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!"

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

"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

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

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

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

"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.

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

"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

Re: "Do not care" (letters, Aug. 27).

The letter writer from Magnolia, whose struggling parish is merging with two nearby parishes, suggested that Bishop Joseph Galante, his priest advisers, deanery planning teams, planning commission and Core Teams "do not care" about the pain being felt by parishioners when their parishes merge.

The feelings of loss that accompany change of this kind are not being ignored. In fact, unlike other dioceses that have moved far more quickly with parish reconfigurations, the bishop insisted there be a period of 12 to 24 months before he issued decrees formally establishing new parishes. He did this in recognition of the sense of loss he knew would be experienced and to give parishes adequate time to prepare to come together.

During this time, he has heard personally from parishioners in every part of the diocese and has acknowledged the disappointment many naturally feel. The fact is, if he didn't care, he would not be taking steps to address the needs of Catholics in South Jersey. If he didn't care, he wouldn't be working to reverse downward trends in religious practice.

The fact is, it is precisely because the bishop cares so deeply about the well-being of parishioners and because of his great love for the Church and the people of South Jersey that he has undertaken the effort now under way to strengthen parishes and improve care to the people.

ANDREW WALTON Office of Communications Diocese of Camden Camden

                    Deptford           Salem County                Camden                   Atlantic City

1950                 7,304                 49,508                       124,555                       61,657

1960               17,878                 58,711                       117,159                       59,544

2006-7*          30,529                 66,595                         80,010                      39,684

*most recent available estimate

bjd0305:

It is more effective to have fewer churches with more people in them. god is a hell of a businessman
9/2/2009 8:27:08 AM

firebird 7478 replying to bjd0305:

Which is why he's always asking for more money.
9/2/2009 10:41:42 AM

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 we have to prove our ability to healthily cope with change by accepting the destruction of our 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?

"Given the need of the sisters and given the fact that the property was being offered to the diocese at such a substantial discount, we've purchased the property for the religious sisters," [diocesan spokesman] Walton said.

But the Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey, a grass-roots parish organization, said the sisters moving into the house is a knee-jerk reaction on the part of the Diocese of Camden and that it was not its original, intended use.

"We don't believe it," said Leah Vassallo, co-chair of the Council of Parishes. "First of all, it makes no sense. Why should nuns live in what is described as a lavish country estate? It's completely contradictory to what the nuns mission and purpose is." ....

"There's a huge difference between a five-bedroom house and an $800,000 house," Vassallo said.

View Larger Map

Here is a photo of the stable/horse barn. Who knew the sisters rode horses in their spare time? Perhaps they are one of those obscure equestrian orders.
.

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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)

In 2005, there were approximately 440,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Camden according to the Diocese of Camden's Demographic Report.  On April 3, 2008, when the Bishop announced his reconfiguration plan, he claimed there were 500,000 Catholics in the diocese.  Why does this matter?  It's quite simple really and it involves....yup, you guessed it, Raffaello Follieri.

According to a National Catholic Reporter Article from February 2006 titled "Real estate developer with ties to 'Vatican hierarchy' in pursuit of U.S. church property:"

"Raffaello Follieri and Andrea Sodano visited the Capitol Hill Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops annual meeting. An escalator ride up from the general assembly meeting room, the Follieri Group maintained a hospitality suite for bishops. At that meeting, by a vote of 222-2, the bishops agreed to seek Vatican approval for an amendment to church policy that would allow large dioceses (those with more than 500,000 Catholics) to sell or mortgage properties for up to $10.3 million without Rome's prior consent. The previous $5.1 million limit, said those supporting the change, was increasingly cumbersome in the go-go real estate market affecting U.S. dioceses nationwide." (Emphasis added).

Hmmm, so properties that would sell for more than $5.1 million (like say St. Gregory's) would require Vatican approval......unless we have 500,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Camden. 

