Dear Editor,
I am beyond disgusted with the state of the Diocese of Camden. This is not only due to the closings of 66 beloved parishes but due to those who purport themselves to be speaking in the best interest of our collective Catholic futures. Take Father James Maggart, the former pastor of Assumption Church in Atco. For whatever personal reasons, this man has had it in for St. Anthony's Parish for years. He has used his position on the Deanery to pursue his own vendetta against our little parish. Even though St. Anthony's is larger than Sacred Heart, has better parking, seven beautifully renovated, fully functioning classrooms, a newly renovated kitchen, all by the way paid for by the parishioners because we were assured that we WERE NOT CLOSING. Father Maggart used his influence to close us down. Now I have just learned that he has either been asked or voluntarily resigned his position this past Tuesday because (wait for it) he's either already or soon to be getting married. This is who this bishop has been ill advised by. While I can't blame Bishop Galante for the actions of this priest, my grandmother's old adage of "you lay down with dogs, you're going to get fleas" keeps popping in my head.
I speak not only for St. Anthony's Parish in Waterford but for all of the little parishes who are also being bullied and bulldozed into a situation they neither want or had any hand in creating. The speak up sessions, the planning committees, even the notification system this bishop has employed is a complete and utter joke. He does not respect or represent anyone in this diocese except perhaps himself. Why he would go out of his way to tear out our hearts is beyond me and and beyond cruel.
Bishop Galante's advisers are not only misinformed as to the best course of action for the future of this Diocese but seem hell bent on destroying so many faithful followers, mostly the elderly who have spent generations building and maintaining their parishes, which are without a doubt the hearts of each and every local community.
My hope is that anyone who made a pledge to the Bishop's House of Charity Appeal will stop payments immediately and donate any and all funds to their local parishes and/or charities of their choice. Don't support a bishop who won't support us!!! Send a message to this bishop that he has lied to us, misled us and screwed with us FOR THE LAST TIME!!!
I am a Eucharistic Minister, a Sunday School Teacher for the last twelve years, the current leader of three Girl Scout troops run out of St. Anthony's Church, an active member of the parish, as well as a former member of my Parish Council. I am also the mother of a 17-year-old Lector, a 14-year-old Altar Server and twin eight-year-old, up-and-coming Alter Servers. I do not write so adamantly against my bishop lightly, but with a heavy heart and with a sense of absolute necessity. Stop this madness and give us back the homes of our hearts and our faith.
A Furiously Disillusioned Catholic,
Patty Gioffre
609-567-7927
St. Anthony's Parish, Waterford
Bravo, Patty. A letter well-written. You speak my mind and the minds of many, many, many South Jersey Catholics. Thank you1 -Julie
I am beyond disgusted with the state of the Diocese of Camden. This is not only due to the closings of 66 beloved parishes but due to those who purport themselves to be speaking in the best interest of our collective Catholic futures. Take Father James Maggart, the former pastor of Assumption Church in Atco. For whatever personal reasons, this man has had it in for St. Anthony's Parish for years. He has used his position on the Deanery to pursue his own vendetta against our little parish. Even though St. Anthony's is larger than Sacred Heart, has better parking, seven beautifully renovated, fully functioning classrooms, a newly renovated kitchen, all by the way paid for by the parishioners because we were assured that we WERE NOT CLOSING. Father Maggart used his influence to close us down. Now I have just learned that he has either been asked or voluntarily resigned his position this past Tuesday because (wait for it) he's either already or soon to be getting married. This is who this bishop has been ill advised by. While I can't blame Bishop Galante for the actions of this priest, my grandmother's old adage of "you lay down with dogs, you're going to get fleas" keeps popping in my head.
I speak not only for St. Anthony's Parish in Waterford but for all of the little parishes who are also being bullied and bulldozed into a situation they neither want or had any hand in creating. The speak up sessions, the planning committees, even the notification system this bishop has employed is a complete and utter joke. He does not respect or represent anyone in this diocese except perhaps himself. Why he would go out of his way to tear out our hearts is beyond me and and beyond cruel.
Bishop Galante's advisers are not only misinformed as to the best course of action for the future of this Diocese but seem hell bent on destroying so many faithful followers, mostly the elderly who have spent generations building and maintaining their parishes, which are without a doubt the hearts of each and every local community.
My hope is that anyone who made a pledge to the Bishop's House of Charity Appeal will stop payments immediately and donate any and all funds to their local parishes and/or charities of their choice. Don't support a bishop who won't support us!!! Send a message to this bishop that he has lied to us, misled us and screwed with us FOR THE LAST TIME!!!
