Some of these articles are just brief blurbs with links to other articles, others are complete articles.

National Catholic Reporter

CatholicCulture.org

"Voices from the Desert" (This website we would consider questionable in their facts and conclusions, such as "dwindling church attendance." Also, they are an advocacy group/site for those abused by priests, and usually these organizations are just a front for anti-Catholic, anti-Church, "reform" nonsense. Nevertheless, we want to share with you the breadth of coverage here.)

Shows the property values in Cape May County. Click on link: Cape May County Property Values This is from the SaveWildwoodCatholic.com website. Didn't have a lot of time to pour over it, but take a look. $$$ talks. YOU CANNOT SERVE BOTH GOD AND MAMMON!!!

Click here to view their brand new website.

Read Press of AC Article Here or scroll down

St. John Vianney parishioners, our prayers are with you. It is time to again stand up and voice your opposition to this evil act. Do what is necessary to make your position clear.

Here is the [poor] Courier Post article in which they mislead the reader by making it appear that St. John Vianney* is much younger than it is. Also, notice how idiotic and deceptive the reasoning is. The CP only speaks to core team members, not to those unhappy with the loss of their parish. Anyone who thinks that people in the diocese, much less SJV parisihoners, are "accepting" and in favor of this merger plan is deluding themselves.

In case you haven't already guessed, St. John Vianney is a beautiful little country parish. It is small, old, and traditional. No wonder the bishop wants it gone.

It is sad that its pastor, a priest we happen to like very much, has not supported his parishioners and the rights of the parish to its existance as stipulated by canon law and Church history. This has been the case throughout the diocese. Some care too much for the stability of their status and their standing with the bishop and not enough for the tending of their flock and standing in opposition to that which is overtly wrong.

They hope to "get people back" by closing their parish??? What kind of reasoning is that? The only people who buy this line of reasoning are some on the core teams. By doing this, they are effectively slamming the door in the face to those who ever thought of returning to the Church, but that's just as well to Galante, who has a "new church" in mind that bears little resemblance to the Church we know. Scroll down to the comments.

Snip:

The parishes -- St. Margaret in Woodbury Heights and St. John Vianney in Deptford -- are to merge Jan. 13, Galante said. The new parish will be called Infant Jesus....

The merged parish, with its seat in Woodbury Heights, will serve 3,300 families. It will be led by the Rev. Joseph T. Szolack, the current pastor of St. Margaret's.

St. John Vianney Church will serve as a worship site "as needed by the new parish," the diocese said in a statement.

St. Margaret's Parish was founded in 1961 during a period of suburban growth in Woodbury Heights. St. John Vianney became a parish in 1971.

Merger preparations began in November 2008 when a "core team," with members from each parish, held an initial meeting with Szolack. Parish members since that time have worshipped together and shared social activities, such as a carnival and pancake breakfasts, the diocese said.

"Initially there was some uncertainty as to how this would all work," said Mark Cipolone, a core team member from St. Margaret's. "Now, parishioners are accepting and looking to moving forward."

Cipolone acknowledged a desire to see the survival of St. Margaret's, which was founded in 1961, and St. John Vianney, a parish since 1971.

"Given the realities, we have to do it," he said. "We have to get people to come back."

Galante's announcement came two days after the merger of three parishes in Camden County. Those parishes -- St. Luke in Stratford, St. Lawrence in Lindenwold and Our Lady of Grace in Somerdale -- are now Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.

The next merger is to take effect Dec. 23, when two Cherry Hill parishes -- St. Pius X and Holy Rosary -- are to become Holy Eucharist Parish.

So far, 17 parishes have merged since late July, reducing the diocesan total by nine.

Comments:

Replying to armageddon:

Bishop Galante is in the wrong pew....
He should be our next Governor......