Guess what?  We now have 500,000 Catholics in the Diocese of Camden:

"Welcome.Thank you for visiting the website of the Diocese of Camden. The diocese was founded in 1937 and serves 500,000 Catholics in Atlantic, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland Gloucester, and Salem Counties, New Jersey."

The 440,000 figure is from the Diocese of Camden's Demographic Report, available on their website:

"Comparing the 2005 census update, the 2005 Catholic Directory, and the parish reports to the 111,240 average attendance indicates that 25.4% of the Catholic population of South Jersey attends mass regularly."

The 500,000 number has no demographical or statistical basis.  An overnight, inexplicable jump of 60,000 Catholics?  A startling 13.5% increase in the number of Catholics in the diocese, without any notice or explanation?  At that rate of growth, our Catholic population would more than double every 15 years.

I think not!  Sad, pathetic, despicable!  I might not know much about centering prayers, labyrinths, or ecofeminism, but I'm pretty sure lying and stealing are still sins.  And when they are coming from priests and bishops, they are scandalous as well!

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:

This letter/article was submitted to Save St. Mary's a few days ago. We thank you for your submission.

I wrote a small piece and will send it to the Courier Post. The CP will never publish an editorial that doesn't glorify the Camden Diocese, So, I decided to share with your site too.

Can you serve both God and Mammon*?
It seems Bishop Galante thinks so.
Find Christ's answer here and the author's below.
(* Mammon: Riches, worldly interest See Luke 16:13 and Matthew 6:24)

Announcement from the Camden Diocese: Low enrollment, rising deficits force closure at end of school year of Our Lady of Guadalupe...

Here we go again!

Our Lady of Guadalupe's in Bridgeton will close at the end of this year due to low enrollment. It's no surprise that their enrollment continued to decline when you consider the atmosphere that Bishop Galante has created within the Catholic community of the Camden Diocese. How could enrollment grow with massive school closings, escalating tuition, and Church closures that demonstrate how the Diocese has turned its back on promoting our faith? The Diocese will quickly point to the declining numbers within the schools; on the other hand, one could speculate that poor decisions by a Diocese not driven by faith are at the root of the numbers decline.

Then we have the Church closures. Take a look at St. Gregory's Church in Magnolia and the prospect of this beautiful church becoming the site of yet another Super Wawa.

The beautiful St. Gregory's in Magnolia, NJ

These church closures represent a battle, Land Value vs. Faith. Sadly, I think land value is winning.

Surveyor outside St. Gregory's Magnolia.
Look out! Your church is next.

The people of the Camden Diocese need to say, enough is enough and unite to stop the damage this Diocese has done. With an apparent lack of devotion to our faith by those in charge at the Camden Diocese, how could the numbers increase in the pews or in the classrooms? Their devotion appears to be to the business of running a Diocese.

To top it all off, there is a general mistrust of Bishop Galante due to his dealings with Follieri, who is a criminal with his hands in the real-estate market.

One has to question Galante's motives in the light of his ties.

Bishop Galante on the front page of the
7/15/08 NY Post because of his financial
involvement with criminal Raffaello Follieri

For the future, my hunch is more closures will follow. In my area, watch out St. Teresa's in Runnemede. Forget about the dedication of the IHM sisters or your 80+ years of teaching our children so much more then just the academics. You are sitting on prime real estate (Black Horse Pike & Evesham).

View Larger Map

I beg you, if your number is called, don't go quietly.

Whether it's a school or church closure, it's all related. Neither closure will promote growth in the Catholic Faith. Both closures will free up real estate that could be sold for big profits. What is Galante's objective, to promote our faith or make money? Is he the right man to lead us in our faith? I think not.

In closing, Thank You Father Romanowski (St. Mary's Malaga) for proving that there is good in the churches of the Camden Diocese.

D. Lamancusa

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.

