Back by popular demand, this was originally published Dec. 23, 2008. Apparently our "dark humor" is appreciated. It is sad that the American Catholic Church has come to this.

Twas the night before merger, when all through the church,

There were lists of new ministries for all to search.

The coffee mugs were hung by the cappuccino bar with care,

In the hopes that the barrista soon would be there.

 

Most parishioners were nestled all snug in their beds,

And visions of mocha lattes danced in their heads,

And Mama in the labyrinth and I with guitar,

Were amazed the Spirit of Vatican II had come so far.

 

When out in the coffee bar there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my "pew" chair to see what was the matter.

Away to the "community gathering area" I flew like a flash,

Tore through the spiritual dance practice area and fell into the full-immersion baptismal tub with a splash.

 

Whipped cream on the top of the freshly brewed jo,

Gave rise to a grumbling in my tummy below.

When what to my wondering eyes should appear,

But a hungry bishop with a New Age liberal agenda near!

 

With a bright shiny plan so vibrant and new,

I knew all our stodgy, old fashioned ways were through.

More rapid than eagles his closures they came,

And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:

 

"Bye, St. Mary's! Bye, St. Anthony's! Bye, St. Gregory's and Holy Name!

"Bye, St. Jude's! Bye, St. Ann's! Bye St. Maurice, and St. James!

"From the top of the steeple to the floor of the hall,

"Now sell away! Trash away! Smash away all!"

 

As Wawas with crosses point up to the sky

When they meet at the Chancery, everything is a lie.

So out to the parishes the vultures they flew

With all the Conveners and Womonpriest Vollmer, too.

 

And then, at the door, I noticed a sulferous smell,

I looked up to see the director of priest personnel.

As I drew in my head, and was turning around,

His lackeys pushed the man next to me down to the ground. 

 

Another was dressed all in black, from his head to his feet,

The prettiest priest I ever did meet.

With shoes so shiny, every time he looked

He saw himself shining back and he was quickly hooked.

 

His eyes, how they twinkled! His teeth, how white!

His cheeks were like roses, his abs really tight!

If he worked really hard and kept his nose clean

He would surely climb to the top of the corporate machine.

 

But Terry Odien and Peter Joyce, they did not come alone,

With them was the man who sits on the Cathedral throne.

He had a mean face and a round belly crossed with a chain

That shook when he bellowed like a bowl of chow mein.

 

Bishop was chubby and plump, a right grumpy old elf,

And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!

But the magnitude of his ego (the size of his head),

Soon gave me to know I had everything to dread.

 

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,

And emptied the bank accounts, then turned with a smirk.

And laying his fingers on everything he saw,

"To Follieri," he said, "I will sell it ALL!"

 

He climbed up in his minivan, to his deacon gave a whistle,

They smiled at each other, which caused me to bristle.

And I heard him exclaim as they drove out of sight,

"For some change is difficult, but for me a delight!"

 

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.

We received this email yesterday. It's basically what people have been predicting would happen all along. But maybe all the confusion, crowding, and lack of parking gives the Diocese the green light to build the protestant megachurches of their dreams. I, for one, am conspiracy minded enough to doubt that even those in the chancery office are so stupid as to underestimate the required parking and potential confusion of the situation they created.

However, they must be undergoing some turmoil and dissension in the ranks given that so many of the key players in the chancery's Parish Closure Program have mysteriously "left" over the past couple months. (I guess we can call it a "program" now that Ms. Marilyn Vollmer, national church shut-down queen, is gone. An appropriate name for the program might also be "Destroying God's Gifts.")  At least four of the key players have left, total. Msgr. Roger McGrath, remains, however. But maybe since he's in the area he'll come to our Assumption Feast and have such a good time, he'll learn to like us! Chicken barbecue's on us, Msgr. McGrath! Hope to see you there!

Here's the email:

I spoke with my mother, who attends that church on Saturday nights and just as I predicted, parking is a huge problem over there. My sister works nights so she needs to go to Mass as early as possible on Saturday nights. Unfortunately, when she arrived, there were no parking spaces left, so she was unable to stay. My mother got the last parking space so she was able to attend. However, the service began ten minutes late. She said she observed people talking during the service and leaving after staying only fifteen minutes! It sounds like there was lots of confusion there.

My mother actually lives in Maple Shade so I am hoping that she and my sister find a church in the Trenton Diocese that fits their schedule. Things are less crazy up there!

Also, in the Courier Post article, the Pastor of the new Church (community, whatever) said that Queen of Heaven church would not be sold for at least a year. If that's the case, then why did they close the church now?  Also, there are still some nuns who live at the Queen of Heaven convent. Does this mean that they will be thrown out and lose their home?

May God help us all.

Good news from Rome. It seems there will be an investigation into the lives of nuns and sisters in the US. Here the NY Times reports that

The Vatican is quietly conducting two sweeping investigations of American nuns, a development that has startled and dismayed nuns who fear they are the targets of a doctrinal inquisition....While some nuns say they are grateful that the Vatican is finally paying attention to their dwindling communities, many fear that the real motivation is to reel in American nuns who have reinterpreted their calling for the modern world.

All we can say is yippee. Now since there's already investigating going on...

Massive turnout last night at St. Nicholas Parish meeting:

EGG HARBOR CITY- ...about 140 parishioners of St. Nicholas Roman Catholic Church attended a meeting Tuesday night at the Knights of Columbus Hall with hopes of saving their parish.

Read Press of Atlantic City article here

See NJ Churchscape brief piece on historic St. Nick's here.


Overall an excellent job by Rob Spahr, Press writer, with the exception of this misleading information (emphasis ours):

intentions...to cut the number of parishes in the Camden Diocese nearly in half after years of fact finding, analysis and public discussion sessions uncovered a pressing need for downsizing.

Let it be clear: no scientifically reliable facts were found, nor were voices of the faithful listened to in their "years of...public discussions." No one said, "Gee let's close our church because we're not 'vibrant' enough." We only wish the truth about Bishop Galante's wheelings and dealings would be more well known by reminding the public, "After the merger announcement Bishop Galante was found to be financially involved with con artist Raffaello Follieri, now serving a prison sentence, as well as other real estate schemes. Many in the diocese question the true motives for the merger scheme..."

Additionally, too much space was given to Andy Walton, diocesan spinner, umm, I mean "PR guy." Who speaks for the faithful of the diocese? It is sad when a bishop has vested interests for which he must hire a public relations man from outside the state appear less insidious. Isn't that just like a politician? And besides, what ever happened to letting your yea be yea and your no, no? Shouldn't the words of any Christian, particularly a bishop, be clear as crystal and not so vague as to warrant wide interpretation? "Enter ye at the narrow gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there are who go in thereat." (So just in case any of you were in doubt about where St. Mary's and the Council of Parishes stand on the Galante-Vollmer Merge & Close agenda, we're against it.)
 
Nevertheless the Press coverage is laudable and we were very happy to see them cover a topic so dear to so many in South Jersey. We were glad to see the Press reveal the true origin of Galante's "priest shortage," namely, himself. Quote:

The parish already has lost its catechism classes and its resident priest was not replaced after he left in June to serve as an Army chaplain in Europe. It was unclear who will take over once the merger is complete.

