appears very...not Catholic. The church looks like an auditorium, complete with sound system and giant screens. It very much resembles, truth be told, Gloucester County Community Church and other protestant megachurches we've seen, aside from the crucifix. You can't even see the altar since the giant praise choir must be covering it up with their backs. Tabernacle? Who knows. Morbid curiosity causes us to inquire.

We read this article from the Regina Angelorum newsletter of the nuns of Our Lady of the Angels Poor Clare Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama (EWTN) awhile back and thought it was relevant to our current situation here in the Diocese of Camden. The [anonymous] sister who wrote the article seeks to address empty, worldly, directionless "values." Here in the Diocese of Camden have heard countless arguments from the Galante Administration regarding change. They have spewed psychobabble pertaining to the alleged difficulty that we, the laity have coping with change. This kind of patronizing dribble is without merit because it fails to address the purpose of the change and merely holds up "change" as having inherent value. This type of rhetoric attempts to put the Catholic faithful on the defensive, as if they had to prove their ability to healthily cope with change by accepting the destruction of their parishes. The question remains, is the change we are expected to embrace a change toward the Good, toward God's Will, toward God Himself? What are we supposed to be changing to?

Here is the article:

We live in a culture where it has become popular to promote incomplete ideas. Choice, change and even love are raised high as banners harkening to more elevated paths. But without truth these are paths most notable for their lack of destination. Such emotionally-charged words certainly do refererence authentic aspirations in human nature, but when raised as an empty battle cry they are most unhelpful in indicating the direction of the charge.

The value of a choice is determined by what is chosen. Change is only good when what something is changed to is preferable to what it is changed from. And even love derives its beauty from what is loved. When St. Bernadette was asked what a sinner is, she replied that a sinner is someone who loves evil. It is possible to love evil, just as it is possible to choose evil and possible to change into an evil person.

Many years ago I awoke one morning, shaken by a very vivid dream. It was a dream about two Kingdoms, ruled by two very different Masters. What I remember most clearly about this dream was the conviction that I had upon waking that it would be infinitely better to be a dog in Heaven than to be the highest underling of the devil inhell. These are very different Masters.

As Catholics we do not believe that good and evil are equal forces. We do not believe that God has a real rival in the devil. God is sovereign and even the evil He permits will serve His goodness in the end. Yet, for each of us the choice between good and evil is a real one, and which we choose to love will determine not only where we will go at the end of our life but what we weill BE. Those choices are determining us even now.

We tend to view the consequences of our choices as something external to ourselves, reward or punishment, praise or blame, success or failure. It is true that our choices do have ramifications in the world around us, but we too easily forget that they also have an effect on the world within us. Our choices change us. They cooperate in making us who we are.

If I lie, I become a liar. If I steal, I become a thief. If I rejoice in ean-spirited actions, I become a mean-spirited person. To be sure, it is possible to free ourselves from sinful choices, precisely by repenting of them, but unti we do that they are a force in deterining who we are. We can deform our own characters by embracing evil and neglecting to seek the good. The potential that we have for being beautiful, shining reflections of the God Who created us can go eternally unfulfilled.

This reality is not dependent on anyone's opinion or perception. We aren't good because we are praised. we aren't good because we can convince people that we are good. We are only good to the degree that we love the good, serve the good, choose the good. Whether these choices are hidden or manifest, they make us what we are.

"The issue now is clear. It is between light and darkness and everyone must choose his side." (the last words of G.K. Chesterton)

Today I was in Eucharistic Adoration with my two kids. No, it was not the most meditative or peaceful time I've ever had in church, and frankly I was grateful that there wasn't anyone else there during my hour as there usually are, since they might have been disturbed by the kids. In any case, I picked up a brochure someone had dropped off on the table near the door. The brochure is entitled, "Terri Schiavo's Final Hours: An Eyewitness Account," by the well known Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests For Life.

I found his account of the ordeal intriguing and disturbing to say the least. Let me share with you a few quotes from the pamphlet:

After I said these things [namely that Michael Schiavo, his attorney Mr. Felos, and Judge Greer were murderers], Mr. Felos and others in sympathy with him began attacking me in the press and before the cameras. Some news outlets began making a story out of their attacks and said I was "fanning the flames" of enmity and hatred.

Hmmm, I thought. Something about this sounds very familiar to me. Someone speaks out with God's honest truth and he is made out as, well, the worst possible thing he could be today: Not Nice! The implication, of course, is that Fr. Pavone is just another wacky fundy Fundamentalist who wishes to impose his inflexible moral rules on others, disrespecting Terri's supposed right to die, thus making him a hateful person. (Basically anyone with moral or religious backbone these days is pegged a "fundamentalist," hate-filled, or just a big meanie.) Fr. Pavone continues:

Actually, there's a simple reason why they are so angry with me. They had hoped that they could present Terri's death as a merciful and gentle act. My words took the veil of euphemism away, calling this a killing, and giving eyewitness testimony to the fact that it was anything but gentle. Mr. Felos is a euthanasia advocate, and like all such advocates, he needs to manipulate the language, to sell death in an attractive package...

Wow, this sounds even more familiar. How many times in the course of human history have politicians and others had to pretty up something so overtly evil, so immoral? Something they know to be just plain wrong? "Gathering God's Gifts," anyone? Are our churches being "euthenized?"

One of the attacks they made was that a "spiritual person" like a priest should be speaking words of compassion and understanding, instead of venom.

Ahhh, the old "be Christian" routine. The "you hypocrite who claims to be a Christian but doesn't act like one" head trip. As if "being Christian" is equivalent with being a spineless nicy nice, simply a person with very good manners. What a load of horse manure.