Bishop Galante's parish reconfiguration plan, if implemented, will result in a reduction of parishes in the Diocese of Camden from 125 to 68 (a 46% reduction) and a reduction of churches from 133 to approximately 103 (a 22% reduction).  One of the four justifications offered by Bishop for the parish reconfiguration was "shifting demographics."   The following is an excerpt from Bishop's reconfiguration announcement:

 

"Second, in many areas of the diocese, parish facilities exist in very close geographic proximity to each other.  They were established in a different era to serve Catholic people that have now moved from former Catholic population centers into other parts of South Jersey or even out of the diocese completely, leaving behind under-utilized and often aging facilities." 

 

A quick summary of population data for some areas of the diocese are shown below (all from wikipedia):

 

                    Deptford           Salem County                Camden                   Atlantic City

1950                 7,304                 49,508                       124,555                       61,657

1960               17,878                 58,711                       117,159                       59,544

2006-7*          30,529                 66,595                         80,010                      39,684

*most recent available estimate

So, here are some logical conclusions based on these demographics and Bishop's statement above.  Deptford, which has more than quadrupled in size since 1950, and Salem County, which has seen slow steady growth and is one of the few areas left in NJ that is not already built out, should see very little impact from the reconfiguration.  On the other hand, Camden and AC, which have lost more than one-third of their population will likely suffer a high percentage loss of churches and parishes.  This all seems pretty basic and straightforward, so let's see if the high paid diocesan consultants came to the same conclusion.   (We're not going to bother pretending that anyone else had any input into the decisions). 

 Let's look at Salem County first.  Salem County started with six parishes and six churches.  After the reconfiguration, only one of the six Salem County parishes will remain, with three churches.  This is an 83% reduction in parishes (compared to 46% throughout the diocese) and a 50% reduction in churches (compared to 22% throughout the diocese).  That's odd.  Did those high price consultants (paid for by YOUR DONATIONS) somehow conclude that rural Salem County is suffering an extreme Catholic exodus?  Perhaps the result of urban decay, loss of industry, gangs and crime?  Do they actually think that Salem County's six parishes (the fewest of any county in NJ) are somehow "in very close geographic proximity to each other," thereby justifying their closures?  Could it be that they believe the small churches in Salem County are actually huge, empty "facilities" falling into disrepair?  Have they ever even been to Salem County?  For that matter, has the Bishop?  Is this what they would expect us to believe about Salem County?

Two more Catholics leave Salem County. They walk past former luxury apartments, now in a state of decay and infested by cows...

(By the way, I'm not suggesting that churches in Camden or Atlantic City should close; rather, I am simply pointing out that the justifications for the churches that are closing are completely bogus.)

He told them that Follieri duped him out of $110,000 left to him by his parents. He say the Italian businessman claimed he needed the money to pay nuns.

Hodge met Follieri in 2005, when he was looking into church properties in Atlantic City, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday. The two became close and took three trips to Rome together. Hodge said Follieri bilked him out of $120,000 for plane tickets and other bogus expenses.

Barbera was joined Friday by a host of supportive family members and friends. Some spoke on his behalf, including Formica's Bakery owner Harry Formica and Barbera's pastor, Monsignor William Hodge.

[I]in March 2006, the Secretary of State of the Vatican warned FOLLIERI in writing that FOLLIERI should stop representing that FOLLIERI and his company had ties to the Vatican. FOLLIERI, however, did not stop; even after being warned by the then-Secretary of State of the Vatican to cease and desist making any claims of ties to the Vatican, FOLLIERI told investors and others that he was handling the Vatican's financial affairs Chief Financial Officer of the Vatican.

Officials say claiming close ties to the Vatican, he convinced the unsuspecting investors that he could give them first dibs on flipping Catholic Church properties. He reportedly stole up to $6 million from his investment firm and blew it on a lavish lifestyle that included apartments, vacations, clothes and gifts for Hathaway.

Mr. Follieri was charged in June with paying for a lavish lifestyle with money from a real-estate venture with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. The venture was supposed to capitalize on Mr. Follieri's Vatican ties to redevelop surplus Catholic Church properties. Currently in custody in New York in lieu of a $21 million bail, he could face roughly four to five years in prison under the proposed plea agreement, says a person familiar with the matter.