Yes, he should merge public school districts but leave our churches and parishes alone.
12/12/2009 8:12:25 AM

Maybe the parishioners at St. Margaret are coming to "accept" it but I can assure you those at St. John Vianney, which incidentally has been there long before 1971 (as St. Agnes), are not "accepting" it. And before anyone says anything, St. John Vianney is a full parish on Sundays and in the black.
12/12/2009 12:39:37 PM

Replying to watertoo:

Maybe the parishioners at St. Margaret are coming to "accept" it but I can assure you those at St. John Vianney, which incidentally has been there long before 1971 (as St. Agnes), are not "accepting" it. And before anyone says anything, St. John Vianney is a full parish on Sundays and in the black.

It is not fair that they are closing a fully self-sufficient church like St. John Vianney. I wish that the Courier Post would interview other church goers besides core team members.
12/12/2009 1:28:02 PM

Geographically, how do they justify elderly parish members that live in Deptford traveling to Woodbury Heights? It is not around the corner!! This is one of many reasons I have left my catholic background. There is no thought to the people just to the politics!!
12/12/2009 6:16:53 PM

The obese bishop must be removed. He is uneducated and stupid. Anyone who puts money in the plate is a fool. Remember the house of charity is the bishp's home.
12/12/2009 8:06:04 PM

* The SJV website has been significantly downsized from what it once was. It was once one of the best church websites in the diocese. Guess they were told to downsize it to only the absolutely essential information. Are the parishioners being told it's time to roll over and die?

On Friday November 20th, I attended one (of two) days of the "Lifelong Faith Formation" seminar/workshop/conference/whatever. It was held at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish in Absecon. Honestly I had no idea what to expect in terms of particulars, but my expectations were fairly low. (This way I could be pleasantly surprised.) I hoped to come from the day with a few ideas for our parish pertaining to RCIA or adult religious education, and maybe some curricula to flip through. Well, I really didn't get either of these. As it turns out, the seminar was mainly intended to help parishes implement a specific "faith formation" program. It was largely an "insert Tab A into Slot B" type of thing, with some options to make the program suit your own "community," but it was definitely a program. And yes, it was alarming, but I'll talk more about the program generally in the future.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I admit that I've had the movie, Molokai: The Story of Father Damien, sitting around at home for months. I rented it from Netflix. It's a gorgeous movie with a star-studded cast, the acting superb, the cinematography wonderful, period clothing impeccable, script well-written, the events historically accurate. There's not a thing wrong with this movie. The problem? The subject matter.

Fr. Damien, who I just discovered was canonized less than two weeks ago by our holy pontiff (YES!!!!), was a Belgian Sacred Heart priest who worked among the lepers on the island of Molokai in Hawaii during the mid to late 1800s. When considering the topic of leper colonies--something I never thought much about, to be honest--it simply never occurred to me that children found to have the disease would be forcibly separated from their parents, wives from husbands, and so forth, never to be seen again. To be shipped off to Molokai was itself like death.

They were treated more like criminals than innocent victims of disease. The infected were hunted out, often by police and officials, and put into forced segregation. Torn from family and friends and lost in the grim strokes of despair and death, the unwanted existed in their damp seclusion....most of the patients' ceilings were only the canopy of the sky.*

To witness this barbarism even in movie form was simply heart wrenching. That's why it took so long to finish the movie.

Another effect of exile I had never considered was that of vice. Apparently, faced with one's inevitable demise and death, and lacking the mores and expectations of a larger society, many felt they had nothing to lose in debauchery. Fr. Damien, who volunteered and was not sent to live among the lepers, had all these difficulties to face and more. The only priest on the island, and disallowed to leave, he was not permitted to go to confession for long periods of time. Refused permission to board a steamliner with a priest (Fr. Modeste) aboard, and the ship not allowed to dock on Molokai, Fr. Damien was forced to make his confession while screaming from a rowboat. (This true event is portrayed in the movie.)

