Cleary's Notebook/Gloucester City News continues to follow the church closing debacle in their "Part 3" of a three-part series.  Most of the interviews were completed last winter, but not too much has changed since then.  Paula Carlton is an excellent writer and journalist and has done extremely thorough research for all three parts of the article. Thank you, Paula, Gloucester City News, and Cleary's Notebook.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WALTER ZUBRZYCKI

Magnolia

Read the CP letter to the editor here

Here's a letter to the editor from Diocese of Camden spinmaster, Andy Walton. Don't laugh right away, read it first.

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

St. Gregory's:
Andy's talking about the beautiful St. Gregory's (above) in Magnolia. Galante, McGrath, and Walton "care" so much they seem to have sold the property to Wawa. Who do they think they're fooling? We've got pictures of the surveyors sent to us by a concerned reader back last Christmas. Money talks, and to the tune of 10 million dollars, apparently. Empathy my foot. It's prime real estate.


View Larger Map

"Downward trends in religious practice":
As to the misleading demographic information continually touted by Mr. Walton, we've addressed it numerous times. It's lies. Just look here and here and here. All you have to do is look on a map to see where Magnolia is to know that the Catholic population in that area can only be expanding, not decreasing. We're not talking rural Fairton, Cumberland County here or Dennis Township, Cape May County. We're talking close proximity to Philadelphia in a congested, continually expanding area of South Jersey.

The plain fact is that the Catholic population in NJ and in South Jersey in particular is dramatically increasing. In fact the Catholic population in NJ has increased by at least 2.5% since 1990, by roughly 100,000 people. In Gloucester County alone we're looking at a Catholic increase of at least 20% since 1990. The Catholic population is only decreasing in South Jersey's only true urban centers, Camden and Atlantic City, as illustrated below:

                    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

"Reversing Downward Trends":
Do they really care about reversing supposed downward trends or about justifying their own agenda? If all they care about is giving people what they want, they should stop watering down the Faith and desiring to build protestant style megachurches. And if they are truly targeting young adults, as they should, this group wants one of two things, neither of which the Diocese of Camden is offering: (1) an authentic and unapologetic Christianity, or (2) at the very least, clarity and a lack of hypocrisy. This is why you see the most traditional churches and religious orders growing. Alternately those who are leaving the Church are leaving for a protestantism whose Christianity is clear and faith exacting. Others who leave leave the Faith and stay away out of disgust for the likes of people like Walton and others who pretend religion but in reality have nothing but political motives. See these comments on Andy's letter, for example:

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

Case in point. House of "Charity" anyone?

"Feelings of Loss that Accompany Change":
We addressed this patronizing attitude just the other day. So we quote ourselves!

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?

"Heard Personally From Parishioners":
And, apparently, listened to few of them. Go ahead and ask St. Gregory's how "listened to" they're feeling right about now. They got "listened" right into closure.

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

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

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

Charlie164:

We received this email yesterday. In reference to her last paragraph, I personally can attest to the fact that I know of at least three separate orders of priests who have offered to come into our Diocese and have been denied by Bishop Galante. I also know of an order of sisters who would love to come into the Diocese. They are apostolic, not contemplative, but habited and marian. I believe part of what they do is teaching. They would like to live at St. Mary's. If Galante and McGrath had really listened at the Listening Sessions, they would've learned that Catholics want religious and priestly vocations encouraged, but since that doesn't seem to fit in with the Diocesan plans, it is not something they are prioritizing.

It used to be that Catholic elementary schools were financed and controlled by the individual parishes. Parishes would support the churches through collections and parents ran fundraisers. Parishes had great pride in their schools.

Then Bishop Galante came with his plan to control and consolidate the Catholic elementary schools. He wanted the diocese to control them. As a part of his plan, he promised that parents would have more affordable tuition. When his plan took effect, many schools closed, teachers lost their jobs, and tuition nearly doubled. We are reaping the fruits of his plan for Catholic schools and it is foreshadowing of what will happen to the churches if his reconfiguration plan goes through.

Now Catholic high schools are a different story. Some of them are referred to as "diocesan" high schools, but they receive very little money from the diocese. They are largely funded by tuition; that is why they are more expensive than county colleges. However, they will probably continue to thrive for a while because parents are afraid of drugs and violence in some of the public high schools.

In addition, it is also shameful how this diocese is treating our retired sisters. Elderly sisters are discouraged from staying active in their vocations, such as teaching, and they get nothing from the diocese. They aren't even mentioned in the House of Charity appeal.Our bishop doesn't seem interested in promoting vocations in the Church.

This article is part of a multi-part series and will continue over the next couple weeks.