Sadly, St. Nick's is far from the only priest in the diocese sent off by Galante to the military chaplaincy in the last year.

And of course, St. Nick's is yet another historic NJ church built with the blood, sweat, tears, and hard-earned money of its parishioners over the years, may they rest in peace!

"It's like losing a part of the family," Terri Cantz, 57, of Egg Harbor City, said of the parish being stripped of services. "My ancestors literally laid the bricks that helped build St. Nicholas and my grandchildren were the fifth generation from my family to attend the St. Nicholas school. This parish is a piece of our upbringing, it's a piece of our character and it deserves to stay here."

Like other parishes reconfiguration schemes in the diocese (Bridgeton, Vineland, etc.), Bishop Galante wishes to promote a segregation scheme at St. Nicholas. It is a shame that in this day and age, a bishop would promote the segregation of large numbers of our Spanish speaking brothers and sisters in Christ. Meanwhile, folks at St. Nick's are not only fighting to keep their parish open, but to remain integrated. Said Jim McGeary,

And the Hispanic parishioners who attend St. Nick's will not be able to maintain the (necessary attendance levels) on their own. You need everyone.

That's the bottom line, isn't it? We are the body of Christ, and in the body, you cannot exclude one part from the other. We need each other.

The will of God is what needs to be heeded at all times. The question remains in our minds, does Bishop Galante care what God wants? We are one body, and the church segregation plans tend to unnecessarily divide us.

But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will. For as the body is one, and hath many members; and all the members of the body, whereas they are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ. For in one Spirit were we all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, whether bond or free; and in one Spirit we have all been made to drink. For the body also is not one member, but many. If the foot should say, because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear should say, because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were the eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling? But now God hath set the members every one of them in the body as it hath pleased him. And if they all were one member, where would be the body? But now there are many members indeed, yet one body...God hath tempered the body together, giving to that which wanted the more abundant honour, That there might be no schism in the body; but the members might be mutually careful one for another. And if one member suffer any thing, all the members suffer with it; or if one member glory, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members of member. 1Corinthians 12:11-27

And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and other some evangelists, and other some pastors and doctors, For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Until we all meet into the unity of faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ; That henceforth we be no more children tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the wickedness of men, by cunning craftiness, by which they lie in wait to deceive. But doing the truth in charity, we may in all things grow up in him who is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body, being compacted and fitly joined together, by what every joint supplieth, according to the operation in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body, unto the edifying of itself in charity. (Ephesians 4:11-16)

May God richly bless St. Nick's for their faithfulness to God and their perseverance in the Truth. May none of us be fooled by the "cunning craftiness" of the devil.

Clarifying a Misleading Diocesan Administrator on Prayer

When Marilyn Vollmer tried to explain prayer to the multitudes, she said we often don't receive what we pray for. I thought and prayed about that point when I was in first grade. I later found out that we often get something better than what we pray for.* In fact, true prayer--which Marilyn Vollmer ought to study because her immortal soul depends on it--always has a primary goal to give honor and glory to God.

Our Lord teaches us that fact in the Our Father. The fact that the first words and the Name of that prayer are stressing the relationship we have with God. Any other reason for praying is secondary, far down on the list of genuine prayer. "Lifting of the mind and heart to God" says everything. No conveners or facilitators need apply.


Prayer and Our Blessed Mother

In our battle against the devil Catholics make the consecration to Our Lord through the Immaculate Heart of Mary and that is true prayer. Our Blessed Mother's prayer, which is subordinate to the Our Father but flows from it, gives all honor and glory to God. "My soul doth magnify the Lord" (St. Luke 1:46). The actions of our Blessed Mother and St. Elizabeth portray the perfection of prayer.

First, there is the salutation of our Blessed Mother that leads to the sanctification of her child, St. John, in her womb. This encounter is the model for all who hold human life sacred. When prayer is performed properly, great and majestic events take place.

Our Blessed Mother greets us in every prayer because she is always united to Our Lord and brings Our Lord to us. St. Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost (St. Luke 1:41). This is what happens to us in our devotion to our Blessed Mother. Unbelievers don't allow these words to penetrate the heart. Believers never doubt nor fear the encounter with Jesus through the intercession of His Mother.


Proper Lenten Prayer and Practices

That is why our prayers enable us to prepare for Lent properly as in the Latin Ordo (calendar of the saints). We dismiss the apostates'** practices of stones in the holy water font, having the Resurrected Lord in place of the Crucified Lord, failure to practice bodily mortification (we practice penance), substituting yoga instead of the Stations of the Cross, and ignoring the law of abstinence on Fridays. The apostates in the Church like to tell us how they enjoyed their vacations. There aren't any vacations in Hell.***


Holy Examples are No Accident: They are God's Grace!

Sr.Mary Celine of the Felician Sisters of Lodi taught us the above in the seventh grade. We knew of that material on prayer before that, but Sr. Mary Celine stood out by living that prayer in a cheerful way. It was a grace for me to find out that Sr. Mary Celine often visited a family at St. Mary's, Malaga long before I came here. Those graces never stop coming to our Shrine Parish!

Praised be Jesus Christ,
Now and Forever!
Father Jerome C. Romanowski, Pastor


* From the Editor: God answers all prayers of his children! But the problem of the current diocesan administration is something we've long known at Savestmarys: they have no hope.
 

Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire the Kingdom of Heaven and eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ's promises and relying not on our own strength, but on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit. "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.... We can therefore hope in the glory of heaven promised by God to those who love him and do his will. In every circumstance, each one of us should hope, with the grace of God, to persevere 'to the end' and to obtain the joy of heaven, as God's eternal reward for the good works accomplished with the grace of Christ. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1817-1821)

See also the following texts, all of which show how those people currently running the diocese into the ground lack are confusing the faithful with their words:

• John 16: 23-24: Amen, amen I say to you: if you ask the Father any thing in my name, he will give it you. Hitherto you have not asked any thing in my name. Ask, and you shall receive; that your joy may be full.

• Mark 11: 21-23: And Peter remembering, said to him: Rabbi, behold the fig tree, which thou didst curse, is withered away. And Jesus answering, saith to them: Have the faith of God. Amen I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain, Be thou removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not stagger in his heart, but believe, that whatsoever he saith shall be done; it shall be done unto him. Therefore I say unto you, all things, whatsoever you ask when ye pray, believe that you shall receive; and they shall come unto you.

• Matthew 21: 18-22: And in the morning, returning into the city, he was hungry. And seeing a certain fig tree by the way side, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only, and he saith to it: May no fruit grow on thee henceforward for ever. And immediately the fig tree withered away. And the disciples seeing it wondered, saying: How is it presently withered away? And Jesus answering, said to them: Amen, I say to you, if you shall have faith, and stagger not, not only this of the fig tree shall you do, but also if you shall say to this mountain, Take up and cast thyself into the sea, it shall be done. And in all things whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive.

• Interestingly, see James 4:1-5, the section summarized as, "The evils that flow from yielding to concupiscence and being friends to this world." Perhaps this is why Ms. Volmer does not receive that for which she purports to pray.
  

  From whence are wars and contentions among you? Are they not hence, from your concupiscences, which war in your members? You covet, and have not: you kill, and envy, and can not obtain. You contend and war, and you have not, because you ask not. You ask, and receive not; because you ask amiss: that you may consume it on your concupiscences. Adulterers, know you not that the friendship of this world is the enemy of God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God. Or do you think that the scripture saith in vain: To envy doth the spirit covet which dwelleth in you.

