To read article, click here:
Article

Here's the link

This fabulous site just linked to us and commended us on our struggle. They are fighting the same Good Fight in the Diocese of Scranton. "Preserving and Defending the Churches and Schools in the Diocese of Scranton" is their motto. Amen.

This isn't really much of a blog post, more of just an "isn't it funny." Isn't it funny that the Catholic Star Herald doesn't seem to be covering anything about what "the people" are thinking and doing? Isn't it funny that they aren't reporting on THE most significant events in the diocese? They want to ignore people's disgust and outrage. Their plan is backfiring on them, they have no  support for what they are doing--closing people's churches. But who wants to cover that? Makes them look bad. I actually called the Catholic Star Herald a couple of weeks ago to let them know about savestmarys.net, in the event they might want to cover it. (Yeah right!) Needless to say, the editor never got back to me. 

Click here to read.

It's not super well-written and he buys into the priest shortage mumbo-jumbo,  but it is definitely great to see someone who's blogging about the situation, someone whose blog does not appear to be primarily religious in nature.

     Our church is also closing in the near future! I've been a member of Saint John Vianney in Deptford for 40 of my 46 years here on God's green earth. Every Saturday and Sunday masses are packed. This I will promise you when those doors close so will my Roman Catholic experience. Father Tim and his teaching were key to me coming back from the Methodist church. Now I feel betrayed by this Bishop dude. This is a promise to the Bishop, I'm done with the Catholic faith when those doors are closed for the last time! There is more to life then money and keeping up with the Jones's (other Mega-Churches). I personally don't care what other faiths are doing. I LOVE the family atmosphere we have at our church and thats what it should be based on. This clown called our Bishop can have his hopefully half empty Mega-Churches!!!!!!! I'll pray from home for now on.

     P.S. Jesus first church wasn't big or based on the buck. For that fact Jesus didn't care how people perceived them or their church. It was a gathering of those who LOVED Christ and is Father. Mr. Bishop some of those gatherings were three or four people with Christ. By the way he didn't shut if down like your planning because of the lack of numbers.

Note: I am leaving the email anonymous unless the emailer requests his name be attached to it.

Here's a wonderful letter to the editor of the Hammonton Gazette I just read last night:

Calling all parishioners in the Camden Diocese whose parishes are listed for merger! Don't be fooled! "Merger" is only another wayof telling you that your church will eventually be closed. Perhaps and not immediately, but give it time and a reason will be found to say that your merged church is no longer necessary.

There is no clergy shortage in the Camden Diocese. If there was a shortage, why did Bishop Galante recently permit two of our priests to accept voluntary assignments outside of the Diocese? [Actually, as I understand it, the number's closer to 20, not 2, when you include forced relocations and forced retirements.]

Don't sit back and do nothing. Now is the time to act. A Vineland attorney. Leah Vassalo, is now organizing a group currently representing 10 parishes [actually when I spoke to Kevin the other day the number was up to 22!] for the purpose of protesting the bishop's reconfiguration plan. Call her at (856) 692-0222 and ask what you can do to help.

Write to Archbishop John J. Myers of the Diocese of Newark at 171 Clifton Avenue, Newark, NJ 07104-0500 and tell him how Bishop Galante's merger plans will drive Catholics from our faith. Archbishop Myers has already begun a review of the merger plan.

By acting together, we will save our local parishes and our faith.

Thomas J. McGeary, Sr.
Egg Harbor City

Amen, Thomas! Well said!

This information was submitted to by email me for posting today:

From the Catholic Star Herald, May 15th, 2008:

...consultations are now taking place with parish representatives to determine pastoral needs before the naming in August of the priests who eventually will become pastors of merged parishes when the new parishes are formally established by decree (a timeline was published in the May 2 Catholic Star Herald showing the process).  Existing pastors will cease to be pastors when the decrees establishing the newly-merged parishes are promulgated. Until then, parish life will continue under the direction of the present pastor.

Also a timeline from the Catholic Star Herald:

1. April-Fall 2008

Parishes utilize "Coping with Change Together" resources beginning in spring 2008. For more information about parish resources that are available, see www.GatheringGodsGifts.org.

2. May 1-June 15, 2008                       

In advance of the naming of pastors for newly merged parishes, consultations will occur to determine the pastoral needs of parish communities that will merge or be open due to a pastor resignation. Representatives from the Priest Personnel Board and diocesan or parish staff will meet with eight to 10 representatives from the parishes (typically those who currently are on parish pastoral and finance councils) to determine the pastoral needs of the newly configured parish(es).

3. May 15, 2008                        

Pastors of parishes that will remain stand-alone or clustered and who choose not to continue in their present assignments are to indicate by May 15 their intention to resign at a date to be determined.

4. June 1, 2008                                   

The Vicar for Clergy publishes the list of parish openings and invites priests to indicate their preferences and to apply for available parish assignments.

5. July 15, 2008                       

Priests will have until July 15 to apply for open parishes.