#1-3, the Theologically Obvious Reasons

1. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 28:19 The biblical commentary that follows the Great Commission is this:

"All power"... See here the warrant and commission of the apostles and their successors, the bishops and pastors of Christ's church. He received from his Father all power in heaven and in earth: and in virtue of this power, he sends them (even as his Father sent him, St. John 20. 21) to teach and disciple, not one, but all nations; and instruct them in all truths: and that he may assist them effectually in the execution of this commission, he promises to be with them, not for three or four hundred years only, but all days, even to the consummation of the world. How then could the Catholic Church ever go astray; having always with her pastors, as is here promised, Christ himself, who is the way, the truth, and the life. St. John 14.

In destroying parishes, which are active communities of the baptized faithful, erected for the permanent* and proper worship of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the priests and bishops that help to suppress them are in effect doing the opposite of what is outlined by Our Lord in the Gospels.

* According to the Council of Trent, consecrated churches "it may never be transferred to common or profane uses." (All parish churches should be solemnly consecrated.)

2. As believers in Christ Crucified, we shall not succumb to the sin of despair, one of the greatest sins against Almighty God. In closing down and consolidating churches, we are in effect saying that there is no hope that souls can be saved in the future, no hope in the promise of evangelization, no hope that the Church will increase. We will have said that God is no longer the supplier of hope to His people! As Bishop Galante famously said, we cannot sit around and wait for a miracle. Well we definitely cannot just sit around. But miracles are What God Does! Miracles are God's Business. If He saves one soul in all the souls He ever created, it is a miracle. If after His Son's gift of the Eucharist (a miracle), His subsequent death and resurrection (The Single Greatest Miracle of All Time), He gave us just one saint, one visitation from His Holy Mother, it would be a miracle. He has given us countless miracles. We must not despair that, with our help and the help of even a few priests on fire for the Lord, the Church cannot grow. The growth of the Church is, in fact, the Promise of God.

3. Instead of catechizing, being true preachers zealous in evangelizing God's Word, they have decided to tuck their tails between their legs and sulk away, citing [inaccurate] demographical data and not the Gospel They've chosen to give up and pack it in. But is that what Christ told us to do. NO! In all three Synoptic Gospels it is written, "And whosoever will not receive you, when ye go out of that city, shake off even the dust of your feet, for a testimony against them." In other words, keep on going!

Contrast this with what was written in this week's Star Herald. The Star Herald reprinted the CNS article, "Reconfigurations evolve in rapidly changing church." Bishop Lennon, the Merge Master of the Cleveland Diocese and elsewhere, says, "It's not just about downsizing...that's just a partial view of what we are about." Doesn't it make you wonder...has this Bishop Lennon read Christ's words? Our Lord did not say, "Go therefore, and downsize, should the demographic data appear to warrant that."

Click Here To Read Entire Article

Excellent work by Ms. Carlton. We eagerly anticipate Part 2. Just a snippet is below:

Part 1 of a Series: The Merging & Closing of Camden Diocese's Parishes

By Paula H. Carlton

 

It is a frenetic time for United States Catholics.

The Diocese of New York is preparing to usher in a new cardinal, and the Diocese of Boston and others nationwide are trying to handle the ongoing fallout from the priest sexual abuse scandal.

Closer to home, the protracted battle between the Diocese of Camden and several of its parishes threatened with mergers or closures continues in an increasingly steadfast man-ner.

So far, the reconfiguration of Gloucester City-area churches appears to be rolling along steadily and smoothly.

If a movie, it might be called All Quiet on the Western Camden Front.

But, outside Gloucester City, it is more like Too Quiet on the Western Front.

...

The article covers churches in the Gloucester City area, then goes on to cover efforts by Save St. Mary's, Friends of St. Vincent Pallotti, and Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey.

 

Bishop Joseph Galante, and many of the conveners and pastors of the Diocese of Camden are making promises to unsuspecting parishioners about keeping their churches open after  a merger takes place as a "worship site."  This simply is unrealistic.  It is a tool used by the diocese to disarm any parishioner resistance to a church merger.  The day after the merger takes place, or any time thereafter, the new pastor, under a directive from the bishop has the authority to close and sell off any church or church property from the newly created parish.  When the merger takes place, the existing parish corporation is dissolved and the canonical parish is suppressed.  It permanently loses all juridic and legal rights!  It's trustees, parish council, ministries, etc. are gone.  There is no going back! 

Don't be fooled by the promises that you'll be a "worship site."  The ultimate goal of this reconfiguration is to support 5-6 full-time paid professional lay "ministers" per parish.  This will cost at least an additional $200,000 per parish per year.  Ask yourself honestly - where will this money come from if all or most of the churches in the newly merged parish remain open as "worship sites"?  The simple answer is that the new parish is doomed to financial failure before it has even been established, and this failure will result in the "need" to close your church within a few months or years after the merger.  Tell the bishop, your pastor, parish trustees and parish council that your parish is not interested in a merger.  Please contact the Council of Parishes (Kevin: 856-694-2748 or info@savestmarys.net) if you have questions or if you would like to arrange for speakers to visit your parishioners to talk about the canonical and legal implications and dangers of a parish merger.