Though he repeatedly requested and prayed for not only a priest to come hear his confession, but also material and human aid for the more than a thousand sick and dying people on Molokai, he was refused time and again by his bishop and superiors. Although there were nuns and others willing to come help, they were refused admittance to the leper colony by the bishop and Board of Health, and money and materials were withheld from the saint and needy lepers. He had no doctors, no nurses.

Additionally, the protestants on the Board of Health had a hand in forcing Fr. Damien to remain on the island, supposedly for fear of spreading the disease. They thought that "by forcing him to stay he would leave  the settlement altogether. Jealousy had prompted them to destroy a hope that they would not fulfill themselves."**

Because Fr. Damien had no doctors or nurses, grave diggers, construction workers, maintenance men, farmers, teachers, and children were without parents, he became all these things. "Everyone looks on me as a father. As for me I make myself a leper with the lepers to gain all to Jesus Christ," the great saint said. His sermons began, "We lepers."

As if all this was not enough, he also established sodalities, a brass band, trained interested people in church music, evangelized voraciously the many non-Catholics (he baptized over a thousand people), administered the sacraments, established perpetual adoration, and built orphanages. Needless to say his favorite saint was the great missionary Francis Xavier.

Despite Fr. Damien's tireless efforts, his bishop said this, "I regret that the admiration for this work of charity is erroneous. I see with displeasure that the newspapers who admire you exaggerate by putting things in a false light."*** Both his provincial superior and his bishop were not only discouraging, they treated him horribly and undermined his efforts to do the Lord's work among people who needed so much help. Finally his superior, Fr. Leonor (depicted in the movie by Derek Jacobi) admitted that the bishop was "suffering from the disease of jealousy. Public esteem for anyone other than himself is his torment." The bishop did not wish donations to be given to Fr. Damien on Molokai but all to be lavished instead on him. Again we see how greed undermines God's will. But the provincial superior, Fr. Leonor, was no better. In fact as time went on the Board of Health relaxed somewhat in restricting Fr. Damien's movements, but Fr. Leonor continued to restrict him and severely limited his ability to go to confession.

Finally Fr. Damien contracted leprosy, a natural result of his coming into direct contact with the disease for so long. Adding insult to injury, he was accused of "impious activity," shall we say, in contracting the disease. This was completely without foundation, meant only to drag down his reputation.

It seems Fr. Leonor treated Fr. Damien with disdain until the great saint's death. As Fr. Damien lay dying (left), Leonor even refused to send him a crucifix for the leper's chapel. It is unfortunate that throughout Catholic history, despite physical and spiritual need, there have been too many bishops and prelates who care little for the salvation of souls. We need only read the lives of countless saints to see how many struggled with their superiors and bishops. We find ourselves living in another of these eras in which material and corporate logic trumps spiritual need, an era in which not only are we being deprived a crucifix but our entire churches are being stolen away. May the good Lord bless his very many faithful servants throughout our blessed Church's history. And may Fr. Damien, saint of the lepers, faithful despite all opposition, pray for all of us.

Thankfully by the time of his death he received some human assistance and increased supplies, and his reputation has of course been vindicated. The great saint was only 49 at the time of his death.

No description on my part could ever do St. Damien of Molokai or the movie justice. I highly recommend renting or buying the movie. Also, supplement your viewing by obtaining for $2 the From the Housetops periodical (link below) with a succinct but ample biography of this great new saint of the Church. He is yet another saint who, in the face of persecution from both his immediate superior and bishop, was able to build chapels, spread the Faith, and act as a true father as shepherd of all to a people without hope.    


*From the Housetops, Volume XVIII, No. 2, Serial No. 39, page 2. Note: I noticed that this particular issue is not linked on the website of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. I bet if you give them a call they may send it to you or copy it for you. It is excellent. Here is the wikipedia entry on Fr. Damien: click here.
**Ibid, page 8
***All quotes are taken from historical account or from From the Housetops, not from the movie. 

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for your time.

Read Philadelphia Inquirer piece by clicking here.