• Again, if we keep his commandments. See 1John 3:21-22: Dearly beloved, if our heart do not reprehend us, we have confidence towards God: And whatsoever we shall ask, we shall receive of him: because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight.

• Matthew 7: 6-10: Give not that which is holy to dogs; neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest perhaps they trample them under their feet, and turning upon you, they tear you. Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. Or what man is there among you, of whom if his son shall ask bread, will he reach him a stone? Or if he shall ask him a fish, will he reach him a serpent?

• Luke 11: 9-13: And I say to you, Ask, and it shall be given you: seek, and you shall find: knock, and it shall be opened to you. For every one that asketh, receiveth; and he that seeketh, findeth; and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened. And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he reach him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father from heaven give the good Spirit to them that ask him?

**Footnote from Father Romanowski: An apostate is one who denounces the teachings of the Catholic Church and instead malpractices a denomination (that is, a cult).

***Emphasis above from the Editor.

The writer of this email requested to remain anonymous, but gave us permission to print this edited version:

I read the newsletter you printed on the Website.

Incarnation was a beautiful, intimate little church. It wasn't even my parish, but I would attend Mass there twice weekly at 7 p.m. They now have the Mass at the what I've dubbed "Auditorial Round House." Interesting tidbit--they are now, as of last week of February, discontinuing their nightly Mass. They still have two priests, however, for some reason, Mass twice weekly at 7 p.m. is no longer important.

Same thing with another local parish that used to have 3 priests. As soon as one was moved, and they're down to "only" two priests, they have now discontinued their 3 nights a week at 7 p.m. Mass.

All that is left for those Catholics who work in the day and want to attend daily Mass is the regularly scheduled Mass at 7 p.m. at St. Lawrence. I am so worried that if St. Lawrence stops their Mass, I will no longer be able to attend daily.

It seems there's a focused movement to discontinue Masses for anyone that is not elderly and retired. I mean must every parish in the diocese have an 8 or 9 a.m. Mass? Is there no way they can make it convenient for Catholics who are still young enough to work to be able to worship the Lord in a genuine Catholic Mass during the evening?

I honestly believe the diocese does not want us attending daily Mass or it would not be this hard to do so. I am curious as to why it seems Catholics are discouraged from attending daily Mass, unless you are a senior citizen and retired.

Our answer to that, Anonymous, would be that Bishop Galante and Company would like us to be, essentially, more protestant than Catholic. In reality, Galante, Vollmer, McGrath, and Co. would like to usher in a "new" church, a new type of "catholicism." They insist upon wanting our churches open every day (which is already the case with St. Mary's Malaga and has been for a long, long time), but at every turn they seem to be eliminating priests by forced retirement, removal to other diocese, or to military chaplaincy. Nor are they promoting vocations to the priesthood, which was identified as a pastoral priority by the laity as a result of the "Speak Up Sessions." (So much for listening. Perhaps we should have a series of "Listen Up" sessions now, huh???) And yet they want to add paid "lay ministers," so surely whatever additions they wish to make to parish life, daily mass (let alone convenient daily mass) is not high on the list of priorities. Social activities of various kinds and daycare, though, seem more likely.

In such a sad situation as we currently find ourselves, the problem seems to be a lack of faith at the highest level of Diocesan "administration" (to call it "leadership" might be misleading). If one truly believes that Christ Himself is Truly Present in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and understands, at least on our limited human level, what graces may be received at the Holy Mass, they would be saying as many masses as they could, just as Fr. Romanowski and other good priests do. They would also be encouraging Eucharistic Adoration (which we have at St.Mary's four days a week), Legion of Mary, and other traditional Catholic devotional practices that draw us closer to Our Lord and His Mother. (Instead they promote prayers like these--scroll about three quarters of the way down and look for the italicized "prayer.")

We are reminded of an elderly and frail priest who once said mass at a wonderful church here in the diocese. It made many of us nervous just to see him process up the aisle, up the steps of the altar, or to the pulpit for fear he might fall. But for Fr. Kelly (eternal rest grant unto him oh Lord!), it was so clearly a joy and a privilege just to be able to say mass, and we think it's safe to say that sense of awe was clearly relayed to all assisting at mass. Perhaps it would be good for us to pray for the souls of all those truly devout priests who were circuit riders back in the early days of this country, who risked so much just to bring the Holy mass to Catholics in the New World and to found missions and parishes. They understood the meaning and importance of the mass.

Let us pray that the bishop and indeed all priests in the diocese may recapture that sense of awe at being in the Real Presence of His Majesty. May they experience the joy of bringing His Presence to the people! And may they again realize the Call they originally discerned when they entered the seminary. If they do, the problems we are now facing will indeed vanish and instead we'd see some real and positive change.

For anyone who doesn't receive the transition newsletter series, this latest one (#18, from 01-09-2009) is pretty funny, so I wanted to share it with you.  Like the rest, its entertainment value far outweighs its "news" content.  But at least you get to see how your charitable contributions are being spent at the diocesan level.

 

The newsletter starts with what can only be described as a large bowl of word salad from Marilyn Vollmer:

 

"Belated and prayer wishes for the New Year!  My fingers find it difficult to type 2009 as this number marks the 3rd year of planning preparations leading toward the goal of renewed and dynamic parish life in South Jersey."               

I'm not sure if this greeting is an attempt at New-Aginess or just a sign of intellectual decline.  I'm also not sure if her fingers are disappointed that the program has taken so long or if they are just in shock that this farce has been allowed to continue for three years now. 

 

Anyway, the word salad greeting is followed up with some platitudes, then this interesting analogy:

 

"At a deeper level this is a profoundly spiritual journey of the Paschal mystery, the same mystery we celebrate every Lent that climaxes with the Easter Triduum: life, death, and resurrection so that others may have life."

Ooh, I like metaphors.  Let me try this one out.  Our parishes are like Jesus, their destruction is like His crucifixion, and the new parishes are like His resurrection.  Not at all sure I agree with the last part of that, but I'll play along and extend the metaphor a bit further.  I guess that means that the Bishop would be like...Judas.  Those who know this is wrong, but refuse to say or do anything about it for fear of losing their position would be like...Pontius Pilate.  And the people from stand-alone parishes and primary worship sites who support this reconfiguration because it validates the "holiness" of their own parish would be like...the Jews crying out "Crucify Him!"  You make a good point Marilyn - thanks for the insight! 

 

Next comes the rolling out of a "leadership" training program by Peg Garvey-Mitchell for all core team members and conveners.  I can't think of a better way to waste large amounts of money than this.  Even the empty "convent" in Pittsgrove may eventually increase in value, but this is just silly.  If leadership can be taught at all, it would certainly take a lot more than a few hours with a consultant whose qualifications seem questionable.  Peg Garvey-Mitchell's profile on the National Pastoral Life Center website is strikingly devoid of any real credentials:

 

"Ms. Peg Garvey-Mitchell - Planning Consultant for non-profits

"Peg comes to us from with a vast experience of planning experiences which include leadership development, communication skills and group process. She recently served as a facilitator for the Diocese of Metuchen's First Synod. She is a consultant to the NPLC and facilitated the 2007 and 2008 Bernardin Conferences for the Catholic Common Ground Initiative."