Since the Bishop's reconfiguration announcement, I have often wondered why so few parishes have really fought against their pending mergers. I think at least part of the reason is because people do not really understand the degree of harm these mergers will have on the faith of many parishioners. At St. Mary's, we know from our own experience and that contributes, at least in part, to the reason we will never stop fighting to keep our parish open.

St. Mary's history has not always been a pretty one, but it's important to share because it illustrates the magnitude of the impact of this type of "reconfiguration" on the salvation of souls. The information below is not intended as a criticism of the former pastors of St. Mary's, but simply to illustrate this point.

From its establishment as a mission in 1922 until it became a parish in 1961, St. Mary's did not have a resident pastor. A rectory was built when the parish was established and from that point on we have had a resident pastor.

One of our first resident pastors was a very personable German priest, who the parishioners loved very much. The only criticism that I've ever heard about him was that he drank a lot, and this did become a big problem. He installed a full bar in the basement of the rectory and, on weekends, he would go down to the docks in Camden or Philadelphia and bring groups of German sailors back to the rectory for rowdy parties. A friend of mine (and distant cousin) who grew up next door to the church remembers waking up on Saturday mornings to the sight of these sailors passed out on her front lawn. Large sums of money were taken from the St. Mary's bank account to pay for the alcohol and parties. At one point, one of the trustees took the checkbook from the pastor, but he apparently had another checkbook hidden somewhere and continued to spend the parish's money on alcohol.

I've heard stories of him being so drunk at parish functions that he could not even walk, but would have to crawl around on his hands and knees. The final straw, from what I'm told (this all happened before I was born), was when he was so drunk during some important, solemn Mass that he fell over backwards while saying Mass. At that point, a few parishioners complained to the Bishop.
 
The Bishop removed this German priest, and sent in an Irish priest to take his place as pastor. This new priest quickly alienated the entire parish. He made remarks from the pulpit that he "wasn't used to dealing with ignorant farmers," and that he was too educated to associate with the people of Malaga, because only two of St. Mary's parishioners had college degrees at that time.
 
He immediately disbanded all parish organizations, which included a very active St. Theresa's Society, Holy Name Society, and Knights of Columbus. In their place he allowed only the Legion of Mary (an organization of Irish origin). He seemed to dislike Italians, which would have included most St. Mary's parishioners at the time, and all things Italian. He began giving away (or at least trying to give away) the religious items of the church (including the tabernacle), most of which had been donated by parishioners, and replacing them with used items from inner-city Irish churches.
 
People believed he had been sent to St. Mary's by the Chancery as a punishment for having complained about the previous pastor, which everyone thoroughly regretted having done at that point. Everything came to a head when the reforms of Vatican II were implemented and the altar was relocated. This pastor wanted to cut a foot off the width of the marble altar, which the St. Theresa Society had purchased from Italy for more than $5,000 just a few years earlier, so that it would be easier for him to move around behind it. Parishioners sought help from the Bishop, but were told that they were attacking the church and that they were anti-Catholic, etc.  (Basically, the same lines we are hearing today.) Receiving no help from the Bishop and unable to reason with the pastor, one of the women from the St. Theresa Society finally just made the pastor an offer he couldn't refuse.
 
From that point on, he generally backed off, but the damage was already largely done. Disillusioned and feeling betrayed by this pastor, some parishioners left the Catholic Church altogether. Many others remained Catholic, but just quit going to church. Most of these have still not returned - this type of wound does not heal quickly or easily. In fact, the Treasurer of the St. Theresa Society, after it was disbanded, waited for approximately twenty-five years (until this pastor finally retired) before turning the Society's funds over to the church.
 
During the course of those twenty-five or so years, this pastor actually became very fond of St. Mary's and its parishioners. When he finally retired, he bought a house just a few streets down from the church. I remember back in 1997 or 1998, several years after he had retired as pastor of St. Mary's and shortly before his death, this pastor came back to say a Mass, during which he apologized for "nearly destroying the parish." At the end of the Mass, he knelt in the middle of the doorway and everyone had to touch his head on the way out of church as a sign of forgiveness. It was kind of weird, but I think it was good that he at least understood and tried to make amends for the damage he had done to St. Mary's and its parishioners.
 
The shame of the situation is that this pastor had driven so many people from the Church in the process of trying to "improve" the parish and implement his "vision" of what the parish should be. Yet even the scandal of his alcoholic predecessor did not cause anywhere near the amount of harm that he did by trying to improve the parish. Ironically, he is considered to have been a great priest by many people (mostly outside of St. Mary's) for really developing the Legion of Mary within the Diocese of Camden. While I have a great deal of respect for the Legion of Mary, this positive work that he did could easily have been accomplished without doing so much damage to the parish of St. Mary's.