6. Early August                                   

The Priest Personnel and Policy Board deliberates and consults with the individual priests involved and submits recommendations to Bishop Galante for his consideration.

7. Mid-August           

Bishop announces to parishioners the names of the priests who eventually will become pastors when the new parishes are established formally by decree. There will be much work to be done before that can happen, pastorally, canonically and administratively. When the parish has completed its work, Bishop Galante will issue the decree, at which time the new parish comes into existence.  Existing pastors de facto cease to be pastors when the decrees establishing the newly-merged parishes are promulgated.  Until then, current pastors continue their ministry to the people of their parishes.

8. Late August                       

The process of naming priests to open parishes occurs a second time to address the vacancies that will occur as a result of the assignments announced in mid-August. At this time, a list of parish openings will be published.  Priests will have until September 2 to apply for these openings. After deliberation by the Priest Personnel and Policy Board, recommendations will be forwarded to Bishop Galante for his consideration. The assignments for these openings are expected to be announced in late September.

And yet oddly, in an article dated May 28, from the Catholic Diocese of Arlington Click here for link:

Bishop Ireton principal Fr. Matthew Hillyard, O.S.F.S, has been assigned as the Rector of the Cathedral parish in Camden, N.J., thus ending the presence of the Oblates of Saint Francis de Sales at Bishop Ireton High School."

The commenter who sent me this says:

More lies by Galante?  Another "process" where decisions have already been made, before anything meaningful has been done based on the consultations and before applications were even due for priests to apply for this position and before the priest personnel board has reviewed the applications and compared them to the needs of the new parish?  I'm not sure what a "rector" is, but I suspect it means he will be the new pastor, and if so this may be an opportunity to clearly show Galante for what he really is.

Julie now: Notice that in everything they talk about "process." As we were walking out of the "meeting" with Bishop Galante at St.Mary's the other night, I was very close to Kevin from the Council of Churches, who was speaking to "Sister" Marilyn vollmer, trying to get some answers out of her. He was asking her where this (consolidation) program came from and if they brought it with them from LA and Texas. She corrected him, "It's not a program, it's a process."

Pardon my French, but what a load of horse doodoo. Apparently Kevin wasn't buying it either because he followed up quickly and politely with, "Ok, then where'd the 'process' come from?" It was pretty darn funny. But why? Why do they insist on referring to this diocesan massacre as a "process?"

In the sense that it's a process by which they attempt to destroy us and make us less Catholic, one step at a time, I guess it is a process. But seriously, in saying that this is a "process," the diocesan bureaucrats are claiming there's no preconceived or premeditated "plan"... as if this "diocesan restructuring" has simply to do with this diocese and its "needs." In saying it's a "process," they claim that they're "listening" to the Holy Spirit, taking things a little at a time, and "listening" to all of us. This way when they steamroll us and bulldoze our churches they can claim that it was all done for us--for our own good-- because they listened to us. That they are only doing what they see as needed. How many times have we heard Bishop Galante say that his, "conscience would not allow [him] to do otherwise"?

In fact, this IS A PROGRAM and it's one that other diocese and other bishops have instituted around the country. It's a program that attempts to destroy the Faith. They don't want us to connect the dots and realize what's going on: that they want to make us into the "Catholic-Style Community Churches." The other night at St.Mary's, I was surprised to hear the bishop come right out and admit that he was modeling the new churches on the Evangelical Protestant community churches he views as so "successful." He spoke of Gloucester County Community Church specifically. (For their website click here. Notice their church is  less hidiously ugly than St. John's in Naples, FL.) Folks, this is happening all across the country--not just herein the Diocese of Camden. Have no doubt that there is an agenda here.

Well, don't believe the lies. Refuse and resist--speak out against the scheming of Bishop Galante and his "other bishop," "Sister" Marilyn vollmer. Insist you want to be Catholic and you don't want any of the liberal nonsense. Fight for your church and your faith. We must. It's what Christ calls us to do.

 

As I type a rally is going on down at Pius X retreat house in Blackwood. To the best of my knowledge the bishop is there and has a second meeting at 1:30, so feel free even for a brief drop-in with your sign or just yourself.

Courtesy of Joanna. Thanks!

Note: To be used in the events of life's daily struggles. We need help from the angels, the saints, and of course God Himself as the forces of evil surround us even though we do not see them. These are beautiful and traditional prayers. I thought the readers might be interested in reading them or perhaps using them as events may warrant in their lives.

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Eph., VI,12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan", bind him that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. XX,2).

SPIRITUAL WARFARE PRAYER

I proclaim Jesus Christ, Lord of all the adventures, circumstances, and difficulties of today. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, by the power of His Blood, in the authority of His Word given to me as a Christian, I bind and reject you Satan, and I command you to leave! I seal this place, and all the members of my family, my relatives, and possessions, in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I bind and reject all familiar spirits, all companion spirits, and all carnal spirits, spirits of affliction, and all ministering spirits. I bind and reject all spirits in the air, in the wind, in the fire, in the water, under the water, in the netherworld, in the elements and in all satanic forces of nature. I bind and I reject all spirits of confusion, all spirits of division, all spirits of disruption, and all spirits of fear, worry, and anxiety, all spirits of disbelief, spirits of unforgiveness, resentment, and anger, spirits of deaf and dumb, spirit of disobedience, spirit of games, spirit of control, and spirit of retaliation. I bind and I reject all spirits and aspects and attributes of these spirits. I bind and reject all interlocking spirits. I command that there will be no communication between you or anyone else. I command that you leave quietly and immediately go to the foot of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I break and dissolve every curse, spell, hex, evil wishes, evil desires, and hereditary seals. I come against all Satanic vows, Satanic pacts, Satanic sacrifices, voodoo practices, mind control, and Eastern religion practices. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I break, and dissolve all links with false prophets, false visionaries, false mystics, and with psychics, clairvoyance, astrologers, mediums, seers, Satanic cults, fortune tellers, seances, Ouija Boards, Tarot Cards, and occult games of all kinds.

Come Holy Spirit and fill this place, corner to corner, ceiling to floor. Saint Michael, Saint Gabriel, Saint Raphael and all the Holy Archangels come and fight this battle for me. I ask the help of all the Holy Angels, Holy

---

Dominations, Holy Powers, Holy Thrones, Holy Principalities, and my Guardian Angel - Be my shield of defense against all evil spirits. I ask this in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ by the power of His Blood, in the authority given to me as a Christian.

Lord Jesus, I ask today for an in-filling of the Holy Spirit. Fill all the empty spaces within me with your peace, your love, your healing, and your joy. I also ask for an increase and release of all the gifts, power, and fruits of the Holy Spirit. The Gift of Wisdom, Word of Knowledge, Gift of Faith, Gift of Healing, Miracles, Prophecy, Discernment of Spirits, Gift of Tongues, Interpretation of Tongues, Deliverance, Inner Healing, the Gift of Teaching, Gift of Evangelization, the Gift of Service, the Gift of Encouragement, Gift of Leadership, the Gift of Preaching, and the Gifts of Joy and Laughter so that I may use these gifts cheerfully and enjoy the abundant life You have promised. Amen. Amen

 

Click here.

The site doesn't quite seem ready for launch yet as the links on the top are broken, but it was wonderful for them to cover us! Thank you. They also linked to this website (savestmarys.net). They put up a press release from the Council of Parishes and have a piece talking about the Council, the rallies, and so forth. Great!

Read article here. Jim Walsh wrote the story,which I think was very favorable to us. There are 16 pictures on the site, not fabulous, but certainly better than the Inquirer. Several pictures of Galante but he's not very photogenic. I wish there'd been a picture showing the community in uproarious applause, which happened so many times last night. Now that would've been a great photo. Thank you, Jim Walsh, for covering our story!

Here's a bit. For the rest, go to the site above:

FRANKLIN -- Bishop Joseph Galante came here to listen Tuesday night and the leader of the Camden Diocese got an earful.

An overflow crowd of more than 200 people jammed into St. Mary's Church in Malaga, where they blasted the bishop's plan to shut more than half of the parishes in the South Jersey diocese. The small country church used by St. Mary's parishioners would close as part of the makeover.

Parishioners from across the region greeted Galante with signs that called for his resignation and described the diocese as a "destruction zone."

Many wore blue ribbons that read "Save St. Mary's," while others called for the survival of parishes like St. Gregory's in Magnolia and St. Anthony in Waterford....

Click here to read the brief article.

It starts:

Bishop to meet with parishioners on St. Mary's closure

By David O'Reilly

INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Bishop Joseph Galante, head of the Diocese of Camden, travels to Malaga tonight to hear members of St. Mary's parish voice their concerns about his decision to close their 250-family parish.

To read article, click here. There are only three pictures on the site, and not great ones, but I guess we can't look a gift horse in the mouth.

Here's the first bit of the article:

Catholics challenge bishop's decision to merge parishes during meeting at Malaga church

By David O'Reilly

Inquirer Staff Writer

Bishop Joseph A. Galante was greeted with placards calling for his resignation and even some boos last night when he appeared at St. Mary's parish in Malaga, where dozens implored him to keep their little church open. "Small, vibrant parishes have a right to exist," read a placard carried by Tom Mazzola, 72. "The bishop should resign." Parishioners from a half-dozen other parishes around the Diocese of Camden also stood outside St. Mary's bearing signs asking Galante to keep their parishes open.

(Click on link above to read the rest.)

For link click here (transcripts to the show)

Here's a snippet for ya, from Alan Keyes show on June 13, 2002:

We have with us tonight the author of a book, "Goodbye, Good Men: How Liberals Brought Corruption into the Catholic Church." Michael Rose is somebody who hasn't shrunk from looking at this aspect of the issue head-on, going into whether there is in fact a factual basis for this concern about tolerance for homosexuality within the priesthood and it's effects.

Michael Rose, welcome to MAKING SENSE.

MICHAEL ROSE, AUTHOR: Thank you so much, Alan. Thanks for having me on.

KEYES: Now, obviously you have thought about this very question, in terms of the contribution made by homosexuality to this crisis and the role that it played. What would you say is, in fact, the role of homosexuality? Is it a root cause here? Is it a symptom, in terms of the kind of problems that have emerged over the course of the last months and years?

ROSE: Well, I think the problem really is the gay subculture that has flourished in the seminaries over the last 35 years. And in my research, one of the obstacles to young men becoming priests in the Catholic Church has been the presence of that active gay subculture.

Often a young man will enter a Catholic seminary expecting to find wise, strong men, like Bing Crosby or Spencer Tracy. And what he finds instead sometimes are the Village People. At St. Mary's in Baltimore, for example, there were many students who recounted to me seeing fellow students and also faculty members actually gathering together to go cruise the gay bars on the weekend.

And if that wasn't bad enough, when the students complained about the gay subculture, oftentimes they were persecuted. They were sent to psychological counseling for being homophobic. They were labeled sexually disordered, and eventually expunged from the system.

(CROSSTALK)

KEYES: Go ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt.

ROSE: Well, I was just going to add that what I found in my research, interviewing over 150 men who were in the seminaries, is that there's been sort of a reverse discrimination. There's been a systematic rooting out of the man who accepts the teachings of the Catholic Church, and especially the teachings on sexual morality. And I'm talking over the last three decades, or so.

I was talking with a new friend of mine today, someone also involved in the Campaign. We were talking about the Holy Eucharist and churches like St. John the Evangelist in Naples, FL, which has its tabernacle in the back of the church and to the left, according to its website. I think it's amazing they'd have to tell people where the tabernacle is. Patty replied, "It's like inviting an honored guest to dinner and putting them at a card table in the basement." Amen! I know that it's not a perfect analogy, but something about what she said really struck me as true in my heart.

Jesus Himself, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, condescends to come from his Throne in Heaven so that he hide himself under the appearance of a little piece of bread. Can you imagine? It's mind-boggling that the Creator of the Universe and our own Creator--out of love for us-- would even do such a thing just so he could be near us and transform us. And yet some churches would choose to hide him away at some side altar, back room, or worse. He deserves nothing less than front and center in our churches and in our lives. It's God Himself, right?

To my mind, from what I'm hearing all around me, it's Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament who is in the center of our struggle because it is He who is misunderstood and maligned by the new churches proposed. I've been to many ugly, new churches in my day, usually while on vacation, visiting a friend, or while away for some reason. And let me tell you, the tabernacle is almost never where it should be. The newer the church--you know, those theaters in the round with the stadium seating--the more likely the tabernacle is stashed in some side room, while the musical paraphernalia and seating for the priest is in the center of the circle. I guess Jesus distracts from the show. Maybe that's why there's usually no crucifix in these churches, either.

Let me share with you one of my favorite meditations, from St. Francis of Assisi:

Let the whole of mankind tremble
the whole world shake
and the heavens exult
When Christ, the Son of the living God,
is [present] on the altar
in the hands of a priest.
O admirable heights and sublime lowliness!
O sublime humility!
O humble sublimity!
That the Lord of the universe,
God and the Son of God,
so humbles Himself
that for our salvation
He hides Himself under the little form of bread!
Look, brothers, at the humility of God
and pour out your hearts before Him!
Humble yourselves, as well,
that you may be exalted by Him.
Therefore,
hold back nothing of yourselves for yourselves
so that
He Who gives Himself totally to you
may receive you totally.

Just some thoughts I thought were worth sharing with you all.

As I was praying the rosary tonight on my way home from work, the words of Fr. Romanowski popped into my head from an earlier conversation I had with him today. He told me that what could really transform the Bishop Galante is fasting and prayer. While I already pray for the bishop daily, I know that fasting has tremendous power with Our Lord. It's just that for me, well, I love food. Fasting isn't my favorite thing to do. I really like food. Well, I'm Italian. Of course I like food. Even though, with two young children, I wind up eating very little anyway, there's always that psychological aspect of fasting in that I know I am not supposed to eat, so of course I want to even more. So I'm proposing that we storm heaven for Bishop Galante. Anybody want to fast with me? You could also abstain from something you enjoy, like a television show or sweets or maybe just listening to the radio in the car. Let's offer our little sacrifices to Our Lord for the sake of the soul of our bishop.

Bishop Galante will conduct two meetings at the Pius X Spiritual
Center, (Peter Cheesman Road, Blackwood), on Thursday,May 29th.
The first meeting for his Consultants will begin at 10:30am and
the second meeting for his Presbytery Council will begin at 1:30pm.

It is extremely important that we continue to express our discontent
with him and his advisers and the premature and incorrect decisions
of mergers and closures that will effect thousands of loyal Roman
Catholics throughout the Diocese of Camden.

Please plan to attend and invite other parishioners and friends
that have not been able to participate previously. Please plan to
be in place by 10:00am as the Bishop's consultants and advisers
arrive for their meetings.

Should you have any questions, please contact me at 856-582-2192.

A St. Mary's Summer, an informal summer "program" for pre-teens, teens, young adults, (and their families should they want to participate) will happen on the week of Our Lady's Assumption. The week will be a true "ora et labora" (plus fun) type of week. We're hoping to promote a true retreat atmosphere, combined with fun and togetherness, all under the Mantle of Our Lady of the Assumption: St. Mary! The following are the proposed activities for the week:

• Basic maintenance at various parishes and a historic Catholic cemetary, including weeding, cleaning, etc.
• Mass, rosary in common, talks from holy priests, processions, and opportunity for adoration of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament.
• Feast of the Assumption festival at St. Mary's in Malaga
• Possibly, if it does not conflict with the feast at St. Mary's, the High Choral Mass for the Feast of the Assumption at the Cathedral in Camden, NJ (an annual event put together by Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church)
• Overnight with other Catholic young people
• Swimming
• Outdoor movies at St. Mary's
• Possibly a trip to the beach in Wildwood
• Hopefully older members of the church can share their stories of the history and culture of that congregations. Participants in the program will have the opportunity to share their experiences of the faith and ask questions in a "faith sharing" format.
  

Please contact me: email for more information. If you'd like to register, have an idea, are a priest or parish in South Jersey that would like to participate, or would like to help out with transportation or supervision, please contact me!

Bishop Galante, be advised: If you should choose to keep up this unholy battle to close the shrine parish of St. Mary's Malaga, you will have a tremendous uphill battle ahead of you. We will fight you all the way to Rome if that's what it takes. The pressure will not cease, it will only increase. We will use canon law and civil law to protect what is holy and True.

Warning: Plainspoken Julie below. Feel free to add you two cents about this evening!

Tonight, Bishop Joseph Galante visited our little church. It was packed to overflowing and people picketed out in the street. It was an impressive turnout, to say the least. Interestingly, Bishop Galante brought a whole cavalcade of people along with him, including Roberta Small and "Sister" Marilyn vollmer, commonly known around the diocesan offices and beyond as "the other bishop." (He brought her along with him from Texas when he came to NJ.) You'd never know she was a "religious." He also brought along Fr. Carmen Carlone, pastor of St. Joe's in Hammonton.

As an aside, I joined St. Joe's awhile ago even though I never, ever attend (except once a year for the Feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, and that's about all I can stand). I joined hoping that I might be able to request "as a parishioner," that they offer Eucharistic adoration there. While I'm no longer a member there (and was in name only--the "liturgies" there were that appalling), when I attended the "welcome to the parish" event "Father" Carmen sported a salmon pink tank top, capris, and leather thong sandals. He's a real character. I have never seen him in a collar, actually, until tonight. He must've had that suit specially dusted off and pressed for the occasion. He looked good. But I digress.

The bishop and Msgr. Joyce, the slick moderator with the shiny shoes, gave us "one hour and ten minutes," with 2 minutes per person, to say our piece. Lots of incredible things were said, I couldn't even hope to repeat them all here. There was so much courage and conviction in the room, and lots of applause for points well-made. If the bishop got nothing else from our meeting, he must know this: that we are not, I repeat NOT going to give up until we obtain victory not just for St. Mary's, but for Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament who must be so outraged and offended by the actions of this bishop.

Friends of St. Mary's, let the Blessed Sacrament be at the very center of our struggle. So many tonight spoke to the bishop about their love of the Blessed Sacrament. Several children spoke about their experiences at Eucharistic adoration, and one girl who looked to be about ten said that she'd gone to adoration at 3AM this past night for the sake of our church, and walked off in tears. One little boy of about eight told the bishop he wanted to be a priest at St. Mary's! One man, who does not drive, takes the bus all the way from Margate to attend St.Mary's and to go to adoration there. How inspiring. And he wasn't the only one. Person after person stood up and said how far they go to get to St. Mary's and how they pass this church and that one because what St. Mary's has is truly special. And yet to the bishop, the level of commitment and love for the Lord that exists at St. Mary's is simply not "vibrant" enough.

I myself witnessed to the bishop of the heresy preached on the website of the parish of St. John the Evangelist, the millionaire South Florida church he holds up as the model he believes South Jersey churches should become. At St. John the Evangelist, they believe that the bread and wine remain after the consecration as the Lutherans do and as the Council of Trent condemned. That's called consubstantiation. It's heresy. He just sat there smugly and shook his head at me. But I spoke the truth, and he knows it. The truth cannot and must not be hidden!

One wonderful woman spoke with such conviction about the fact that clearly, this whole thing must be about money, and that we must withhold our money from the diocese if they won't listen to us. They're our churches, we've paid for them, and they want to take them away from us anyway. I completely agree with her--I will not give a dime until St. Mary's is safe.

The bishop admitted that the "community church" model of megachurch that attracts many people--you know, that lukewarm, happy clappy, superficial religion--should be what we model our future churches on. Boy does he have it all wrong. He thinks Catholics are going over to the evangelicals because they want to be entertained. He's wrong. They are seeking out truth and not hypocrisy. I question whether they find it there in those sorts of churches, of course, but I understand what they're looking for. Bishop Galante expressed that he thinks "young people" want a paid youth minister and all sorts of services and "ministries"--all the "ministry" money can buy. He's wrong. The bishop couldn't be more wrong. Youth want the Truth, pure and simple. They want to be real Catholics, not sugar-coated, watered-down ones. And if they can't be that or do not know how to be that, they're going to leave. More of the same old crap that they've been feeding us over the past 40 years isn't going to make the situation better, it's going to make it worse. Non-practicing Catholics (including a sibling of mine) are completely disgusted by this whole situation. Closing the churches that are their last remaining physical connections to the Catholic faith will only distance them further.

When Bishop Galante had the opportunity to speak at the end (and some of the points he made I've mentioned above), he was extremely unconvincing. It was really just the same stuff he's been saying for months, so no surprises there. However, he may have been surprised by our allergic reaction to his remarks and the continual interjections from the peanut gallery (myself included, I was very hot under the collar). His rationale is completely nonsensical and we all saw through it tonight. It was wonderful that he impressed, convinced, or persuaded no one. We were truly united as a community, a thing Galante supposedly seeks to encourage--by tearing down our churches and building up artificial communities. He came in knowing he had his own plans and that he would not truly listen to us. The whole thing was for show, really, just to pretend he actually cares, just like the "speak up sessions." None of us fell for it.

In a nutshell, Bishop Galante is still claiming there will be a priest shortage, that Catholics are not attending mass, that churches need to be open seven days a week, "vibrant" liturgies need to happen everywhere (whatever the hell that means--I guess holy, Catholic liturgies are less important), that we need to have peppier music, and that outreach is centrally important. Of course, all of us sitting in the pews, in answer to every point he made about how the churches need to change, said, "we ARE doing that." St. Mary's is open all the time. It is "vibrant" liturgically, it does do outreach (but in a personal rather than a "slick" sort of way), and does have authentic, Catholic music.

The bishop also stood up and shamefully lied about several things, such as the financial motivation. He said that the assets of a parish, once merged, remain within the new entity. He failed to mentioned all the money grabbing that would occur after the "merge" (closure) and his power to control said assets. He failed to address several questions posed by the parishioners, including one very important one posed by Leah Vassallo, which was, basically, "What could St. Mary's do to demonstrate its 'vibrancy' to you, Bishop? Do you even think it's possible for a small church community of about 250 families, such as ours, to be vibrant?" After the bishop finished speaking (after having been interrupted numerous times by the faithful in the pews), Leah demanded he answer her question, and he completely ignored her. But in a way, I think he did answer her question. He talked about nothing but numbers and "big" churches, paid ministries, and bringing in masses of people. (Of course, when you close all these churches the megachurches will have to be large and bustling--they'll be the only places left to go! May God spare us that abomination!) While he conceded that even large churches could fail to be vibrant, the definite implication was that this was an exception. Big=vibrant to the bishop.

Bishop Galante was also confronted about his use of the name "Wawa" to refer to our little churches. Wonderfully, the speaker, our cameraman and a self-identified "Catholic in name only" and "doubting Thomas," said that Wawa was so successful because "there's one on every corner" and you can easily find them! Also, you always know you can get good food there and good service. Haha! What a wonderful point. Perhaps we should claim the term "Wawa church." As in, "My church is a Wawa church! You can find St. Mary's always open on the corner of 40 & 47!"

Finally I ought to mention that Bishop Galante stated that he could have come to this diocese and had an easy last few years before retirement, to which all of us applauded and said, "Why don't you?!" He was not happy with this remark and several times over admonished us to act as Christians. Last time I checked, it's our job as Christians to stand up and tell the truth. "Nicey-nice" ain't synonymous with Christian. But again, I digress. Anyway, the bishop said his "conscience wouldn't allow him" to keep things as they are, the "status quo" as he calls it.

As the days go on, Friends of St. Mary's, I am increasingly convicted. I know that we are doing the right thing, that God is on our side, and that we are doing His will. And the more unsavory information I learn of the bishop and his past, the more I realize that something unholy is afoot. We must continue to pray for the bishop, for nothing is impossible with God, and for the priests of our diocese. And let us keep working to save A Light in the Diocese: St. Mary's!

(PS: My four-year-old son Theo would like to add, "St. Mary's is a special church." He typed that himself.)





Friends of St. Mary's Malaga: Please email me, call me, comment here, or send letters detailing your experiences of this evening and opinion of the bishop's scheme. Feel free to comment below.

More on Galante's shielding active homosexual priests in TX.

Quote:

Rod Dreher here. I'd really like to know what the Dallas diocese knew about Father Mallinson's participation with St. Sebastian's Angels.* A source claims that Bishop Galante, the previous auxiliary, was fully briefed at the time, but I haven't confirmed that. It's entirely possible that the new administration didn't check its Mallison file, or assumed that what Father Mallinson told them was true. Or maybe nothing was placed in the file. I don't know. But as Jeff points out, the diocese either needs to back up what Mallinson claims, or correct itself.

* St. Sebastian's Angels was a gay priest sex website. An archive of it still exists, but I don't recommend you'd look at it. It's disgusting.

Click here to read article in its entirety. It's pretty short.

"Not to oppose error is to approve it; and not to defend truth is to suppress it." -Pope St. Felix III

Added by suggestion of a contributor:

read article here

(and a separate piece here)

St. Augustine's School in Ocean City is supported by three parishes and costs the diocese no money. There's no other Catholic school close by (St.Joe's in Somers Point isn't a hop, skip, and a jump, and I have no idea whether the bishop wants to close that one, too). Ocean City is a large island--very long. The school is financially stable, and yet Bishop Galante wants it closed. What drives him? I have my own ideas, of course. Perhaps he wants the money, (hey, it's property in Ocean City,) combined with the fact that he's not crazy about Catholic education. Who knows what goes on in those chancery offices. It scares me even to speculate. But you draw your own conclusions. Read this excellent article by clicking on the link above.

for article click here

The article was written by Rod Dreher, of CruncyCon, which covers "conservative politics and religion." The piece is excellent. For the remainder of the piece, go directly to Mr. Dreher's website.

"Place on thy heart one drop of the Precious Blood of Jesus and fear nothing." - Pope Pius IX

 

"The battle is a real one, fought by ordinary people under extraordinary circumstances." - Mark Alessio, Columnist, The Remnant, Catholic Family News

by Rev. Jerome Charles Romanowski, Pastor

AMDG

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen. Almighty God as we offer our lives to Thee, may we live confidently in Thy gracious gift of divinity. We are members of the One, Holy Catholic Apostolic Church and, weak as we are, we are assured of thy bountiful assistance in all things and we attest that we always received whatever graces we need in the time of peril. Now we humbly consecrate all that we are through the Blessed Mother of Thy Divine Son, asking her Immaculate Heart and the Sacred Heart of Jesus to give all honor and glory to thy Divine Majesty. Not only do we consecrate our individual lives and all that we have to Thee, but as members of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church we offer our sacred families, our parish St. Mary's, our diocese under Bishop Joseph, and pray that Thou would send Thy Holy Spirit, Thy Paraclete, Whom Thy Divine Son promised to send to teach us all things. We acknowledge His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI, as the successor of St. Peter, feeding us with the Eternal Food that Thy Divine Son exhorted St. Peter to feed His Sheep. May that food of the Soul be with us as we adore Thy Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We pray, as always and everywhere, through with and in the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of God and the Church, through with and in the Sacred Heart of Jesus and all the Angels and saints that Thou send Thy Holy Spirit to renew ourselves, our parish, and the diocese of Camden. We make our consecration and we ask all of this through Thy beloved Son in union with the Holy Spirit one God Forever and Ever. Amen.

Click here for the interesting history of St. Anthony's Waterford. Hoping to get an extended history from Kathy, resident amateur "historian" over at the church.

courier post article april 4

"Leaving the comfort of status quo is sometimes frightening," he said, "even when we know that something better lies ahead." says Galante.

Let's remember not to contact Kim Mulford from the Courier post. What a terribly one-sided piece of shlop.

Consistently, the bishop and the diocese have been using such elusive words as "vital" and "vibrant" to describe parishes worth keeping. I have come to loath these words since they essentially mean nothing and can be manipulated for whatever use one desires. In any case, I'd like to pay some attention to the word "vibrant." Let's go straight to the old Merriam-Webster:

Function:

adjective

Date:

1616

1 a (1): oscillating or pulsating rapidly (2): pulsating with life, vigor, or activity <a vibrant personality> b (1): readily set in vibration (2): responsive, sensitive2: sounding as a result of vibration : resonant <a vibrant voice>3: bright 4 <a vibrant orange>

-- vi·brant·ly adverb

As you can see, definition #2 is what we're looking at: "pusating with life, vigor, or activity." Of course, when used in connection with a parish, this could mean any number of things. Not all "life, vigor, or activity" is even desirable. For those of us at St. Mary's, we are well aware that our little parish indeed pulsates with life, vigor, and activity. It is a spiritual powerhouse. There is Eucharistic adoration weekly for several days per week,  there is the Promoters of the Blessed Sacrament group, Third Order Carmelites, the Legion of Mary, the Holy Name Society, daily mass and of course weekend masses (three altogether on the weekend--pretty good for a small parish), the Feast of the Assumption (which predates the parish), the well-kept meditative Rosary Garden, the outdoor Stations of the Cross, and on and on. People at St. Mary's love God and love to worship Him.

Our problem at St. Mary's, however, is that the bishop doesn't seem to be interpreting vibrancy in the same way we would. To him, vibrancy has to do (a.) with numbers and (b.) with lay "involvement" (downplaying the priestly role and replacing it as much as possible with laypeople). Since we are a small church that relies heavily on our priest to bring us the holy sacraments, this seems to be the opposite of what Bishop Galante sees as essential to vibrancy. St. Mary's is moving in the opposite direction he would have us move.

However every Catholic knows that there are many who attend church on Sunday (if even then) who are not especially religious and who are utterly uninvolved in other activities at their church and who don't necessarily live a Christian life. Non only that, but the numbers churches have "on the books" do not necessarily reflect their attendance patterns.

And there are also some churches, Catholic and Protestant, in which people attend more for social than religious reasons. Even "activity" at a church does not equate spiritual "vibrancy." This is a basic error in logic. Activity, in and of itself, has little to do with living an authentically Catholic life. Similarly, the number of people in attendance at mass does not always have anything to do with piety. We see this every week at churches where half of those in attendance leave immediately after receiving Holy Communion, for example.

Let us challenge the bishop to draw out specifically what he means in the use of these codewords. We must either claim the word "vibrant" by disabusing ourselves of the bishop's misinterpretation of it or disown the word altogether. St. Mary's is obviously "vibrant" to just about anyone who walks through the doors of the church. You can feel the power and presence of God in this place, and we at St. Mary's try to live out what God calls us to be as Catholics. Why is a strong and fervently Catholic religious faith not enough for the bishop? What would he have us become?

 

About Louisiana parish closings. These people are incredible. Their t-shirts say, "We shall not lie down as sheep. Instead we shall fight like wolves." (Something like that...they showed the shirts very quickly.)

Louisiana Video One

Louisiana Video Two

Let's be inspired by their tenacity and love for the Church and the Lord.

philadelphia weekly article link here
(from May 31, 2006, 2 years ago. Scroll down to "The Tierney I saw was a bully")

So far as I can tell, Tierney was the PR man for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. There are other connections I cannot at this time mention, but I thought you'd enjoy the parallel here:

When I knew Tierney, I was trying to write about what the archdiocese did with its money, and the cold and callous way his eminence treated his fellow Catholics while he eliminated 20 or so churches and schools in the poorest sections of town. Whether the churches should've been closed is a debate about money and resources; what can't be debated is the un-Christian way the Catholics in these parishes were treated by the cardinal, and his paid mouthpiece, Brian Tierney.

I was a witness. Many of these churches were built and maintained by contributions from the poor people in the neighborhoods. But when the churches went down, everything from the bricks to the crucifixes remained the property of the archdiocese.

These were places where people were baptized, married and buried, and the Catholics who supported them for decades had no rights and no say when they were shut down. If the parishes had to be closed, the cardinal could've comforted the afflicted by holding the last mass, and leading the procession over to the new church. But his response was to refuse to meet with any of these people, including nuns and Catholic school kids who picketed his cathedral.

At the Inquirer I was trying to cover the turmoil and demonstrations the cardinal had incited. It was Bevilacqua's fellow Catholics who gave me secret documents that showed that during a time when the church was going through an alleged financial crisis, and money was so tight that they had to close poor churches and schools, the cardinal secretly spent $5 million to renovate and redecorate archdiocese offices, his mansion and seaside villa.

And where was Brian Tierney during all this?

He was doing what he does best, working to suppress the truth [about the sex abuse scandal] by attacking me in several meetings with my editors. I was under orders from my bosses not to say anything, for fear of further antagonizing him. At one of these meetings Tierney and two associates took turns verbally beating me up in front of my cowardly editors, while they just sat there.

Any of this sound familiar, folks? Bishop Galante can say that he had "speak up sessions" with us, came to our churches and "heard our concerns," etc., but we all know (not only in our hearts but from confidential sources, mind you) that the church "mergers" (closings, really) were a done deal. The bishop has an agenda. He wants to:

1. Get rid of priests BY THE DOZEN who he dislikes because they are orthodox, devout, or don't go in for various liberal agenda points. He is forcibly retiring them, attempting to get them to resign, or attempting to force them to seek "psychological" help to deprogram them from their bizarre Catholic ways. This has already happened and continues. And yet, Fr. Maggart of Assumption Parish is supposedly getting married and is only "on leave." Why? So he can still collect a paycheck? (The information about priests being forced out is widely known, plus we have proof.)
   
2. After dismissing all these priests and creating an environment hostile to attraction of priestly vocations, he then claims there's a vocations crisis, that we won't have enough priests, and need to close down churches. Most notably, churches targeted for closure are ones that are smaller, older, and are more characteristically Catholic in architecture, culture, etc. Now we're virtually stripped of our religion and culture and history as we know it, not to mention some of our best priests. Now we're ready for Phase 3.
3. Establish Protestant-style megachurches lacking traditional sacramentals (see this link and this one) in favor of abstract and modern-looking museum pi