No degrees or training are mentioned and no specific experience referenced prior to 2007 - just the generic claim of "a vast experience of planning experiences."  Surely, in such a short bio, there would have been room to mention at least one of the vast experiences.  I just don't get it - first Follieri, now Peg Garvey-Mitchell - who is making these decisions and where is the accountability? 

 

But my favorite line of the whole newsletter is this:

 

"It goes without saying that attending the Training Sessions is a must for the Priest Conveners."

Well, I guess it also goes without saying that if it really went without saying, Marilyn would not be saying it, much less underlining the word "must."  Yes, you conveners, you must go see Peg Garvey-Mitchell.  Without the benefit of her "vast experience of planning experiences," how will you ever learn how to communicate or lead?    

 

The newsletter ends with a note that Marilyn will be addressing questions about worship sites soon.  We've heard that the diocese is going to stop using the term "secondary" for worship sites to try to stem opposition from those parishes designated "secondary worship sites."  That's not confirmed yet, though, so we'll just have to wait and see.

 

My fingers find it difficult to type 309 as this number marks the 309th blog entry since the planning preparation decisions leading to the destruction of nearly half the parishes in South Jersey were announced.   Delayed and charm thoughts for the New Year to you too, Marilyn.

 

To be honest, we didn't have high expectations for the turnout at the rally outside St. Charles Borromeo. Imagine the allure: "Drive a half hour or so to come hold a sign on a weekday January morning/afternoon in pouring rain! Surely you don't have anything better to do, anyway, like work, homeschool, or laundry, right?" Sounds like fun, doesn't it? Let that be a lesson: never underestimate the commitment of our Council of Parishes membership!

The bishop and some of his friends must have arrived super early to avoid us, since our first picketers arrived nearly an hour and a half before the meeting was scheduled to begin. Guess we're a pretty rowdy looking group. Ha ha!


The meeting held inside the church was one to which approximately 40 "priest conveners" were invited, in addition to various lackeys like undercover sisters Marilyn Vollmer and Roseanne Quinn, and of course Bishop Galante. The purpose of the meeting was, effectively, to give a pep talk to the priest conveners.

They brought in a slick consultant to speak with them. (Hey, at least we know our money is being spent on something useful...SIKE!) She is facilitator Peg Garvey-Mitchell from the "National Pastoral Life Center" (again ironic since the whole program is intended to destroy pastoral life by destroying parishes and communities).


It is our understanding that morale is very low not only among priests in the diocese generally, but also among the priest conveners. This is why the meeting was needed. We have learned that several priests--none of whom have contacted the Council of Parishes or Savestmarys.net in any way, nor have we contacted them--are having serious second thoughts about their status as priest conveners. So the imposed program is apparently unpopular among laity and clerics alike, with the exception of a select few. (One wonders how, precisely, this select few envision themselves personally benefiting from this diabolical scheme, but we digress.)

Our information of low morale may have been confirmed by the attendance at the "pep talk" meeting yesterday. In retrospect we should have been more methodical about counting each priest as he entered the building, but judging from the cars in the parking lot upon our arrival (we got there very early) and the number of priests we saw enter the building, we estimate only about 20-25 priests actually bothered going.

This is the first piece in a new category called "Following the Money Trail."  Over the coming weeks, we will be taking a detailed look at various financial transactions of the diocese and key players in the diocese.  I'm sure you'll find the results very interesting.

Let's start with the diocese's purchase of a new "Convent" at 425 Langley Road in Pittsgrove.  Tax records show the property was purchased in July 2008 for $800,000.  Since it's so close to us, we snapped a few pictures so you could see this humble convent for yourself.

 The description from its listing reads:

Enticingly Elegant is this lavish 5-6BR, 11+ ac. Country estate of ¨White Fence Farms¨ Cust. blt. Cape. Home incl grand entr Foyer, Liv/GreRm w/FP, DR, sensa. kit, GameR w/Wet Bar, & SunR! Full walk out bsmnt onto fab grou. incl. circ dvwy w/fount., 3 car att./2 car det. gar, rear patio, 6+ stall barn, 3 run in sheds! Call today!...

 

 

If you're thinking, "That doesn't look like a convent to me" or "If I'd known, I would have taken a vow of poverty too," you're not alone.  It's certainly anything but humble living.  The fact that it's financed by the donations of people who work just as hard as or harder than the mystery nuns who will occupy it, and could never afford such a lavish lifestyle, is a scandal.  So much for the often quoted "option for the poor" the diocese uses as a justification for funneling money to Camden and away from our own parishes and schools.  Also, the disparity between the way the nuns from St. Jude's were treated by the diocese and the way these mystery nuns are being treated is bewildering.  We'll follow up on that later. 

Of course the real irony is that the two closest churches to this property, St. Ann's in Elmer and St. Mary's in Malaga, are supposed to close in the near future.  If both churches were sold, the revenue generated would probably not exceed the amount spent on this "convent."  Ask yourself, what would Jesus do?  If your answer is close two churches and replace them with an "enticingly elegant" convent that will house a maximum of six nuns in complete luxury, then you probably went to the same school of Catholicism as Galante, Vollmer, McGrath and Peter "My Shoes Are So Shiny, I Can See My Reflection in Them" Joyce.   

Of course, while we were taking pictures, we noticed this sign on the ground.  After all, what's a diocesan real estate debacle without Budd Realty?  In this case, the McIlvaines appear to be the listing agent as well as the exclusive real estate consultant for the diocese.  Double bonus super deal! 

As an aside, when Follieri resold the Bishop's former condo, guess who the listing agent was?  Yup, Budd Realty, all the way from Woodbury to North Wildwood.

Anyway, back to the main topic.  So who is the Diocese so generously spending our donation dollars on?  (We are not aware of any  orders of equestrian nuns.)  Well, it looks like we'll find out soon enough! The home sat empty for awhile, but Raymour & Flanigan delivered furniture last week, and heating/cooling workers were there earlier this week. So we'll let you know just as soon as our new neighbors move in.

We were all insulted when Bishop Galante referred to our churches as Wawas with crosses.  Now, we are hearing that the deal is sealed for the sale of St. Gregory's, Magnolia to Wawa for the sum of approximately $10 million.  There was speculation, right from the beginning, that this was the plan for St. Gregory's.  So much for everything continuing as usual until a decree is issued - not that we believe ANYTHING from the Chancery anymore anyway. 

This should never be allowed to happen!  Galante, Vollmer, McGrath, Joyce - how do you sleep at night?

  

We gleaned from the initials following her last name, "SSM," that Ms. ("Sr.") Marilyn Vollmer, commonly known as "the other bishop" around the Diocese, likely belongs to an order called Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother. Founded by German Mother Frances Streitel, the SSMs describe themselves as Franciscan and involve themselves primarily with healthcare and education among the poor. Quote:

The purpose of our Congregation is to hold out to society the witness of God's love and in so doing invite people to turn to God. We are dedicated to the Franciscan values of peacemaking, hospitality and reverence for all creation.