I feel the same way about the Bishop's plan today. Many things can be done to "improve" the vibrancy of parish life without destroying parishes. If people lost their faith (at least in the Catholic Church hierarchy, if not altogether) because of the betrayal and marginalization felt when their religious organizations were needlessly suppressed and their religious items, donated by parishioners, were needlessly discarded, how much more so will it be when the parish itself is suppressed and the church itself is needlessly sold off. The previous blog post is just one example of how the faith of parishioners is being affected already.

The worst part is, for parishes like St. Mary's, which have already suffered at the hands of the hierarchy, closing the parish and church will just be the final nail in the coffin for so many of those who already left. The last attachment they have to the Church will be taken from them. No choir, however beautifully they sing, and no ministry, however convenient or useful, will fill that hole. Bishop Galante doesn't have twenty-five years to realize the harm he is doing - he won't have the opportunity to kneel in the back of the churches and ask forgiveness.

Despite St. Mary's difficulties over the years, however, we have persevered. No matter the challenges presented by pastors, obstacles imposed by bishops past and present, or even lack of parishioners' material wealth, St. Mary's remains. In fact, our willingness to fight for our parish, for our Diocese, and for our Faith epitomizes the difference between a weak parish and a strong parish.

My brethren, count it all joy, when you shall encounter various trials, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh endurance (James 1:3).

It has been a blessing to be strengthened by these tests of faith over the years:

Every one shall help his neighbor, and shall say to his brother: Be of good courage. The coppersmith striking with the hammer encouraged him that forged at that time, saying: It is ready for soldering: and he strengthened it with nails, that it should not be moved....Thou art my servant, I have chosen thee, and have not cast thee away. Fear not, for I am with thee: turn not aside, for I am thy God: I have strengthened thee, and have helped thee, and the right hand of my just one hath upheld thee. (Isais 41:6-10)

It is our belief that this most recent struggle is merely another chapter in the history of St. Mary's. In all of life's struggles we are blessed by God, and we offer our efforts to Christ Crucified, His Majesty, who is our Master. We certainly will not give up now. So we fight 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.

In the wake of the Diocese of Scranton's recent "reconfiguration" announcement, which will result in the closure of roughly half of the diocese's churches, a new group has organized.  According to the local newspaper, the Times Reader, on February 4th, Noreen Foti announced:

"We are here today to announce the formation of the Council of Parishes of the Diocese of Scranton to coordinate our efforts to stop these unprecedented closings."

Click here to read the entire article.

We, as part of the Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey, stand in solidarity with this newly formed group in their fight to preserve their churches.  Peter Borre, from Boston, has helped this group organize, as he has also helped groups in New York, New Orleans, Allentown, Camden (our own Council of Parishes) and others.  And so the battle continues....

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:

 

"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.

I just got off the phone with one of our COP members from Assumption, Wildwood Crest, who gave me an update on what's been going on there.  If their convener, Fr. Michael Field, had any misconceptions about how Assumption felt about him or the merger, I think they are now cleared up. 

Fr. Field presided over one of Assumption's Masses this past weekend. During Mass, Fr. Field decided to go a little charismatic and asked the congregation to raise their hands and pray over their core team.  The parishioners collectively and entirely chose not to participate in this stage production.  The meet and greet afterward gave an equally powerful message, with approximately five parishioners from Assumption attending.  Assumption is a pretty big church - they have 1,350 notarized signatures for their canon law appeal (including signatures of all four members of their core team).  This is a very clear statement about Assumption's opinion of the merger and of their convener, whom they have asked to resign from that position for several reasons that I won't get into here. 

Of course, Fr. Field may not be spending as much time down the shore as he'd like to in the near future because his own parishioners at Queen of Heaven in Cherry Hill are also getting organized to fight their merger.  This is thanks in part to the complete arrogance and rudeness of their own priest convener, Fr. Tom Newton.  The story, as I'm told, is that Fr. Tom went into a Knights of Columbus meeting and stated that Queen of Heaven would be closing in May, the church would immediately be sold to the highest bidder and there would be no Knights of Columbus in the new parish.  Queen of Heaven will be meeting with the Council of Parishes next week to begin organizing on a parishwide level to fight the merger of their parish.  

To both Assumption and Queen of Heaven (and all other parishes opposed to this reconfiguration), know that we at St. Mary's stand behind you and will support you in whatever ways we can.  Keep fighting the good fight!   

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...

Compare this to the way Camden and Atlantic City fared in the reconfiguration process.  Camden began the parish reconfiguration process with nine parishes and nine churches.  After the reconfiguration, Camden will have six parishes and eight churches.  So there will be a 33% reduction in parishes (compared to 46% throughout the diocese and 83% in Salem County) and an 11% reduction in churches (compared to 22% throughout the diocese and 50% in Salem County).  Wow - those consultants must have concluded that Camden has NOT suffered from shifting demographics, while the rest of the diocese has.

