This letter/article was submitted to Save St. Mary's a few days ago. We thank you for your submission.
I wrote a small piece and will send it to the Courier Post. The CP will never publish an editorial that doesn't glorify the Camden Diocese, So, I decided to share with your site too.
Can you serve both God and Mammon*?
It seems Bishop Galante thinks so.
Find Christ's answer here and the author's below.
(* Mammon: Riches, worldly interest See Luke 16:13 and Matthew 6:24)
Announcement from the Camden Diocese: Low enrollment, rising deficits force closure at end of school year of Our Lady of Guadalupe...
Here
we go again!
Our Lady of Guadalupe's in Bridgeton will close at the end of this year due to low enrollment. It's no surprise that their enrollment continued to decline when you consider the atmosphere that Bishop Galante has created within the Catholic community of the Camden Diocese. How could enrollment grow with massive school closings, escalating tuition, and Church closures that demonstrate how the Diocese has turned its back on promoting our faith? The Diocese will quickly point to the declining numbers within the schools; on the other hand, one could speculate that poor decisions by a Diocese not driven by faith are at the root of the numbers decline.
Then we have the Church closures. Take a look at St. Gregory's Church in Magnolia and the prospect of this beautiful church becoming the site of yet another Super Wawa.
The beautiful St. Gregory's in Magnolia, NJ
These church
closures represent a battle, Land Value vs. Faith. Sadly, I think land value is
winning.
Surveyor outside St. Gregory's Magnolia.
Look out! Your church is next.
The people of the Camden Diocese need to say, enough is enough and unite to stop the damage this Diocese has done. With an apparent lack of devotion to our faith by those in charge at the Camden Diocese, how could the numbers increase in the pews or in the classrooms? Their devotion appears to be to the business of running a Diocese.
To top it
all off, there is a general mistrust of Bishop Galante due to his dealings with Follieri, who is a criminal with his
hands in the real-estate market.
One has to question Galante's motives in the light of his ties.
Bishop Galante on the front page of the
7/15/08 NY Post because of his financial
involvement with criminal Raffaello Follieri
For the future, my hunch is more closures will follow. In my area, watch out St. Teresa's in Runnemede. Forget about the dedication of the IHM sisters or your 80+ years of teaching our children so much more then just the academics. You are sitting on prime real estate (Black Horse Pike & Evesham).
I beg you, if your number is called, don't go quietly.
Whether it's a school or church closure, it's
all related. Neither closure will promote growth in the Catholic Faith. Both
closures will free up real estate that could be sold for big profits. What is
Galante's objective, to promote our faith or make money? Is he the right
man to lead us in our faith? I think not.
In closing, Thank You Father Romanowski (St. Mary's Malaga) for proving that there is good in the churches of the Camden Diocese.
D. Lamancusa