Other than that, the order's official website has very little information on it, and it appears to be a very small, aging order. Surprisingly, pictured in one of the few photos on the site are a couple of sisters wearing habits. Not surprisingly, there are no newsletters in their newsletter section and there is no way of finding out how to visit or join the order.

In any case, one wonders why an order like this one would allow one of its members to go around the country doing "work" like Ms. Vollmer is engaged in (coast-to-coast diocesan take-down aid for bishops involved with corruption scandals, etc.). How would a member of a seemingly modest Franciscan order from Wisconsin get involved with this sort of thing?

On the Archdiocese of Milwaukee site, it says that the SSMs'

ministries focus on those who suffer deprivation, social fragmentation, family disintegration, and personal isolation.

How ironic! It does not say that their ministries include causing these things, it only says that their ministries focus on these things. Hmmm. Oh, it's made a little clearer here, a little further down:

We minister in many places, from the central city to the AODA unit, from retreat centers to board rooms, from migrant camps to offices.

The Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin's website directs us to an SSM website with literally no content whatsoever: ssmfranciscans.org. That's no help. But maybe they are a small order, but not such a modest one. On the Marian Healthcare System site, they tell us just a tad more. They came to this country in part to help an ailing hospital in Kansas, and

The Sisters stayed busy during the 19th century, establishing healthcare ministries throughout Wisconsin and in Denville, New Jersey. The congregation has continued its growth in healthcare and education with ministries established in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Iowa, New Jersey and several foreign nations.

And this leads us to a 1997 article that describes a name change for the sisters' ministry, and this is where we learn of the order's extensive involvement with the health care industry:

Health care isn't the kind of mission called to mind by the name Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother.

So beginning April 1, Sisters of Sorrowful Mother Ministry Corp. will be known as Ministry Health Care to better represent the Milwaukee-based health care system's purpose.

"The name Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother -- while it reflects the system's Catholic sponsor -- doesn't carry a lot of meaning for the average consumer that we're meeting in our marketplace," said Sister Lois Bush, chief executive officer. "The new name is simple and reflects what we do, which is the business of health care."

The article goes on to say that the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother's health care system is "one of the largest in the state [of Wisconsin]." However, when we looked up the "SSM Ministry Corp" nothing much in the way of information is available, but we did find another name: "SSM Diversified Health Services" located at 11925 West Lake Park Drive, Suite 100, Milwaukee, WI 53224, phone (414) 359-1070.

Maybe they've changed their name again? There's something called "Ministry Health Care" that describes itself in this way:

When you walk into any Ministry hospital or clinic, you will see the healing ministry and values of our founders, the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, at work. Here, everyone works together, as one, to provide the best care available for all patients. 

At Ministry, we continually look to tomorrow. We push ourselves as an organization and as individuals to grow, to take the extra step, to work as hard as we can to bring hope, respect and dignity to each patient and their family.

Here, we see that a "Ministry" can be a business, even a multiple-clinic and hospital health care system, "one of the largest in the state" of Wisconsin.

I'm confused. Is this a non-profit group? If so, what services are they providing? It would seem, based on Ms. Vollmer, that it's just a bunch of professional women sharing their income, but maybe this is just something we need to do more research into.

Anyway, the point is that it is pretty clear that health care has been the mission and apostolate of the SSMs from the beginning. And indeed they continue in this booming industry now. So again, what is Marilyn Vollmer doing here in the Diocese of Camden? Why is she not off nursing, teaching, helping the poor in some way, or manning a retreat center somewhere? And how can we get her retrained?

(BTW, they also have "Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother International Finance, Inc.": link, which is sort of funny.)

As a side note, there is another question, which is sure to become an issue at some point.  Most members of this type of order, because of their vows of poverty, do not pay income taxes.  At what point, however, does this "vow of poverty" become a joke?  How is a "sister" who has a solid middle management position (with wages that are more than competitive for her level of ability) and who lives independently from the order to which she belongs different from the rest of us?  What is she giving to society, as a whole, to warrant special tax treatment?

The links to these articles were forwarded to us yesterday by a reader. We haven't thoroughly read them yet, but from our point of view the bottom line is this. Have no doubt that the powers that be in the diocese--Bishop Galante, Terry Odien, Roger McGrath, Marilyn Vollmer, and company--fully intend to close down your church, even if it was canonically established and has a stable group of parishioners. Yes even if it's "vital," "vibrant," and sparkly fabulous. Let's look at this clearly. The bishop down there in New Orleans--despite the fact that many of their people have been through hell and back recently, have lost their town, some have lost their jobs, some have lost their homes, many have been displaced for periods of time--still sees fit to close their churches, too. How heartless can a person be?! A bishop of an area that has experienced nothing less than complete disaster would do this? What kind of a shepherd is he? Certainly for some in the New Orleans area, the one stable thing left in their life--their parish community, their church, the place where they go to be with God--is being taken away from them too. How horrible and shameful. Have no doubt that we up here in NJ, who have been through no natural disaster, would have our parishes similarly ripped away from us. The time for action is now. We must make every effort to save our parishes and our faith from this onslaught. Get ready to vigil inside your church. God expects sacrifice for His sake and certainly our parishes and our faith as we know it--for certainly nothing less than this is on the line here--should not be taken from us willingly or with our cooperation. There is no compromise with evil. Christ himself and the saints (particularly the martyrs) have shown us this time and again. Saints Thomas More, John Fisher, and Margaret Clitherow, orate pro nobis!

Article 1 This one has interesting comments about transition team, etc.
Article 2 This is the main story, including video footage.
Article 3 About vigils in Boston and New Orleans

Previously we have quoted a bit from the 2002 Michael Rose book entitled, Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church. This excellent book is well researched and sheds a great deal of light on the controversy, unorthodox doctrine, emphasis on "lay ministry," and seminary/priest formation problems encountered in the Catholic Church in the United States today. Perhaps more than anything else, it explains well how the "priest shortage" crisis is contrived and utterly avoidable.

(As a side note, Bishop Galante and those attempting to make changes to the Church ought to pay attention. Unless we  miscalculate, Rose was 33 when he wrote this book. The younger generations, which the bishop is supposedly trying to attract, are often the ones most disenchanted by the lack of adherence to traditional, orthodox Catholicism.)

Seminary & Priest Formation Problems

From Chapter 5, "The Heterodoxy Downer: How False Teaching Demoralizes and Discourages the Aspiring Priest."

Beyond issues of grave sexual immorality, the seminary environment presents a number of other deterrents to the orthodox seminarian. The most obvious and perhaps the most insidious is heterodoxy, open or subtle dissent from the official teachings of th Church. Many faculty members are averse to teaching what the Church teaches, and some find it onerous even to hide their disdain for Catholicism. The seminarian who arrives on campus expecting to find faculty and staff that love the Catholic faith and teach what the Church teaches can be sadly disappointed.

Continued:

Dr. Louise Leidner, who taught students from the Washington Theological Union in Washington DC...during the 1990s claims that students who expressed orthodox Catholic opinions were "publicly mocked by their WTU peers and by WTU faculty and superiors for taking positions consonant with the Church's teaching." In addition, she says that "Several of her students...were actually kicked out of their religious houses because they expressed orthodox opinions that were 'dangerous and harmful to other people"--even though their positions were supported by the Catechism of the Catholic Church--because they would "negatively infect and unduly influence and contaminate" the other students.