 

Similarly, Atlantic City started the process with five parishes and five churches.  Oddly, Bishop actually lists a sixth parish, Holy Spirit, saying he intends to "merge Our Lady Star of the Sea (Atlantic City) and Holy Spirit (Atlantic City) at Our Lady Star of the Sea."  But since Holy Spirit Parish does not actually exist, I am not going to count it.  After the reconfiguration, Atlantic City will have, stunningly, five parishes and five churches, a 0% reduction in each.  Is Atlantic City a model of Catholic vibrancy or what?  Who are these consultants?  Follieri and company?  Someone else as equally "qualified?"   

 

Apparently they must have concluded that the plight of urban decay, with Catholics fleeing rust belt cities, has affected areas of the diocese like Waterford, Blue Anchor, and Malaga.  Have they ever heard of the Pine Barrens, Pineys, the Jersey Devil?  Have they ever seen a cranberry bog?  But, perhaps most distressing of all is that they seem to believe that ALL Catholics have left the apparent aging metropolis of Deptford Township, as evidenced by the fact that after the reconfiguration it will have zero Catholic churches.  That's right - no Catholic presence in Deptford. 

You gotta love consultants (no offense intended Bob).  It seems that the area that more than quadrupled in size (Deptford) will lose all of its parishes and churches.  The area that had steady growth (Salem County) will lose the majority of its parishes and churches and the two areas (Camden and AC) which lost more than 1/3 of their population will be almost completely unaffected.  Oops - guess it must have been "backwards day" at the Chancery when this plan was hatched! 

(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.)

Sent to savestmary's from J:

In sad news, the Diocese goes to settlement on St. Bridget's School in Glassboro on Thursday. (That happened awfully quickly, didn't it?!)

From Kate, submitted today:
We, the parents at St. Bridget's, have for a long time wanted to expand to have a multipurpose room where students could gather for gym, lunch, and other activities. We explored several options and due to the very limited space on our property, could not expand.
 
Although a painful experience, the decision to recommend merging with St. Catherine's presented the opportunity to have a larger school campus in a neighborhood where police are not conducting drug raids two doors down from the school on Lake St and netting an AK47 and ammunition for their troubles. (See Glassboro crime log from Summer 2007)
 
The school is right smack in the middle of the Rowan Blvd/ Glassboro Redevelopment project. (Google Rowan Blvd) Not only is the construction itself an ugly, unsafe mess, but having a hotel or strip of stores and college apartments next to our school probably wasn't the best thing for our kids either.
 
Fr. Mazz made us a promise that if we moved to another location he would use the profits from the sale of the school building for two things: to pay off St Bridget's parish debt (which he had worked to lower since coming to St B's) and to give the balance of the money to the 'new' school (now called St Michael the Archangel) for classroom space and improvements to the property. Hopefully we didn't "miss the boat" on the sale of the property. If we had sold last summer before the housing bust, we would have gotten a cool $2.5 million easily due to the greedy developers who want in on the Glassboro redevelopment.
 
Again, although painful to leave St Bridget's, the school merger has been good for both school communities. St Catherine's got enough students to keep their school open. St Bridget's got a gymnasium and hot lunch program. Through the excellent leadership of Ms Jan Bruni and Sr Janice Novak a strong St Michael's family is developing, we now have a middle school electives program we didn't have before. And being double-graded brings other social and psycholohical benefits to students who otherwise would have spents 9 years of their education with only the same 15 - 30 people, thereby limiting their experiences during the bulk of their waking hours each school year.
 
I still hum our school song- St Bridget watch and guide us, bring your wisdom here. St Michael protect and defend us. (He already is- we will keep our church, our convener is already the pastor.)


Response:
Indeed the area nearby Rowan is a complete mess. We certainly hope that the new school is everything it should be, and that the money indeed goes where it is supposed to. We've requested that any follow-up information be sent to us, along with photos and updates. We welcome information from throughout the diocese on any school or parish changes, closures, "reconfigurations," etc.


A Total Aside...
In somewhat related news, I was listening to an NPR piece today about Catholic schools in the Archdiocese of Washington D.C. who have given up altogether and decided to "go public" as "charter schools." It was sad to hear how, in the piece, they were taking down crucifixes, images of saints, and an altar at St. Cyprian's School. I will see if I can find that piece for you online, perhaps tomorrow, since it's very late right now. It was on All Things Considered this afternoon, if you'd like to look for yourself and listen online.

The diocesan argument was, of course, a financial one for all the schools making the switch, but being in the midst of a similar situation that involves nothing but one lie after the next, it's hard to know what's really going on down there in D.C. and what was really in their books. Sadly, you just can't take anything at face value. If it really was that financially dire, how'd it get that way?

