Today a group of around fifty COP members from various parishes demonstrated against the merger of our parishes at the Commissioning Ceremony of the Core Teams and Priest Conveners at St. Agnes Church in Blackwood.  It was a typical protest, with people standing in small groups, holding signs.  No one was harassing anyone or disturbing anything.  Once the event had started, we gathered for a group photo in front of the statue of Jesus, then the group dispersed.

One member from our group, a 77-year old parishioner of St. Mary's--we'll call him Steve-- decided to go back into the Commissioning Ceremony to watch (he had already been inside earlier, but didn't stay).  However, when he tried to enter, all of the doors were locked and two ushers who opened one of the doors would not let him in.  After a few minutes, I walked up to see what was going on.  The ushers were saying that we could not go in because we were protesters and were from St. Mary's.  We assured them that we just wanted to observe the ceremony and would not be disruptive.  One of them then accused me of putting something on the Bishop's van, which I hadn't done and I said as much.  We were asking to be let in and they were telling us "No," but the discussion was calm and we were not trying to force our way in.  At any time, they could have simply closed the door and ended the conversation.

But as we were talking to them, a very short priest with white hair and blue eyes circled around behind us and asked what was going on.  I explained again that we just wanted to observe the ceremony, since no one from St. Mary's was present.  He became very critical of St. Mary's and said we were not welcome inside the church and would have to leave.

At that point, I asked the priest who he was and he refused to identify himself.  One of the ushers inside, the same one who earlier accused me of putting something on the Bishop's van, then accused me of disrespecting the mystery priest, which I wasn't doing at all--I just wanted to know who was saying that we weren't welcome there.  Then, the other usher suddenly pushed the door open, yelled "Leave Now," put both his hands on Steve's chest (Steve was not saying or doing anything) and literally threw him backward.  He fell and slid across the cement apron on his back, nearly slamming his head against both the apron and the pillar on the far side of the apron.

So did the mystery priest come to the aid of Steve?  NO.  To the contrary, the mystery priest, who I later identified as Fr. Terry Odien, stepped in front of me and stated that that's what happens when tensions run high.

He glared at me and said, "Now Leave!" in what can only be described as a menacing manner.  No one helped Steve up, asked if he was OK, or apologized. In fact, as Steve picked himself up off the ground, and after telling us to leave, Fr. Odien and the ushers ran inside, locking the doors behind them. By the time the police arrived, the usher who had pushed Steve had left the premises.

Now, Steve is 77-years old and, by the grace of God, was not seriously hurt, but this type of physical aggression was completely unwarranted, inappropriate, and, frankly, criminal.  I can only say that I was stunned that we would be physically assaulted at the door of a Catholic Church with the seeming endorsement of the Priest Personnel Director of the Diocese of Camden. 

And this is not the first time something like this has happened.  A few years ago, someone picketing the Bishop was assaulted by a priest of the Diocese of Camden, in fact a priest with a leadership position in Deanery 12. 

Bishop Galante, you have expressed concern for your own safety at our picketing events, despite the fact that we have never done anything aggressive toward you or anyone else.  Your flock wants to know, are you going to do something about this type of behavior perpetrated by people acting as agents of the Church?