This letter to the editor was in the Cape May County Herald a month ago, in direct response to the Council of Parishes calling for a halt to the diocesan destruction.

(In case you didn't know, Fr. Gregorio already accused the Atlantic City Press of being a prostitute in another letter to the editor. He must be moving on to the next one, now. Is Fr. Gregorio sort of like the Flyer's Dave Brown? Remember him?



As I recall, he was the last to play for the Flyers (not the NHL--that was Craig MacTavish) without a helmet. The guy was nuts. He was not the best player in the world skill-wise, but he was the one they'd send in when they were losing the game because he was a fighter and could attempt to incur penalties on the opposing team. In other words, cause distraction and confusion in a last ditch effort to salvage the game. It was a lot of fun to watch, if ya like the "old time hockey." But often when you were watching him in action you knew it was because the Flyers were losing. But I digress!)

Now most of this letter is the "same old same old" and not worth reading. You know...we're all just "emotionally attached" to our parishes (as if all we needed was to be a little less hormonal) and there's a priest shortage and no one will ever enter the seminary again, blah blah blah. As if any of those reasons were legitimate. But here's something we haven't heard before (quote):

Again if you were the bishop, and you knew that the average diocesan priest today is 64, and that only 12 men are in all stages of seminary theological training, and that many times that will retire or die by 2015, what would you do? What will the average age be in 2015? By then, the bishop will be forced to do another, even more painful consolidation. Fair-minded people are saying this bishop had the courage to do what two or three previous bishops should have done since they had the same demographics.

Three things will be addressed here, not necessarily in order. First, as you can tell, one of the primary themes of this letter is, "If you were the bishop, what would you do?" Of course, none of us are the bishop nor will we ever be, but I for one can answer this question definitively nonetheless. Here is my answer, Fr. Gregorio. Ahem. Here goes.

 If I were the bishop, I would:

A. Pray daily for the continual conversion of my own heart and mind, the hearts and minds of all entrusted to my care, and for the conversion of all lost sheep fallen away from the Church especially. In this and many, many other ways, I would evangelize.

B. Trust in the Blessed Mother of God, who has never and will never fail her children. I would pray to her for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The vocations are there. (We see them beautifully growing in other diocese, orders, and in the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, for example.) God never stops planting them in the hearts of his children. Sometimes they're just buried in muck and not able to grow.

C. I would institute vocational programs and initiatives like other diocese do (look at St. Louis!) to inspire and embolden young men and women to explore, ascertain, and go after their God-given vocations!

D. I would set an example of holiness that inspires those under my care.

E. I would be--personally--extremely accessible. (Again, look at the St. Louis and the example of the walks with the bishop.)

F. The actions of the institutional diocese would be transparent not secretive, honest and not misleading, and the sentiments and concerns of the faithful would not be belittled, but instead taken seriously and answered. An honest man never has anything to hide.

G. I would not take down half the churches in the diocese, whether or not I had ulterior motives, whether or not there was financial incentive, whether or not I preferred McMegachurches, whether or not I felt that small parishes did not have the right to exist, whether or not I had a supposed "priest shortage," whether or not I was involved with con artist Raffaelo Follieri. As bishop I would be well aware that these churches are not mine, but that I am meant to shepherd souls and not manage real estate. As a bishop I would consider it my job to build up the body of Christ, not dismantle and undermine it.

H. I would consider the history of the Church in this country and realize that Catholic priests were basically circuit riders up until very recently, and that traveling two miles down the road or more to the next parish is not a hardship for anyone with a job in the "real world." (Heck, most of us are lucky if our commutes are under an hour. And look at the Byzantine priests! These guys travel back and forth many, many miles.) I would remind my priests that, according to the Holy Pope St. Pius X, that "priest" and "hard work" are synonymous, anyway.

I. I would promote the traditional Latin mass and traditional Catholicism generally because the undiluted Truth is what all young people hunger after.

J. I would promote Eucharistic adoration and, in the diocesan offices, a chapel available for perpetual adoration. In this way I could go to the Eucharistic Lord for guidance in all things, as could all diocesan employees, at anytime. (After all, if Follieri could have a chapel in his office, why not the Diocese of Camden?)

K. I would ensure that all seminary education that seminarians received was solid and in accordance with teachings of the One, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic Faith. If they are wanting, I would remove necessary instructors or have them change their content. If necessary I would again do as Pope St. Pius X did and instruct seminarians myself, if necessary. I would not allow any "nonsense" (as a good priest I know often likes to say) to creep into seminary education or parish religious education.

L. I would not send priests away from the diocese if I truly believed there was a shortage.

M. I would not institute a lay-led initiative that would certainly undermine the sacred responsibilities and authority of priests.

N. If I realized that my actions were in error, no matter how far into them I was and no matter how hard it seemed to turn around, I would repent, publicly confess my mistakes, beg Our Lord's forgiveness, and start on the right path immediately. There is never, ever any shame in stopping wrong action in favor of righteous action, so changing course is always an option. Some of the greatest saints in the history of the Church have been repentant sinners, and indeed this is what gives us all hope, right?

There certainly may be things I've missed, but these things I would do for sure if I was bishop.

Secondly, if the past three bishops should have done something they did not, then they must have been mistaken in their judgment somehow. How and why should we now assume that our current bishop, Bishop Galante, is correct? Why should we trust him if the past three bishops' judgment was lacking?

Third, and perhaps most importantly, Fr. Gregorio points out that Bishop Galante will be forced, in 2015--seven years from now--to do "another, even more painful consolidation." Hmmm. That's interesting. So the "consolidation" that we are seeing now is not the end, according to Gregorio. There is more to come. This warrants an announcement.