I am a Eucharistic Minister, a Sunday School Teacher for the last twelve years, the current leader of three Girl Scout troops run out of St. Anthony's Church, an active member of the parish, as well as a former member of my Parish Council. I am also the mother of a 17-year-old Lector, a 14-year-old Altar Server and twin eight-year-old, up-and-coming Alter Servers. I do not write so adamantly against my bishop lightly, but with a heavy heart and with a sense of absolute necessity. Stop this madness and give us back the homes of our hearts and our faith.
A Furiously Disillusioned Catholic,
Patty Gioffre
609-567-7927
St. Anthony's Parish, Waterford
Bravo, Patty. A letter well-written. You speak my mind and the minds of many, many, many South Jersey Catholics. Thank you1 -Julie
While Patty is certainly entitled to her own opinion, she DOES NOT SPEAK FOR THE PARISHIONERS OF ST. ANTHONY'S in WATERFORD.
There are many of us who are working very closely and very hard to get the Bishop to change his mind about our closing.
We are just not inclined to be as irreverent and outspoken as she is.
I personally (speaking on behalf of myself) have no problem with anything Patty said and appreciated her frankness. More people should be as forthright. I myself strive to be forthright. Some would call it blunt. Oh well.
I must admit, "Anonymous," that since you were not honest or courageous enough to put your name to your comment, I have no idea who you are or whether or not you are actually a St. Anthony's parishioner, so it's hard to take your comment too seriously.
It's a little difficult to say that Patty does NOT speak for St. Anthony's. Who knows how many people feel similarly to her? I know I've met several at rallies. And BTW, good luck with the bishop. At this point attempting to persuade him is a colossal waste of time--don't fool yourself. He's not doing the work of God. You must pray for him daily--that the Holy Ghost will penetrate his heart and mind--and work diligently around him. Write to the archbishop and nuncio. Show up to the rallies. And don't work against your fellow parishioners' efforts to save the parish, publicly or privately. It just feeds the diocese. That's what they want. If you are wise you will unite and put your differences aside.
Anonymous,
Your most recent comment is being deleted. If you have concerns you'd like to speak with me about please feel free to contact me directly via email (see contact page). "Shouting" and anonymous posts lacking specific information are no way to dialog. If you would like to write a piece about your parish I'd be only too happy to review it for possible posting. Thank you for supporting your parish.
I must agree with anonymous. Although I can completely understand the frustration and hopelessness that we are all feeling, some of us were advised that speaking out publicly against the bishop can get you excommunicated. I have been told by a member of the clergy, to "tread lightly" about this subject and not be so quick to speak out. To say that you "speak for" an entire congregation is probably not the best thing to do at this time.
Thank you for your comment. I must advise you, however, that whoever informed you that speaking out against your bishop "can get you excommunicated" is very wrong. As I'm sure you know, what the bishop is doing in closing churches is not only wrong for any number of reasons, but some of the things he appears to be advocating (see my post about St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples, FL, where is brother and sister-in-law attend, as well as his shielding actively homosexual priests in Texas, among other things I cannot at this time mention) are actually contrary to church teaching. Instead of sending seminarians to St. Charles Borromeo in Philly, Bishop Galante is now sending most of them down to St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore which is commonly referred to as "The Pink Palace." There are many, many examples I could cite here but I must try to be brief. Let me assure you that more information will be forthcoming.
Members of the clergy who have taken a vow of obedience to the bishop of the diocese are between a rock and a hard place and must decide for themselves how to respond to this crisis. Many priests have been removed by the bishop because he disagreed with their orthodoxy or theological stands, etc., thus falsely creating the priest shortage he anticipates.
As laity, it is our job to speak out against the wrongdoing of the bishop because we CAN. We are well within our rights to do so as we are protected by canon law. Moreover, it is our obligation to do so. We cannot live in fear as many of the priests do--we must speak out because they cannot or will not. It is my sincere hope that the diocesan priests ban together, but I don't see this happening as they are currently extremely fearful of the stigma attached to a priest who goes against the bishop, not to mention what the bishop could do to them (send them for "psychological help"--this has happened already several times) if they speak out against his schemes.
Understand this: Bishop Galante WILL close your church if you pussyfoot around. The time to act is NOW. "Treading lightly" will get you nowhere. Appeal directly to the Archbishop in Newark with letters and phone calls by the dozen. We must do all we can. Look at the videos I put up links to about the parishioners in Louisiana. They boldly acted for their communities of faith and we have much to learn from their courageous examples. Pray to St. Catherine of Siena, who took the pope himself to task.
In Prayer,
Julie
St. Anthony, Waterford Parishioners,
An unbiased reading of the above letter to the editor would clearly indicate that this is one person's opinion, namely the writer's, not the entire parish of St. Anthony, Waterford's.
Please don't take things so personally. Make room for everyone to contribute to your cause individually, realizing that the Holy Spirit calls different people to do different things.
And remember - United you stand, divided you WILL fall.