Now that the Diocese of Wilmington, DE, in our own backyard, has gone financially belly-up, we can assume that the Catholic faithful in the Diocese of Wilmington, who did nothing to contribute to the crisis perpetrated by abusive priests, will suffer the consequences. What do you think the Diocese will be willing to do to pay off those claiming they were abused?

The parishes and schools of the faithful should not be for sale or considered assets of the Diocese if they truly belong to the people of the parish. It is wrong that time and again, we the laity must suffer at the hands of such severe misjudgment of those in positions of power. Those truly responsible should be forced to give up their cars, second homes, and whatever other assets they have.

Perhaps we should have a contest to see what ridiculous names they might come up with for their church closure program, like "Gathering God's Gifts." Oh wait, I think that ridiculous name is already taken.

As a side note, we thought it was interesting that one of the orders directly implicated in the abuse, the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, is one that the current Camden Diocesan Administration favors and has brought into our own Diocese. This is a bizarre coincidence. (Check out the St. Pius X Retreat Center staff and the new rector and parochial vicor of the Cathedral in Camden, both Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. Strangely, they are not yet listed on the Cathedral's own website.)

Bishopaccountability.org has this page dedicated to the tactic of filing for bankruptcy. Let it be  known that the Catholic faithful--as well as those so disgusted they have left the Church altogether--are watching.

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

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

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

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

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

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

***

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

Here is a transcription of an interview with Fr. Daniel Mary, MCarm, Superior of the new and traditional Monks of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary of Mt. Carmel in Wyoming. I transcribed this from a portion of the EWTN show, "Life on the Rock."

Watch video on this excellent website: Traditional Vocations Blog. Just the other night they were on "EWTN Live" with Fr. Mitch Pacwa. Listen or download that interview here.

***

Email Question: There has been a worldwide shortage of priests. Is there an even greater shortage of contemplatives and religious? Have you seen an increase in vocations in recent time? -John in NC.

Fr. Daniel Mary, Answer: Well I would say we're not experiencing a shortage in vocations. We actually have to be very selective who we take. Um, so I think it's, we get the vocations we deserve. You know if a community is not living its charism, then, yeah we wonder why communities or dioceses don't get the vocations. And I would say it's because young people aren't going to be inspired by a mediocre, worldly way of life. They want what's authentic. And I think when we give the youth something that's authentic, then you can't stop them. They're going to knock the door down.

Response from host, Fr. Mark Mary: You've had 600 applications, right?

Fr. Daniel Mary and Brother Simon Mary: Yeah, well not applications, 600 inquiries. I'd say we get about 5 phone calls a week and letters.

Fr. Mark Mary Response: The monastery you hope to build will hold like 30 monks, right?

Fr. Daniel Mary: Yes.

***

Article on the monks

The monks' website

Click here for video

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. 

8/27/09 Update:
I went to Borders tonight and was not required to show any form of identification to obtain the discount card. Guess I lugged my lesson plan binders and things all the way over there for nothing. In the words of the former teacher employee doing the presentation, "I've never met a person who has lied about being a teacher. Besides, you can tell a teacher just by looking at them." Ha ha, so true. They gave out snacks and free give-away books, stickers, and even a $25 gift card. Apparently even Borders is struggling to keep its head above water and is now heavily targeting the teacher and homeschooler audience. Since this is our only "local" bookstore around, I feel good about trying to support it. It's the only place I can go to look inside a book before purchasing it. Also the employees working there were extremely helpful and friendly. Often this Borders is staffed by retired teachers, which is wonderful. Additionally it is open until 11pm. One Saturday a month they have story hour at 10 am for the kids. The former teacher who I mention above is also a homeschooler now (for her grandson) and a Christian, so made sure to point out the section where they keep the children's Bibles and other Christian literature. (Her husband is a protestant pastor.) I've never been a huge fan before, but now I am. Great store, great staff, great discounts. Check it out.

Maybe I'm the only one who wasn't aware of this, but in case you didn't, Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores both offer teacher discounts and those discounts extend to homeschool instructors as well!

We just need some sort of "proof" of homeschooling, such as curricula or lesson plans. Membership in a homeschool coop or group would also suffice. I spoke with "Chris," a manager at the Deptford Barnes & Noble and "Linda" at the Hamilton Twp. Borders, both of whom confirmed that bringing in teacher lesson plans would be good enough proof, but I will see what else I can dig up to bring along.

This Thursday evening at 7pm the Borders at the Hamilton Mall in Hamilton Township, NJ (near Mays Landing) is having an event at which teachers may sign up for the teacher discount cards. At Barnes & Noble you may do this at any time. There is a particular teacher discount form you will need to request in person.

Borders discount: 25% off*
Barnes & Noble discount: 20% off

I am psyched! Homeschoolers buy a ton of books since we receive no subsidies or assistance of any kind from the state or textbooks from the schools. Of course, this the way we want it and that's all fine since the reason we homeschool is educational and religious liberty. That's just to say we spend a small fortune in books. Let me say here that I love dealing with small family bookstores where they exist online (rarely elsewhere anymore), such as Emmanuel Books or others. And we do sometimes use Amazon, particularly when there is a used book we want to purchase. In any case, hooray for books and hooray for discounts!

* I was quoted 25% but the website says 20% for orders under $1000. I will find out for sure Thursday night.

They're just getting the site up and running, it looks like. They also have an e-newsletter that you can receive. Though their church was suppressed (closed) without cause, they continue to meet on Sundays on the church steps and have regular rosary services Wednesdays. They are a community to reckon with! We must support our brothers and sisters in Christ in this horrendous struggle, the onslaught that is now occurring from within the Church. It is certainly not the first time in the Catholic Church's history that the devil has tried to attack the Bride of Christ so directly.

The people of New Orleans have lost enough. They do not deserve to lose their churches, too. May God have mercy on the soul of the former bishop of New Orleans. He will have a lot to answer to.

Check out the Save St. Henry's website by clickiing here!

Today we had some inquiries about the St. Mary's t-shirt. It is under the "links" section of the website, but here is a direct link:

Click here to look at the St. Mary's t-shirts available

This is a wonderful new website called Church Closings In New Orleans. It has video and documentaries available to watch. Check it out! (Screenshot below)

We received this email today from a parish in North Jersey that has experienced similar persecution. Here's an excerpt. (What I left out were some suggestions he made that include things we're already doing.) I left off Danny's last name.

The parish of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Montclair has an annual St. Sebastian Feast, and I have included here a picture of the beautiful statue of the martyr St. Sebastian from their church (see right).

Hello my name is Danny;  I live in North Jersey and saw the article in the Italian Tribune concerning the possible closing of your parish.   I will of course pray for the Parish and I am familiar that unsettling feeling of such an announcement.  My parish,  Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Montclair, NJ was threatened with closure several years ago,  but thru the grace of God that danger seems to have passed.    I pray a similar conclusion is shared by St. Mary's,  a parish also under Our Lady's protection!  

Here is the St. Sebastian Society website. On it you will find a link to OLMC Church, "a small parish with a big heart and lots of courage." I love that description!

By the way, would anyone be interested in going up for their Feast of St. Sebastian? It is on Aug. 28, 29, and 30. It might be fun. We could car pool; estimated time 2 hours, 5 minutes. If you are, let us know by emailing us: info@savestmarys.net .

Today, June 16th, is the feast day of Blessed William Greenwood, one of the Carthusian martyrs murdered by King Henry VIII. Because the monks and priests refused to show approval for the king's divorce and remarriage, and subsequent break with the One True Church, they died horrible deaths. Blessed William Greenwood died of starvation in Newgate Prison, and many others were hung, then disemboweled while still alive, and finally quartered. Check out this great website which will tell you a little more about a few of the martyrs at Tyburn. (It is the website of the Catholic Benedictine nuns located at Tyburn.)

Although their feast is not until the end of the summer (as one of the "Forty Martyrs of England and Wales"), and they died roughly 50 years later, this would be a good time to mention Saints Margaret Clitherow and Margaret Ward, pictured to the right in the painting above (left and right). Margaret Ward was executed for trying to rescue a priest from prison.

Margaret Ward was kept in irons for eight days, was hung up by the hands, and scourged, but absolutely refused to disclose the priest's whereabouts. At her trial, she admitted to having helped Fr. Watson to escape, and rejoiced in "having delivered an innocent lamb from the hands of those bloody wolves." She was offered a pardon if she would attend a Protestant service, but refused.

Margaret Clitherow (1556?-1586), whose feast day is March 25th (individually) also has a very interesting story. From Bert Ghezzi's Voices of the Saints:

St. Margaret Clitherow became a convert at her hometown of York in 1573 when it was dangerous to be a Catholic in England. Pope Pius V had excommunicated Queen Elizabeth in 1570, provoking an intense persecution of Catholics. Mass was outlawed, priests were regarded as traitors, and harboring them was a capital crime. Margaret disobeyed the law, keeping secret rooms in her house and at a neighbor's house where priests hid and celebrated Mass.

On March 10, 1586, sheriff's men raided Margaret's house. They found a schoolmaster with her children, whom they mistook for a priest, but he escaped through the secret chamber. The officers terrorized an 11-year-old Flemish boy who lived with the family. The frightened child led them to the priests' room, where they found vessels and books for Mass. So Margaret was taken to prison to await a hearing.

John Mush, Margaret's biographer, report that she accepted her persecution lightheartedly. She and Anne Tesh, her friend also betrayed by the boy, laughed so much that Margaret said, "Sister, we are having so much fun that I'm afraid unless we are separated we shall be in danger of losing the merit of our imprisonment." And just before she was to appear before the judge, Margaret decided to cheer the 35 other Catholic prisoners across the hall. "She looked out of a window towards them," writes Mush, "and she made a pair of gallows on her fingers and pleasantly laughed at them."

In the above picture, St. Margaret Clitherow is in the foreground, towards the center, just to the
left of the gallows, wearing the red and lavender dress. Margaret Ward is standing on the left,
just in front of the tree, with the red head covering. I presume the white-clad figures are 4
of the Carthusian monks martyred.

Margaret was charged with harboring and maintaining priests. When the judge asked her if she were guilty or not, she declined to enter a plea. The judge warned her that the law required the death penalty for anyone refusing to plead. He told Margaret that she would be stripped, arms stretched out and bound to stakes, and pressed to death with a sharp stone on her back. "I am not worthy of so good a death as this," was her reply.

Margaret believed that her death was inevitable. Had she pled to the charges, her husband and children would have to testify against her and her neighbor's guilt would have been exposed, possibilities she could not bear. Her love for her family intensified her suffering, but did not deter her. "I love my husband next to God in this world," she wrote.

"And I have care over my children as a mother ought to have. I trust I have done my duty by bringing them up in the fear of God, and so I trust now I am discharged of them. And for this cause I am willing to offer them freely to God who sent them to me, rather than I will yield one jot from my faith."

Thus, on the Friday in Passion Week, 1586, she was pressed to death under 800 pounds of weight. Fittingly, she must have thought, she died like Christ, with her arms extended, as on a cross.

Supposedly St. Margaret Clitherow was also pregnant at the time of her death. She was publicly stripped and humiliated, as Christ, prior to her barbaric execution. Later on, her two sons became priests and her daughter a nun in France.

The English martyrs are an inspiration to all of us. May we be granted the tremendous faith they had, and may we be willing to lay our lives on the line for the sake of the Truth if necessary. May we always be willing to defend our precious Faith.

Blessed Thomas Greenwood and Saints Margaret Ward and Margaret Clitherow, pray for us!