Anyway, the archdiocese reported that it costs them something like $7500 per student and that the diocese can only realistically charge parents, on average, around $4500, therefore subsidizing $3000 per pupil. However, I personally find it appalling that other alternatives were not explored before closing these schools altogether. I find it really difficult to believe that parents in one of the most financially strained states in the country, Michigan, can successfully open and maintain their own Catholic Catholic school that is reasonably priced and cooperatively run, and yet diocese with all the bureaucratic advantages--bequests, staff, consultants, grants, etc.--cannot figure it out.

On the other hand, I am well aware that many Catholic schools are Catholic in name only. My own high school I did not find to be overly "Catholic" even at the time, and I was coming right out of nine years of public school so you'd think there would've been some amount of culture shock. The only real culture shock I recall was lack of resources. That was 18 years ago, too. I wonder, though, if diocese shouldn't be looking to different types of radical change, like how to get back to the roots of the true essentials in Catholic education, and perhaps shifting to a cooperative model, if possible? I'm sure that there are all kinds of options out there if one prays enough and thinks creatively. But who knows.

In any case, I took the long way around to say that the closing of any Catholic school for any reason is pretty sad news since we know that the alternative for most kids is public school, which is not to say there isn't something to be said about that. I happened to love public school when I was a kid, but that was a long time ago and things have changed over the past 20+ years, and not all for the better. Ideally, as Catholics, we ought to want our kids' educations to be utterly penetrated with the things of God and the teachings of Holy Mother Church. Sometimes we homeschoolers are able to do this, but it costs quite a lot for a parent to forsake career in order to school her children in an age when two incomes is practically a necessity. At one time in America's not-so-distant past, Catholic schools did this and were affordable for normal families. How sad that our Catholic school standards have shifted to such a degree that even Catholic school education is all too often, well, far from it, and ridiculously priced too.

Our thanks is due to all the good teachers who ever taught at St. Bridget's Glassboro and at all schools everywhere. We owe them a lot, don't we? Lord knows, they don't do it for the money or the fame. (Now my sis and I are both teachers. So was our mom and our mom's mom, both of whom went to Glassboro State College/Glassboro Normal School.)


Another Total Aside, But That Never Stopped Me Before...
A long overdue thanks to some of my teachers, the people responsible for feeding my love of learning and perhaps partly responsible for my insanity (just kidding). I encourage you to look up your former teachers and thank them, if possible.

• Fr. Lyons, who I saw last week, English, Journalism, Mythology, 10th & 11th
  
• Mr. Galliger, English, 9th
  
• Mr. Day, History, 7th
  
• Mr. Phillips, 3rd Grade
• Mr. Rogers, Gym, Cross Country, Track, Gymnastics, & How to be a Good & Decent Human, 4th-8th and beyond
  
• Mrs. Benevento, Sprint, 4th-8th & summer
  
• Mr. Harrison, 5th Grade
• Mrs. Foster, Sprint, 3rd Grade
  
• Mrs. McGarrity, 2nd Grade
• Miss Hansen, 4th Grade, may she rest in peace
• Wacky Mr. Finnerty, Science (and of course, county politics...), the only person I've ever known to drink Drano regularly and also don an ugly green tux just to keep us interested, 6th & 8th
  
• Mrs. Schaffer, Home Ec, simply the best, 6th-8th
  
• Sr. Regina, Religion, "Stay close to Jesus," may she rest in peace, 10th
  
• Mrs. West & Mrs. Gilchrist, Art (K-3, 4-8 & summer)
  
• Miss Berrell/Mrs. Stein, Music (K-3 & 4-8)
  
• Mr. Lewis, my gymnastics coach
• Sr. Rita Francis, CCD & Bible School (VBS), K-8
  
• Mr. Leek, Shop, 6th-8th
  
• The famous "Deborah J," English, who definitely kept me entertained, 12th
• Mrs. Taylor, Mrs. Kingsley, & Mrs. Bingham, Nursery School
• My grandmother, Laura P. DeMarchi, and grandfather, Jacob DeMarchi, may they rest in peace
  
• And of course my mommy, Doris, my #1 teacher, may she rest in peace. I owe you everything.
  

Regarding this article, the following comment was left on the Courier Post website. Interestingly, the Courier Post seemed to change the address of the St. Bart's article after having originally posted it. This is something we've not seen here before at savestmarys since we obviously link to all relevant CP articles. But we were alerted by faithful readers of the site and immediately linked to the new location of the article.