Does it get worse? Apparently. In Chapter Four, Rose mentions several well-known nicknames for seminaries, including a seminary (St. Mary's) to which Bishop Galante, here in the Camden Diocese, has decided to send seminarians. Yikes. (Incidentally, last we heard, this is where our married, former evangelical seminarian/diocesan chaplain employee is currently taking classes.)

According to former seminarians and recently ordained priests...institutions have earned nicknames such as Notre Flame (for Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans) and Theological Closet (for Theological College at the Catholic University of America in Washington DC). St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore has earned the nickname, "The Pink Palace."

Meanwhile, St. Charles Borromeo in Philadelphia, a seminary the diocese of Camden has most often sent seminarians to, is "known to be of a much more conservative mentality" (page 165).

The Rise of "Lay Ministries"

Rose also researched a typical "Lay Pastoral Ministries Program" run by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. (Note that our own bishop is currently implementing one such program here in our diocese, while at the same time, by slow trickle, removing priests by the dozen to forcible retirement, military chaplaincy, removal to other dioceses, and ostensibly to "study" in Rome.) In the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, a man named Glenn Jeviden was interested in serving the Church and was directed to this Lay Ministries program. The screening process began with an interview conducted by what turned out to be a liberal sister who

asked me several times if I understood the Church was changing, and if I thought I was able to be "flexible enough to accept a pluralistic Church."

The interview was friendly enough but Jividen, though conceding that change is a part of life, asked the sister "if she believed that some truths never changed." She did not answer. He was next asked to write an autobiography, in which he discussed his pro-life activities, involvement with Catholics United for the Faith (CUF), and his devotion to the Church, the Holy Father, and the Blessed Mother, etc. He also had to take the Myers-Briggs personality test (a test based on Jungian psychological types) and was seen by a priest psychologist for other "tests."

During a psychologist visit, following the results of the tests, the conversation turned to CUF, and its alleged inflexible attitudes (read: orthodox) and Jividen's explicitly orthodox positions. The psychologist stated that the pope only had to be abided by when he spoke ex cathedra. It went on from there, you get the idea. Finally the priest psychologist suggested that Jividen would

feel uncomfortable with my CUF friends after entering the Lay Pastoral Ministries Program.

Needless to say, Jividen didn't make the cut and was told to "update" his theology. They suggested he develop his "personal spirituality" and that he see one of their spiritual directors, 22 of the 25 of whom were women.

The Agenda, says Rose?

Rose's point in discussing the lay ministries program is that some see the vocations crisis as "presaging a revolution and the demise of the  hierarchical structure of the Church" (quoting Helen Hull Hitchcock, 1999).

This is the contingent that has long been promoting "lay ecclesial ministry," the laicization of the clergy, and the clericalization of the laity. Simply put, they would like to see the laity take over the leadership of the Church at the parish level and beyond, from teaching and preaching to administering the sacraments. This program would effectively entail eliminating the priesthood rather than just "reenvisioning" it.

Indeed in many places, the lack of priestly vocations (or in our case, the forced scarcity thereof) is embraced as a way to promote a new vocation to "lay ecclesial ministry," that is, non-ordained, paid church professionals. Some bishops, priests, and other diocesan and seminary authorities actually seem to rejoice over decreasing priestly vocations as an opportunity for creating a "new model of Church" in which the laity can "take their rightful place" (quoting Roger Cardinal Mahony of Los Angeles).

This philosophy, drawn out by many over the last decade of the 20th century, betrays a peculiar attitude--the priesthood as a barrier to the emergence of the laity in their own dignity and mission (pages 209-211).

The word vibrant, is of course dropped--its use is not new--and the priest shortage is described as a self-fulfilling prophecy. "Where lay ministry is overemphasized, the priesthood becomes devalued" since it is reduced to sacramental ministry, viewed as being on par with "music ministry," "hospitality  ministry," "youth ministry," etc. Priests are mistakenly "defined...by what they do rather than what they are--an alter Christus."

The Vicious Circle

Tell us if this doesn't look familiar to you? The "vicious circle" looks like this:

Catholics in key positions of authority...actively discourage vocations to the priesthood in order to promote lay ministry. Yet at the same time, lay ecclesial ministry  is proposed as the answer to the dearth of priestly vocations, as if this were a permanent and perhaps ideal situation. Parishes run by lay ministers are likely to foster little, if any, interest in vocations to the priesthood. The result is that the number of priests will continue to decline further, necessitating more lay ministers to fill their places (211).

Rose goes on to describe church closures and radical "faith communities" formed in some places:

Priestless "faith communities" over time are likely to become simply congregational communities centered on the reading of the Scriptures, the homily, and on sharing bread and wine--devoid of the act of perfect worship, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass--based on the model of Protestant community.

Continued:

The so-called shortage suits them just fine, precisely because they can use the crisis to justify radical change in the local Church...one run by "lay pastors." This "new model of Church" is not really about solving the priest shortage. It is about advancing their agenda of a politically correct Church.

Potential seminarians will, and do, gravitate toward dioceses and orders "that support the ministry of the priest as defined by the Church." The bishops in such diocese are not "issuing pastoral letters introducing parish 'clusters' or worse. Rose suggests that there are all too many in positions of Church leadership who have a "death with for the male, celibate priesthood."

Nothing New

Friends, what we have going on now in the Camden diocese is nothing new. As we have seen, it has been going on for a couple decades now, it has been perpetrated elsewhere, it has ruined other dioceses, it has discouraged vocations to the priesthood, it has wrought havoc and confusion in the Church. Now this downright un-Catholic plan is being recycled here in South Jersey in order to liberalize the Church by depriving us of the priesthood and even our very churches. Our churches are the places that reflect who we are in God's cosmology, they put us in our rightful place! But Galante, Vollmer, and McGrath would like to replace our churches--and Church--with something altogether different. Make no mistake about it. Bishop Galante even brought along one of the leaders from the Los Angeles Archdiocese--a diocese infamously known as one of the greatest messes with one of the most corrupt bishops in the entire country--"Sister" Marilyn Vollmer, to bring a bit of that mess here. (Of course, they called the program "Gathered and Sent" there, now they're calling it "Gathering God's Gifts" here, so at least they switched up the name a tad.)

Currently we are undergoing a screening process in which the "core groups" at each parish--those who are meant to lead the church mergers--are chosen based on their willingness to close or otherwise undermine their parish and positively participate in the bishop's agenda. Those who don't agree with the closure or status of their church and the direction the Diocese of Camden is headed are quickly weeded out.

Don't fall for the nonsense! Keep the faith. It his a hard thing to keep in a time when church leadership, even some bishops and priests, believe things very different than many of us do, a model of church unlike what we have known and what has been promulgated down the centuries. So continue to pray for Bishop Galante. He needs our prayers. And continue to pray for the holy courage and fortitude of the priests of our diocese and seminarians everywhere.

Our pastor sure doesn't mince words. In this latest piece from Father, he calls it as he sees it! At St. Mary's we don't pussy-foot around when it comes to things eternal and risk posed to our immortal souls.

The link to a Catholic Star Herald  article on "core teams" (uhhh...could we possibly get any more corporate???) was submitted to savestmarys by a reader, who made the following comment:

Notice the criteria for people being picked to be on the Core Team. They want people who are willing to follow the program and be willing to lose their parishes. No dissent allowed. This is very sad.