But compassion demands truth. A priest is also a prophet, and if he cannot cry out against evil, then he cannot bring about reconciliation. If there is going to be any healing...it must start with repentance on the part of those who murdered Terri and now try to cover it up with flowery language.

Part of the Christian life, as taught best to us by the Church's many martyrs for the Faith, is the necessity of calling a spade a spade and defending the Truth. What a shame so many fall prey to evil dressed up as good, wolves in sheep's clothing, and church closure programs portrayed as promotion rather than a demotion of the Faith.

Another aspect of the Terri Schiavo tragedy is that many people misunderstand its cause and therefore its solution. They think the problem was that Terri did not leave any written instructions... Terri's case is not about the withdrawal of life-saving medical treatment, but rather about the killing of a healthy person whose life some regarded as worthless. Terri was not dying, was not on life support, and did not have any terminal illness. Because some thought she would not want to live with her disability, they insisted on introducing the cause of death, namely, dehydration.

At this point the parallels being drawn were simply unbelievable. The Diocese of Camden's Administration has presented a list of supposed problems within the Diocese (although they have presented contradictory statements numerous times)--its symptoms of terminal illness--and expected the veracity of these supposed problems to go unchallenged, the Administration's chosen responses received without question. Even if we the Christian faithful were to accept their diagnoses, then must we accept their solution? Not necessarily. But misunderstanding supposed causes of our problems in the Diocese is half the problem.

In so many cases, churches threatened with closure (death) are not dying, not on life support, and without "terminal illnesses." But their causes of death were about to be handily introduced from on high. Our "Speak Up Sessions," our "living wills" so to speak, were the venues at which so many allegedly clamored to have their churches merged and closed. As Fr. Pavone says, "what good is a living will supposed to accomplish, aside from saying, 'Please don't argue about killing me, just kill me?'"

If we had enough priests to go around when we began (and we did), the bishop would make sure that we had an inadequate number by the time he was through, creating the priest shortage "terminal illness" he so desired. He and McGrath were careful to disallow various orders of priests from offering their services within the Diocese, and, we have been told by inside sources, actively discouraged vocations to the diocesan priesthood through emotional intimidation and screening processes, neither of which are unique to our Diocese. (For more on such screening processes we recommend you read Michael Rose's excellently researched book, Goodbye Good Men.)

In any case, what we're talking about is the killing of healthy churches whose life some in positions of power regard as worthless. They insist on introducing the cause of death. Fr. Pavone continues:

What we run the risk of losing is the right to receive the most basic humane care--like food and water--in the event we have a disability.

Human beings, of course, have a right to life! And according to Canon Law, parishes also have a right to existence as juridic persons. The good ol' Baltimore Catechism (#132) states that "when these buildings we call churches are blessed or consecrated, they become holy." And the Church Herself said in the Council of Trent that all parish churches should be consecrated and they "may never be transferred to common or profane uses." Why then are all of our churches, our juridic persons, suddenly disposable?

It occurred to me that what is currently happening throughout the United States is this. Certain bishops have decided that our churches--which have rights as juridic persons under Canon Law and Church law generally--and by extension we the Catholic faithful who have built and maintained and worshiped in these churches, no longer deserve the dignity God Himself accords us. We no longer have the right to receive the most basic spiritual care--like the Bread of Life and the Blood of Christ--in our own churches. (It is unlikely any great accident that many of the targeted churches are among the most architecturally traditional). Similarly our consecrated parishes are no longer deserving of the most basic dignity by virtue of their holy usage as having the "Gospel preached in them, the Sacraments administered in them, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered in them" (Baltimore Catechism #132).

In a model where human beings are considered bodies without souls, our churches are considered mere brick-and-mortar buildings lacking the animating Spirit of God. Therefore they are being dispensed with as if they had no meaning or importance whatsoever, as if they were "just buildings" (a phrase the Diocesan Administration has used time and again). In our current materialist culture, this sentiment is no great surprise. Fr. Pavone continues:

But we have a basic obligation to preserve our own life. A person who leaves clear instructions that they don't want to be fed is breaking the moral law by requesting suicide.

Every word Fr. Pavone speaks in this pamphlet is so very true, I thought. Certainly every person is deserving of his God given right to both physical and spiritual sustenance. In turn, we have an obligation to preserve and promote the Faith, which is our very Life. This one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Faith is the very essence of our churches and our parish communities, and these churches and communities are being attacked without cause. We must stand for Truth at all costs and never allow ourselves to be deprived of our own basic dignity. To stand idly by and watch our communities, our dignity, our spiritual welfare, our very FAITH be torn to shreds would be to deny it, and therefore to commit spiritual suicide. This is the culture of death.*

So by the time I was done reading this pamphlet, I wondered, is even the Church not immune from the culture of death? It seemed to me that the same heterodox and secular model Fr. Pavone spoke of, the culture of death which is so prevalent in our culture today, is now being applied to our churches and in a general sense, to the Faith as we know it. This time, the model has infested the highest levels of our Diocese.


* The "culture of death" is a phrase coined by the late Pope John Paul II and is described in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae

Here are a few comments on a recent letter to the editor lamenting the pain that Catholic parishes are now enduring. The person who emailed us the link to these comments said this:

Please check out Charlie 164's post. He is saying that even parish core teams are realizing that the bishop's reconfiguration plan will financially hurt the parishes and Catholic schools. Remember, core team members had to take an assessment to prove that they were open minded about the bishop's plans before they could be designated core team members.

Geraldine:
just wait til the churches come down and the wawas go up
8/10/2009 9:47:13 AM

Charlie164: