Source: ABC 6 Action News, Philadelphia

4/29/08: A South Jersey Catholic church, set for closure, says it has a good reason to keep it's doors open. St. Mary's Church is located near the busy intersection of Routes 47 and 40 in Malaga, Gloucester County. It has served the spiritual needs of Catholics for 86 years. There are only 250 families in the parish, but Pastor Jerome Romanowski said its location draws many passersby.

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Source: Camden Courier Post

4/18/08: Letter to Bishop Joseph Galante, sent by parishioners of St. Mary's in Malaga, dated April 10:

Your Excellency:

We, as parishioners of St. Mary's Parish (Malaga), united with our Pastor and Parish Council, are writing this letter for two purposes: (1) to appeal to you, Bishop Galante, to reconsider any decision to merge our parish; and (2) to safeguard our rights as parishioners under canon law.

As parishioners of St. Mary's, we are very concerned about the future of our parish. We are an active and vibrant parish.

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Source: Courier Post

4/18/08: Upset by Bishop Joseph Galante's decision to trim 58 parishes from the Camden Diocese, some local Catholics are joining forces with a national effort to resist a wave of parish closings across the country.

Led by parishioners from the archdioceses of Boston, New Orleans and New York, as well as the dioceses of Camden, Buffalo and Toledo, the newly formed Coalition of Parishes intends to share information with Catholics who want to reverse decisions to merge their parishes and close churches.

Still in its infancy, the coalition plans to build a Web site as a resource for parishioners, said Peter Borre, spokesman for the coalition and president of the Council of Parishes in Boston.

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Source: New York Times

5/14/08: Less than two weeks ago, as final preparations were being made for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States, the bishop of Camden, N.J., announced plans to close or merge nearly half the parishes in his diocese. Meanwhile, Catholics in New Orleans, Boston, New York, Toledo, Ohio, and nearly three dozen other dioceses are mourning the loss of parishes and parochial schools they grew up in.

"It's frustrating because you start to see the bishop as the enemy, and it puts you where you're conflicted," said Leah Vassallo, a lawyer whose parish in Malaga, N.J., is among those to be closed. "Obviously you don't want to give up your faith or go to a different religion, or not go to church at all. But it does disenfranchise you. We're going to be a lot more hesitant before we give money to the church."

A resistance movement to church closings that began in Boston has spread to other dioceses.

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Vineland Daily Journal

A sweeping reconfiguration of churches in the Diocese of Camden announced Thursday would trim the number of parishes from 124 to 66 in six South Jersey counties.

The 12 Roman Catholic churches currently in Cumberland County will be consolidated into five parishes. Only St. Padre Pio in Vineland will remain unchanged as a standalone parish.

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