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Our favorite of what we heard Bishop Martino say:
Later on in the video, in response to a question posed by a journalist, he makes sure to comment about how he "did the right thing" and that his "conscience is clear." What struck us as odd about the "my conscience is clear" comment is that if your conscience is clear, would you feel the need to say it? It was clear from his body language that he is not at all certain that his conscience is clear. His demeanor was very awkward, jittery, nervous, and he appears very obviously insincere throughout the video (in contrast to Cardinal Rigali, who's able to pull off sincerity pretty well, in our opinion).
Bishop Martino also mentioned that he doesn't know many retired bishops who sit around looking out the window all day, but they are often called on to do any number of things, often under other bishops. Clearly he expects to be at work behind the scenes somewhere, perhaps causing similar damage but without having to be the public face of it.
Overall it was our estimation that Bishop Martino came off as a career-minded politician nervous because of some sort of scandal and glad to be finally off the hook. Whether he actually has something to hide beyond what is currently in the public view remains to be seen, but he conceded that in the eyes of many his tenure might be seen as a "failure" due to his lack of "success," but that he tried his best to make the diocese "lean." In reference to his massive "lean" and mean church closure program, the bishop smirked in a wholly inappropriate way. Closing churches is nothing to smirk about. It is not funny, nor is it cute to make the analogy that the Diocese of Scranton needed to go on a diet. These sorts of comments are typically reserved for CEOs in corporate America. Frankly, had it not been for his dark suit with roman collar and his requesite and incidental religious references, you woudn't know he was a bishop at all. (See also his photo in streetclothes. Hey, at least he's not in shorts and a polo shirt.)
In any case, Bishop Martino's stepping down due to insomnia? Ummm, we just don't buy it. With greater excuses than that I could've dropped the kids off at the orphanage any number of times and retired from being a mother. Martino's nowhere near retirement age and admits to being in good health overall. Bishop Galante, on the other hand, actually has legitimate health issues (aside from insomnia), so a resignation from the Bishop of the Camden Diocese due to health difficulties would not be unreasonable. So what's really going on with Bishop Martino? One wonders what was said in his meeting with the Holy Pontiff.
Whatever the real cause of Bishop Martino's stepping down, it's too bad for the people of the Diocese of Scranton that the damage is already done. We have word from contacts in the Diocese of Scranton that Martino's left the place a shambles.
Please be sure and see Scranton's two websites on the issue: The Catholic Watchdog and also Leave No Catholic Student Behind. The former has particularly good coverage of the Scranton church closings.
Our favorite of what we heard Bishop Martino say:
For some time now there has not been a clear consensus among the clergy and people of the Diocese of Scranton regarding my pastoral initiatives or my way of governance. This development has caused me great sorrow, resulting in bouts of insomnia and at times a crippling physical fatigue.In other words, there has been large scale disapproval of his church and school closure plans. There has been so much outcry, apparently, that the stress has gotten to him. And while the stress is visible in Bishop Martino's physical presentation, it doesn't appear the entire situation is being revealed here.
Later on in the video, in response to a question posed by a journalist, he makes sure to comment about how he "did the right thing" and that his "conscience is clear." What struck us as odd about the "my conscience is clear" comment is that if your conscience is clear, would you feel the need to say it? It was clear from his body language that he is not at all certain that his conscience is clear. His demeanor was very awkward, jittery, nervous, and he appears very obviously insincere throughout the video (in contrast to Cardinal Rigali, who's able to pull off sincerity pretty well, in our opinion).
Bishop Martino also mentioned that he doesn't know many retired bishops who sit around looking out the window all day, but they are often called on to do any number of things, often under other bishops. Clearly he expects to be at work behind the scenes somewhere, perhaps causing similar damage but without having to be the public face of it.
Overall it was our estimation that Bishop Martino came off as a career-minded politician nervous because of some sort of scandal and glad to be finally off the hook. Whether he actually has something to hide beyond what is currently in the public view remains to be seen, but he conceded that in the eyes of many his tenure might be seen as a "failure" due to his lack of "success," but that he tried his best to make the diocese "lean." In reference to his massive "lean" and mean church closure program, the bishop smirked in a wholly inappropriate way. Closing churches is nothing to smirk about. It is not funny, nor is it cute to make the analogy that the Diocese of Scranton needed to go on a diet. These sorts of comments are typically reserved for CEOs in corporate America. Frankly, had it not been for his dark suit with roman collar and his requesite and incidental religious references, you woudn't know he was a bishop at all. (See also his photo in streetclothes. Hey, at least he's not in shorts and a polo shirt.)
In any case, Bishop Martino's stepping down due to insomnia? Ummm, we just don't buy it. With greater excuses than that I could've dropped the kids off at the orphanage any number of times and retired from being a mother. Martino's nowhere near retirement age and admits to being in good health overall. Bishop Galante, on the other hand, actually has legitimate health issues (aside from insomnia), so a resignation from the Bishop of the Camden Diocese due to health difficulties would not be unreasonable. So what's really going on with Bishop Martino? One wonders what was said in his meeting with the Holy Pontiff.
Whatever the real cause of Bishop Martino's stepping down, it's too bad for the people of the Diocese of Scranton that the damage is already done. We have word from contacts in the Diocese of Scranton that Martino's left the place a shambles.
Please be sure and see Scranton's two websites on the issue: The Catholic Watchdog and also Leave No Catholic Student Behind. The former has particularly good coverage of the Scranton church closings.