In addition to this, it appears that the CP removed about 23 comments that had been left on the St. Bart's article. It's abundantly clear to many of us that there are "connections" of some kind between the CP and the Diocese of Camden's chancery office. (Thank goodness Kim Mulford wrote a balanced and thought-provoking piece regarding St. Bart's. Jim Walsh of the CP, however, seems to write nothing but pro-Diocesan puff pieces. Really makes you wonder about what goes on up there at the Courier Post, doesn't it?) All this prompted a persistent reader to say:

EAGLEMOM wrote:

Since my Sunday comments were removed, I once again give the link to the AC Press article that listed the real estate values (according to tax records) of the churches scheduled to close

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/185/story/231543.HTML

At the onset of these reconfigurations, we were told we would have a "priest shortage" in the next 5 or so years.

Methinks the Bishop's office speaks out of both sides of their collective mouths.

And "Harmony", I think you are from the Bishop's office who, for whatever reasons, was able to kill all the comments from Sunday,

What's the matter??? Can't stand the truth??? Time you all realize we no longer "pray, pay and obey"

These are the parishes we built with OUR money and give of OUR time to sustain them. YOU will never take them away from us!

(As is often the case, this information was given to savestmarys.net by regular readers through the tipline. Wow, you guys really do catch everything!)

This letter serves as a reminder of the practically non-existent level of approval for the church "reconfiguration" plan of Bishop Galante.

Read it here.

This letter was submitted to savestmarys from Robert Walsh of the Council of Parishes. He requested we put it up on the website for public perusal. We've had this letter for awhile now but we're just getting around to putting it up now, so my apologies.

Comments about the letter:

What is not said is just as important as what is. While reading, notice that nowhere within the letter does Bishop Galante mention Meitler Consultants (the consultants of doom), nor does he mention that our Lady of Lourdes has tremendous debt and OLQP tremendous assets. Bishop Galante also takes a passive tone ("I accepted the merger recommendation of the deanery planners"), attempting to distance himself from the foregone conclusion and pass the buck for the decision to the laity and his Presbyteral Council, almost as if he himself was a disinterested witness.

Additionally, he attempts to paint the decision as one of pastoral care, which I don't think anybody really buys with regard to any church. He also does not mention that canonically, a "worship site" is not protected in the same way as a "parish," a fact he well knows what with his background in Canon Law.

Bishop Galante brings up the ridiculous Speak Up Sessions yet again, failing to mention that a virtually identical "process" has been used in many other diocese around the country, all with dire consequences. For your entertainment, we have italicized each use of the word "process" or like phrases within the letter. Why? Anytime you feel the need to emphasize the fluid and open nature of such a thing as a "process" it is very clear that no one in fact believes that there really was a true and open "process." Be assured that if, for research purposes, actual polls or votes had been taken which involved all Catholics in the Diocese of Camden, the choice to close or merge parishes would have been overwhelmingly and resoundingly denied.

In the second to last paragraph he again emphasizes pastoral care as the motivation for his desire to deny foreign priests to the diocese. Yet Bishop Galante fails to mention his lay-led ministry program that would effectively undermine various priestly functions and relegate them to the realm of the paid laity; he fails to mention his intention to bring in priests from the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, known to be very liberal; and he fails to mention the trickle of diocesan priests who he has assigned and continues to assign outside the diocese, arguably creating a priest shortage.

By the way, though the letter was dated June 10th, it was not postmarked until June 13th. Last we heard, Mr. Walsh has written somewhere around 27 letters to the bishop thus far.

June 10, 2008

Dear Mr. Walsh:

I write in response to your April 23, 2008 and June 3, 2008 letters in which you seek clarification regarding the status of the announcement of my intention to merge Our Lady Queen of Peace with Our Lady of Lourdes, as well as your request that I reconsider the announced merger.

As you are aware, on April 3, 2008 I announced to the people of the Diocese of Camden my intentions for the reconfiguration of the parishes of the Diocese. The announced reconfiguration grew out of almost three years of extensive consultation, study and review under the guidance of the Vicars Forane.

Deanery planners overwhelmingly recommended that Our Lady Queen of Peace should merge with Our Lady of Lourdes. This deanery recommendation was reviewed by the Diocesan Planning Commission and was the subject of a canonical consultation with the Presbyteral Council. Following the process that was established for this purpose, I accepted the merger recommendation of deanery planners in order to improve pastoral care to the people of this area of the diocese, to strengthen parish life and to create greater opportunities for the parish to advance the pastoral priorities identified by parishioners at Speak Up sessions. I also stressed in my April 3 announcement that Our Lady Queen of Peace would remain as a worship site for liturgy.

Further, as I explained on April 3, these are my intentions for reconfiguration, but there must be preparation time, perhaps 12-24 months, before mergers are formally promulgated with a decree establishing the new parish.

Last September, while the planning process was still underway, the "Alternate Options Committee" sent me a proposal for Our Lady Queen of Peace to remain as presently configured. While I appreciate your concern for the parish and the time you and the Committee spent preparing the proposal, it would have been inappropriate at that time for me to formally respond to your proposal, as it would have compromised and circumvented the clearly defined process that had already been established to evaluate such matters. However, I did speak personally with you at a fall meeting where I acknowledged your correspondence and spoke to you directly about certain aspects of the proposal.

As I indicated when we spoke last fall, your proposal to invite the Priestly Congregation of Carmelites of Mary Immaculate to serve Our Lady Queen of Peace fails to address the key motivation for parish reconfiguration. While certainly we must plan for the reduced number of priests that will be available to the diocese in the future, planning is being driven primarily by the need to improve pastoral care to the people of the diocese, to expand the range of ministries and services that will benefit the people of the diocese, to respond to the needs that they themselves have indicated must be priorities for this diocese, and to serve the common good of the diocese.

While I do not believe the proposal responds to the particular concerns that make parish reconfiguration necessary at this time, I assure you that I have reviewed your proposal carefully, as well as the background information you have provided regarding your parish, its history, and the activities and ministries now provided by the parish and its parishioners. In addition, since I already have obtained a wide range of input regarding the configuration involving Our Lady Queen of Peace, both before and after the April 3 announcement, I do not believe that it is necessary, as per the request of your June 3, 2008 letter, to schedule a meeting to further discuss the proposal.

I thank you again for taking the time to share your concerns and proposals in such a detailed and constructive manner.

May God continue to guide you and bless you.

Fraternally,
Most Reverend Joseph A. Galante, D.D., J.C.D.
Bishop of Camden

True Motivation of the Merger Process:
It's Financial
by An Anonymous Contributor
(hey, if the Catholic Star Herald can have anonymous writers, so
can we!)

The Catholic Star Herald recently published the following Q&A on
its webpage further explaining the merger process as Galante
would have it happen. 

Read it here. 

What the answer fails to include, however, is that the Bishop
is ordering these "Priest Conveners," as their very first
duty upon appointment, to take an ENTIRE INVENTORY OF THE
PARISH. He's apparently concerned with preventing theft.
(Seriously, this is the exact reason he provides for ordering
these inventories!) This is ironic since he keeps saying the
mergers are about "vibrancy," but his very first directive
with respect to the mergers is clearly MATERIAL in nature.

As if we're too simple to see past his patronizing one-
dimensional answers, Galante has brushed aside our concerns by
explaining that parish assets don't belong to the diocese. Well
if it's not his plan to have his new parish priests sell all
the assets and funnel the $$$ back to the diocese to create the
ultimate legacy (of his ego), then why is he so concerned with
trying to protect his (OUR!) possessions from theft by the
faithful? Which concern is, in itself, so telling about his
notions of spirituality!

__________________________________________________________

6/22 Editorial Note:
Although it may be true that Canon law makes necessary the
inventory of all material goods of a parish, the point of the
above writer is well-taken. The material aspect of this
"reconfiguration" is over-emphasized.

On multiple occasions the bishop has spoken about the assets
of particular parishes and emphasized his role as being over
the entire diocese. A parish with significant funds and/or
property will eventually be "merged" with another parish that
does not. After that time, the first parish will cease to exist
as an entity, but because it was "merged" rather than suppressed,
the money is still usable.

In other words, it is clear that assets of parishes not in
arrears will be used (at least in part) to "bail out" parishes
that are. Take for example the case of Our Lady Queen of Peace
in Pitman and Our Lady of Lourdes. Bishop Galante wishes to 
merge these two churches. The former parish has significant
assets, the latter is in debt. While the bishop may be
concerned about theft from the diocese on some level, what's
really going on is pure and simple theft from parishes by the
diocese. The bishop wishes to legitimately seize
assets from parishes for the benefit of the diocese. If the
church doesn't have cash assets, they may be strategically
located on potentially valuable real estate. I can think of
many such parishes off the top of my head. In the end, who knows
what will really happen to these funds.

Further we see multiple rationales given for the
"reconfiguration"--an eventual priest shortage,
demographic shifts [evidence please ???], lack of funds, and a
need for slick, paid "ministries," the need to strengthen or
"revitalize" the diocese, whatever happens to be the
"rationale du jour. Financial difficulties are often on
the list. The bishop and Msgr. McGrath still are able to dig deep
and find--without apparent problem--five MILLION dollars to buy
land for a new high school that will cost tens of millions of
dollars.

Meanwhile, he shutters our beloved churches and schools 
and ups the "Appeal" goals for most parishes to astronomical levels.
He makes demeaning comments in a television interview quipping
that parents want a "quality" education for their children, 
clearly implying that the schools he chose to close did not
provide "quality" educations. Those poor teachers must feel
horrible to receive such a put-down for their years of service.
But to Galante, the more money you can throw at a school or parish,
the better the "quality."

The point? Money's a huge motivator. Unfortunately that old
saying my dad used to quote all the time still holds true:
"Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." It's
such a shame that this is happening in the Church Christ founded.
No, in fact, it's embarrasing.