(Link below.)

Again, the thing the Diocese just doesn't seem to get is that they are not giving any local demographic statistics to justify the trends they say exist. Just because a general trend is occurring nationally doesn't mean that that same trend can be applied to every specific region. This is a basic principle of sociology, of course. But apparently the bishop and Mr. Walton think that if they throw a bunch of numbers out to the population at large they'll be dumb enough to buy it. Many don't trust the bishops after they mishandled the sex abuse scandal or think fighting a bishop is useless since they'll run roughshod over the laity anyway. What difference will these misleading numbers make to them?

As I've said before, here in South Jersey, there are only two urban centers, by definition: Camden and Atlantic City. Even if there is a Catholic exodus from these areas, church closure is not necessarily the answer. At St. Bart's in Camden, for example, which is a parish that was established in particular for the Black Catholic population, parishioners drive from various locations to attend this church. In other words, just because the Catholic population in an area may shift, this does not always mean that the church is underutilized.* People are attached to their churches for many reasons, and it has been shown in recent years that the local (or most geographically expedient) church is not always the one people choose to attend. I myself drive past countless Catholic churches to attend the two churches to which I belong. My neighbors on one side attend one Catholic church, across the street another, and next door to me on the other side yet another. We all live in the same town on the same block and between the four houses we attend five different churches in a total of three different towns. At one church I attend, I don't think I know any parishioner who actually lives in that particular town.

About the most they give us in this article is the following: "Local shifts in population also have occurred." ??? They continue to fail to give any specific information about particular parishes which are situated in areas with significantly decreased Catholic populations. While I'm sure there are a few such parishes, I hardly believe the far-reaching changes the bishop proposes in any way meet the actual statistical data. I am so confident that they are wrong in their conclusions, in fact, that if I had all the time in the world I'd pour over the census data myself. (Unfortunately I have a job and two young children, so I don't anticipate this happening.)

There are at least two things the Diocese, intent on only sociological planning (and poor planning at that) rather than Godly action, have missed altogether:

1. These days, particularly due to the fact that there are churches that do not unapologetically embrace the fullness of the Church's teachings, people will drive to get to a Catholic church they want to and in conscience can attend. St. Mary's and St. Bart's are only two such churches in the diocese. There are definitely others: St. Peter's in Merchantville, the Cathedral in Camden, Mater Ecclesiae in Berlin, St. Catherine's in Clayton, St. Lawrence in Lindenwold, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Absecon, etc.

2. We are to evangelize! We are Christians! The bishop's answer to decreasing numbers of practicing Catholics is to close the churches they were baptized and received the sacraments in? Take away the only church that fallen-away Catholics have any attachment to and you take away their last remaining connection to the faith. Besides this, if population changes are truly occurring to the point where drastic action is needed, that drastic action is evangelization, not church closure!!! Maybe instead of investing all this time and money on how to close down churches and turn a profit from property sales, he should be thinking instead about how to win hearts and minds for Christ and his One, True Church. Fill up those pews again, then, don't take away people's houses of God! (Boy I bet they're glad they didn't pack it in in Europe when church attendance fell away. The tourist trade at all those old churches is quite lucrative.)

In any case, without exerting ourselves, we can use their own information to disprove their argument. In the past, the bishop has talked about major population increases in the Pitman area, for example. In fact, Bishop Galante has on several occasions sung the praises of the evanglelical protestant Gloucester County Community Church. Well GCCC is two blocks from the Pitman line, and yet he wants to close down Our Lady Queen of Peace in Pitman? That makes no sense. In just about every instance I can think of, Galante and McGrath are seeking to close churches in areas where there is significant population growth.

Again, take the Malaga and Waterford areas. Both these areas are experiencing development, population influx not decrease, and yet Galante and McGrath want to close both these churches (St. Mary's and St. Anthony's). The rationale given (among many depending on the day of the week) is that people don't live in these areas anymore and demographics are shifting. Huh? Just goes to show they haven't done their homework and actually explored these geographic areas. Have exploratory/preliminary studies been done? Doesn't seem like it. All you have to do is look around and see houses going up and know people are moving in, not out.

So far as I can tell, the real reason for the destruction of the Diocese is that Galante, McGrath, and Volmer simply do not like traditional Catholic churches, particularly not small ones. It's an issue of preference. They embrace a different model of church altogether and wish to radically change the face of Catholicism in South Jersey. Just look at the churches the bishop seems to like: Gloucester County Community Church and St. John the Evangelist in Naples, FL. One is protestant and the other a liberal McMegachurch. But if they gave their true reasons, who would be behind them? Hardly anyone is now, can you imagine if they were administered a truth serum and were forced to lay bare their real motivations? We must pray for their conversion, it's our best hope and their best hope. Bishop Galante is the bishop of our Diocese, we must pray for his soul and those who will be affected by these actions!

*Of course, while claiming to promote "unity within our diversity," according to the mission statement of the Diocese, Galante plans to close the only Catholic church in the diocese that was established for the Black population. What an insult. But that is another matter.


Read here if you want to waste your time with more propaganda.

Receiving the Eucharist kneeling will be the norm at papal masses

Read the story here on CNS.

This one is by James Stephenson. I was handed the letter but I'm not sure to which newspaper(s) he sent it. I'm impressed with several of his points, since they are ones not often stressed, and he is speaking from the point of view of a senior.

Re: CLOSING CATHOLIC CHURCHES

I've been reading with interest the heart breaking stories from people who are having their churches closed. I agree with them for the most part. I, though, have a different concern. Is this bishop truly Catholic? What true shepherd would insult the greater portion of his flock by calling their churches "Wawa churches"? Then he insults seniors by saying we only go to church to socialize. No, your Excellency, we go to church to praise, honor, glorify, and worship God in general and Jesus Christ in particular. I have to wonder why he goes to church!