Quote from the article:

Core Team members will be selected from a pool of nominated parishioners. This month, each current pastor of the parishes that will be merged will nominate six lay persons from his parish who meet key leadership criteria.  

This month, all Core Team nominees are asked to take a web-based assessment tool (ICHANGE) to determine their attitude toward change.  The nominees will forward the results of the assessment to their pastor.

The Priest Convener and the current pastors will meet by Oct. 1 to review the nominees, their leadership and experience, their capacity for assuming the responsibilities, their attitude toward change, and their receptivity to the work ahead (see side bar).

Ooooh, wow. Just gives you chills reading about it, huh? Can you just feel the Holy Ghost at work here? YIKES! Are these "nominee" people applying for a job? Must they also submit a resume? Why in the world would anyone do this? And where does it say in the article that interested participants ought to pray about this?

It just makes you wonder how much further Vollmer, Galante, and Company could get from Our Lord and His Blessed Mother. Do they pray? How in the world could they possibly think that an ungodly "web-based assessment tool (ICHANGE)" could involve the promptings of Our Lord in this "process." They ought to be ashamed of themselves.

Let's pray for them daily. Pray for their conversion to the Holy Catholic Faith. They will be responsible for the souls they take down along the way, and the ones who stay away from the True Church because of their actions. And faithful Catholics, please don't be afraid to speak out about something you know to be wrong. Call a spade a spade.

Over at savestmarys, we do not enjoy having to deal with news pieces like this one, but really they make our job easier. This article profiles St. Joseph's "Catholic" McMegaChurch in Richardson, Texas, a church the bishop would like to replicate here in South Jersey.

About 1,500 miles away, officials at the Diocese of Camden want to promote this type of vibrant parish. As part of a planned diocesan makeover...

Here it is in black and white, guys. This is what we're in store for. A "makeover." Yippee! We, too can look just like that cool Church of the Future down in Texas. Wait'll you see what's in store for us lucky Catholics. New buildings with new ideas and new priorities...

 Ironically, in an effort to assuage the fears of Mr. and Miss Average Catholic In the Pews, the Courier Post has done a really good job of confirming that our worst fears about what Bishop Galante and Friends have up their sleeves are true. The prospect that Bishop Galante would want to replicate mega"churches" with labyrinths and cappuccino bars here in South Jersey is a repulsive thought. Why in the world he believes that by instituting flaky, liberal "spirit-trends," souls will be saved is beyond me. Promoting the culture of the world at a supposedly Catholic church and reveling in what one can only imagine constitutes a frequent lack of reverence is simply appalling. Yet the pastor at St. Joe's, Msgr. Fischer,  says,

When people come here, there's a level of energy. It's like walking into a mall at Christmas.

Huh? Is that supposed to make us want to go to this church? Is he off his nut? I for one would like to know the last time that Msgr. Fischer was actually at a mall at Christmastime. These are places that most sane people avoid like the plague. Unless, of course, he is referring to the buzz that certain CEOs might get around Christmastime at the prospect of people willingly parting with their hard-earned money only to get some useless trinkets and doo-dads to fill stockings and gift bags.

Problematic article? Yeah. (But since no one wants a church like that, he did our work for us!)

Our problem with the article? Well first of all, the article fails in the journalistic integrity department generally because it is a puff piece. It is nothing but a piece of advertising for Bishop Galante and Company, and if I was Jim Walsh I'd be embarrassed by the fact that I'd compromised my professional standards. The article does not attempt to promote a balanced view of the megachurch, dissenting opinions, or even a hint of a critical stance toward the Bishop Galante and his plans. (Wonder what in the world the Courier Post, or should we call it "The Other Catholic Star Herald," could be getting in return for this kind of coverage?)

Of course, plenty of scholarship is available on the pluses and minuses of the megachurch at this point, but not a one was touched by Jim Walsh of the CP. Here are a couple of scholars Mr. Walsh could have contacted. Quote from 2005 ABC piece:

Mega-churches are booming all over the country, not just in the South.

Scott Thumma, a theologian at Hartford Seminary, compares the phenomenon to shopping at a place like Wal-Mart.

"Just as if you go to a Wal-Mart, you can get all of your lists done in one place, it's sort of one-stop shopping for spirituality as well," Thumma said.

Randall Balmer, a theology professor at Barnard College in New York says [of mega-congregations], "It is in many ways consumerism run amok."

In contrast, here's a perfect example of more Courier Post pandering:

One more difference between the regions [South Jersey and Dallas, Texas]: Galante, who often draws angry protests with his controversial plans for parish mergers in the Camden diocese, is recalled with fondness at St. Joseph.

"You tell that bishop we miss him here," barked head usher Chuck Maltese of Wylie, Texas, a retired New York City policeman.

How funny is that? First he says we're "angry" protesters. Now why in the world should we be angry? Guess we're too hormonal again. Oh well! Maybe we should have just handed over the keys and deeds to our churches cuz Bishop asked nice and said he'd give us a latte.  (I like hazelnut, no whipped cream. Although I can't afford those kinds of fancy drinks myself!) Honestly, if barking head usher Chuck Maltese would like Bishop Galante back in Texas, I just know we in the Diocese of Camden would be only too happy to oblige. Heck, we'd pay his one-way fare back and he can bring along Ms. Vollmer and Msgr. McGrath for company, too. On us! First class all the way. (No plastic utensils, and real dishes.)

It's rather odd that the CP would make the claim that Bishop Galante is widely loved and missed in Texas considering we at savestmarys have received more than a few unsolicited emails from disgruntled Texans claiming Galante mangled their diocese in more ways than one. Could you imagine the sordid tales we'd hear if we actually bothered picking up the phone to initiate contact ourselves? We simply haven't gotten around to that yet, but we'd certainly appreciate hearing the stories of the Catholics in Texas who are still picking up the pieces.

Depressing, ain't it?

Aside from the article itself, it's just plain depressing that too many "Catholic" churches are are deviating from the Truth in that they are so susceptible to superficial novelties, and that some pastors and bishops are leading their sheep astray. However Jim Walsh makes finding flaws in this "model church" way too easy, and judging from the comments on the Courier Post website, no one seems to think of this church as something in any way desirable, nor are they buying the ridiculous stats spewed by the Diocese.

In holding up this parish Bishop Galante's true intentions become very clear. It seems he wants to dismiss Catholicism as we've known it and institute something utterly different in its place. Something worldly, something that resembles what's going on in many trendy evangelical protestant churches. Something that embraces aspects of extreme liberalism and new age-iness. Something that dumbs down and dilutes our faith. Something that appeals to no real Catholic.

Keeping up with the culture

From a 2005 ABC News article dealing with the new consumerist megachurches, a parent is quoted:

"You know, the culture is giving our kids a lot of fast-paced media and all different things that are moving along," she said. "Why can't the church keep up and do the same thing for our kids and for us?"