Mr. Follieri's Vatican ties also allegedly involved money. The federal criminal complaint says between 2005 and 2006, Mr. Follieri sent more than $385,000 of allegedly stolen funds to unnamed Vatican recipients "in order to increase his ties" there.

Again if you were the bishop, and you knew that the average diocesan priest today is 64, and that only 12 men are in all stages of seminary theological training, and that many times that will retire or die by 2015, what would you do? What will the average age be in 2015? By then, the bishop will be forced to do another, even more painful consolidation. Fair-minded people are saying this bishop had the courage to do what two or three previous bishops should have done since they had the same demographics.

 If I were the bishop, I would:

A. Pray daily for the continual conversion of my own heart and mind, the hearts and minds of all entrusted to my care, and for the conversion of all lost sheep fallen away from the Church especially. In this and many, many other ways, I would evangelize.

B. Trust in the Blessed Mother of God, who has never and will never fail her children. I would pray to her for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The vocations are there. (We see them beautifully growing in other diocese, orders, and in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, for example.) God never stops planting them in the hearts of his children. Sometimes they're just buried in muck and not able to grow.

C. I would institute vocational programs and initiatives like other diocese do (look at St. Louis!) to inspire and embolden young men and women to explore, ascertain, and go after their God-given vocations!

D. I would set an example of holiness that inspires those under my care.

E. I would be--personally--extremely accessible. (Again, look at the St. Louis and the example of the walks with the bishop.)

F. The actions of the institutional diocese would be transparent not secretive, honest and not misleading, and the sentiments and concerns of the faithful would not be belittled, but instead taken seriously and answered. An honest man never has anything to hide.

G. I would not take down half the churches in the diocese, whether or not I had ulterior motives, whether or not there was financial incentive, whether or not I preferred McMegachurches, whether or not I felt that small parishes did not have the right to exist, whether or not I had a supposed "priest shortage," whether or not I was involved with con artist Raffaelo Follieri. As bishop I would be well aware that these churches are not mine, but that I am meant to shepherd souls and not manage real estate. As a bishop I would consider it my job to build up the body of Christ, not dismantle and undermine it.

H. I would consider the history of the Church in this country and realize that Catholic priests were basically circuit riders up until very recently, and that traveling two miles down the road or more to the next parish is not a hardship for anyone with a job in the "real world." (Heck, most of us are lucky if our commutes are under an hour. And look at the Byzantine priests! These guys travel back and forth many, many miles.) I would remind my priests that, according to the Holy Pope St. Pius X, that "priest" and "hard work" are synonymous, anyway.

I. I would promote the traditional Latin mass and traditional Catholicism generally because the undiluted Truth is what all young people hunger after.

J. I would promote Eucharistic adoration and, in the diocesan offices, a chapel available for perpetual adoration. In this way I could go to the Eucharistic Lord for guidance in all things, as could all diocesan employees, at anytime. (After all, if Follieri could have a chapel in his office, why not the Diocese of Camden?)

K. I would ensure that all seminary education that seminarians received was solid and in accordance with teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Faith. If they are wanting, I would remove necessary instructors or have them change their content. If necessary I would again do as Pope St. Pius X did and instruct seminarians myself, if necessary. I would not allow any "nonsense" (as a good priest I know often likes to say) to creep into seminary education or parish religious education.

L. I would not send priests away from the diocese if I truly believed there was a shortage.

M. I would not institute a lay-led initiative that would certainly undermine the sacred responsibilities and authority of priests.

N. If I realized that my actions were in error, no matter how far into them I was and no matter how hard it seemed to turn around, I would repent, publicly confess my mistakes, beg Our Lord's forgiveness, and start on the right path immediately. There is never, ever any shame in stopping wrong action in favor of righteous action, so changing course is always an option. Some of the greatest saints in the history of the Church have been repentant sinners, and indeed this is what gives us all hope, right?