There's an easy answer for that one, actually. As Christians we are to be in the world but not of it. It is not the responsibility of the Church to keep pace with modern American culture. It is the responsibility of the Church to preach and teach the Good News of Jesus Christ, whether or not that conforms to our "lifestyle." How many times did Our Lord tell us that He and His Kingdom were not of this world (John 18:36)? Further in St. Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians (2:12-14):

Now we have received not the spirit of this world, but the Spirit that is of God; that we may know the things that are given us from God. Which things also we speak, not in the learned words of human wisdom; but in the doctrine of the Spirit, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of the Spirit of God; for it is foolishness to him, and he cannot understand, because it is spiritually examined.

How many times must we be exhorted not to conform ourselves to the things of this world, for it is passing, but God is eternal?

And be not conformed to this world; but be reformed in the newness of your mind, that you may prove what is the good, and the acceptable, and the perfect will of God. (Romans 12:2)

Love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If any man love the world, the charity of the Father is not in him. (1John 2:15)

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that includes lattes and biscotti.

A few interesting things about the church


Cremation: Like the parishes in Florida (churches St. John the Evangelist and St. Agnes), St. Joe's seems to advocate the non-traditional practice of cremation, to the point of having something called a "Columbarium Wall" where ashes may be interred in little niches. It's pretty darn ugly. The Columbarium Wall surrounds the labyrinth. (For those of you who aren't aware, cremation is hugely popular among liberal eco-types because it takes up less space.)


Music: The choir has a CD with the predictable David Haas and Marty Hogan emotional tripe, as well as a "Zulu" song. Yay! How multi-cultural of them. At least now all the Zulus in their parish will feel welcome.

Eastern Stuff: You'll be happy to know they also have "Thai Chi Chih" available.

Questionable Curricula: Interestingly, the catechetical materials they've chosen to use over there have been given a "yellow" or caution rating by catholicculture.org, who "recommend[s] that you avoid Why Catholic." Quote:

Philip Blosser provides a perfect summary when he worries that the program is "designed by revisionists whose devious aim is to use their small group approach to refract ecclesial focus, to undermine magisterial authority, to democratize the Catholic message, to continue the AmChurch decentralization of Catholic Church in America, to continue the process of protestantizing and revising the Church and detaching her from the only moorings she has in her own traditions. . . ."

A Response from non-practicing Catholics

Here's where our coverage of this story will take a turn for the odd. Tonight after work I popped over to my younger sister's house to borrow a couple of Disney videos for my kids, to kiss my new baby niece, and to chat for a few minutes. About an hour later, as I was turning to leave, I just happened to mention this piece in the Courier Post about "a mega[Catholic] Church that the bishop seems to want to replicate here in South Jersey, which has a cappuccino bar."

Now keep in mind that my sister, who is 28, and her husband, who is 32, were both raised Catholic. But, not uncommonly, they are both completely non-practicing. My older niece, who has just begun first grade, has never even been baptized. Other than to attend the baptisms of my own children and the occasional funeral, to the best of my knowledge, she hasn't darkened the doorway of a church in at least five years. She has her own reasons, I know, but we don't talk much about them. The point is, we couldn't be more polar opposite on the religion issue, unless maybe she was a rabid atheist or something.

Without so much as the blink of an eye, the two of them--my sister and brother-in-law--went off. They found the prospect of what a church like this could be, could look like, could morph into, etc. absurd and funny. What struck me most about what follows is that the very audience Galante and Company is trying to entice--the lapsed Catholics, the young families,  professionals, etc.--are the very people who see right through all the crap. People like my sister and her husband, who don't like BS. If there was a possibility of ever being religious, they'd prefer their religion to not be mixed up in materialism. So I thought I'd share some of this [admittedly irreverent at times] rapid-fire back-and-forth between my sister and her husband with you, just to give you an idea of how truly ineffectual all this "nonsense" is. Honestly, I was laughing really hard. They definitely "got it," and with zero prompting by me.

Here's a link to the "Hammonton News" piece that describes how happy and relieved the St. Anthony's parishioners are (I'm sure my neighbors feel this way) that their church is now "safe." The bottom line here is that we all want to believe what is easiest to believe. Let's hope and pray that the church does survive, but let's also remember what Fr. Gregorio said in his letter to the editor of the Cape May Herald. He said that more painful consolidations will be necessary in 2015. This more than implies that Bishop Galante, Msgr. Joyce, Ms. Vollmer, and Msgr. McGrath have plans far into the future to completely disfigure the Diocese of Camden beyond our wildest nightmares. (One wonders if Gregorio "let one slip" he wasn't supposed to.)

Whoever believes that Bishop Galante and Company will in the long term allow one small, South Jersey town to keep three--count 'em--THREE churches when others will be left with none is fooling himself. (Besides, God only knows what's going on negotiation-wise with the town of Hammonton and the various properties. Judging from the mayor and police chief's attitude toward protesters alone, one wonders how much the town is involved in all this.)

If the idea was to keep St. Anthony's from filing an appeal, which we know they were prepared to do, then perhaps the bishop has succeeded. Think about it. Why would a church appeal if they believe they are safe? This is an easy way to break down resistance. It's a little like that Stockholm Syndrome you've probably heard of. It's that strange mental condition in which kidnapped, tortured, or abused people become loyal to their abusers. Ironically, many in these newly "safe" churches may now think well of the bishop and defend his actions, even though he put their church on the chopping block, a place it may in reality still be. If people believe their church will survive, they may stop fighting. Well guys, don't stop fighting. Don't be fooled. Our churches and our Faith is not safe until we are all assured the right to worship without threat, in peace, in the houses of God our ancestors built us.

(As usual, thanks to our faithful readers  for forwarding us the link.)

Today Bishop Galante announced the priest conveners for the churches he wishes to merge. Check the diocesan website for more information on your own parish's situation.

Much to our amusement, in the bishop's letter, he says, "Many of our parish communities have been eager to move forward with the intended configurations. Some wanted to do so as soon as announcements were made last April. However, I have urged patience in order to allow time for affected parish communities to deal with the reality of the change ahead..." Well at least the bishop has not lost his sense of humor! Several of us who read this today laughed out loud. Of our neighbors, friends, colleagues, acquaintances, co-parishioners, and others, we certainly have not seen a single instance of this phenomenon. "Out-of-touch" is an understatement here. Intentionally misleading would be more accurate. Perhaps the PR team at the chancery thinks that if they make the statement that there is a groundswell of support for the mass closure of parishes, then people will believe that it is true because, after all, a bishop wouldn't lie or mislead his sheep...

Of course in the letter Bishop Galante continues to spew the same misinformation and propaganda that has been issued over the past several months regarding the supposed motivations for the closures, so nothing new there. However, he also says, "it is my intention to modify certain parish configurations." Basically what we're looking at here is what appears to be a number of churches he, McGrath, and Vollmer have backpedaled on, which of course appears to be good news. It appears the campaign and feedback of all unhappy Catholics in these matters have been effective, but we have much work yet to do. In the end, it is important to remember that a "worship site" is just that, a canonically insecure entity that may be closed at any time. At present, changed status or not, no church in the diocese may consider itself "safe" until it is recognized as having the right to exist into the future, and the campaign must continue.

(Check the Diocese of Camden website for more information on specific changes, since there are a number of them.Special congratulations goes out to St. Bart's Camden who, in the course of a few months of fighting the Lord's good fight, have gone from the status of "closed" (April), to being a "worship site" (late June), to being a "primary worship site" (late August). Praise God and good work!)