No, we donot need his day care either! Most of his daily communicants are seniors who are also responsible for much of the upkeep of the buildings and grounds.

1. What bothers me more is his remark about needing mega-churches with paid ministries,not small churches that focus on celebrating liturgies. Is he trying to get rid of the mass? The mass is about the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist. Get rid of liturgy, whether mega or small church and you have no Catholic faith.

2. Also, his remark about faith being about relationships, not about rules. Once again, the Catholic Church is all about rules. The rules that Jesus Christ gave us to run his Church, that is what sets us apart from other faiths.

3. This one really makes me wonder where His Excellency is coming from! He says the traditional hierarchy of the  churches must change--the hierarchical setup that's been in place for two thousand years--just because Bishop Galante says so. And he wants to replace it with lay people?I repeat, is he truly Catholic? Is he trying to destroy the Camden, New Jersey Diocese with his grand scheme of mega-churches?

If we have a shortage of priests,he is part of the problem, not the solution. To date he has removed at least twenty good, orthodox priests from their parishes, some of whom have served under three and four other bishops with no problem.

Why not return them to active church service? And why has he only removed orthodox priests???

Most of the remarks that I refer to are in the 02/04/08 Courier Post.*

James Stephenson
Malaga, New Jersey

*I think he means the remarks of Galante to which he refers are taken from an article published in the Courier Post. Would it have been 04/02, though?

We need to involve one of our nearest neighboring diocese. We need to CALL CARDINAL RIGALI and not let up until he agrees to meet with us.

His number is: 215-587-4538

Why should Cardinal Rigali intervene?

Because we are not little mini-churches in vacuums. The Church that we belong to is the ONE, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church. If the bishop in one diocese falls into error and is intent on bringing all the souls of the diocese with him, something must be done. There is not an option to do otherwise than intervene. Cardinal Rigali is a successor to the Apostles in the Apostolic Church. The job of a bishop or archbishop is to tend the Lord's sheep and keep them from wolves! "We cannot interfere" is an unacceptable and indefensible position. It is certainly no reason to fail to stand up for what is Right and True. Church leaders must be held accountable.

We want Cardinal Rigali to intervene on our behalf, but the least he could do is hear us out. Bishop Galante cannot close half the diocese, ship off many of its priests, and institute general chaos without a word from his colleagues. We are Christians--lay and religious--and it is our duty to speak the Truth. Where are you, faithful shepherds of the Lord? Priests, Bishops, Archbishops, what do you have to be afraid of besides the justice of God?!

Look for this over the next couple days. Any information you may have you can email to me. Thank you again to all people who have contributed information and stories to savestmarys. Keep it coming! For the love of God, united we stand, divided we fall.

This article was written 2 years ago.

Quote:

While winning the hearts of the liberal faction, Bishop Wuerl ran roughshod over the faithful and the parishes they and their families had built. Bishop Wuerl had managed to cut a million dollars from the operating budget his first year and his concepts for the consolidation of school and parishes became the "model for bishops facing similar problems nationwide."

While the reporter, Ann Rodgers-Melnick, in the March 12, 1989 article enthused over the bishop's controversial closing of parishes and schools, Pittsburgh Catholics found themselves at the mercy of the diocesan machine as it moved full throttle over the heartfelt concerns of the laity who were stunned at the numerous closings and mergings of churches into "worship sites," including the financially and spiritually sound parishes.

The usual "blarney" about  consultation with the laity, who for the most part saw it as a "done deal," was published in the local Catholic paper, which ranted on and on, inferring that the suffering Catholics were disobedient and causing disunity when they felt their spiritual world crumbling. Uppermost in the minds of many were concerns about the losses of Mass availability, ethnicity, and the sense of community. The allowance, by the diocese, of "polka Masses," and the parading of Catholics in ethnic costumes in the Civic Arena was apparently an attempt to show "respect" for the many heritages represented in Pittsburgh's Catholic community.

The diocese attempted to give the appearance of cooperation and harmony toward the people, but the laity felt betrayed and disillusioned by the strong-arm tactics employed under Bishop Wuerl's rule. Many elderly Catholics were no longer able to continue their custom of attending daily Mass due to limitations set by the distance to the nearest church, since their "worship site" may or may not have a scheduled daily Mass.

Money from one parish, totaling three million dollars, donated by hard working parishioners, was confiscated by the diocese. This was only one instance of what is thought to be an enormous amount of money ending up in diocesan coffers from parish accounts and property sales. The diocese claims that the money will be returned to the merged parishes, but many of Pittsburgh's Catholics do not believe that and wonder about the total sum of money taken in, diocesan-side. Having nowhere else to turn, some displaed members of parishes are suing Bishop Wuerl in civil court for closing their parishes.

Other parishioners have watched helplessly as pastors spent large sums of money on unwelcome "renovations" such as the installation of "immersion pools" for baptisms, and the removal of tabernacles from places of prominence to hidden positions.

(all emphases mine)

SOUND FAMILIAR??? It should! It's happening all around the country. It happened in Pittsburgh. We're the next recipient of the insidious infestation. There will be no surprises--it's all been done before. They're just following a program that's been used again and again. It's no "process"--that is a lie. (Yeah, Ms. Volmer, you heard me right.) It's a program that's being implemented, corporate-style. (And at the moment, Galante's outsourcing, but that's another piece altogether.)

So, got your crucifix? Some holy water? Hope you're wearing your scapular, folks, because it's gonna be a rough ride. Ain't easy to be Catholic these days, especially when the powers-that-be are discouraging us from being precisely that. Of course, if being a faithful Catholic was easy, then everybody would be one. And of course, we are running the race for the prize, which is Christ Himself, so we must take up our crosses and follow Him.

In short (I know, too late!) you simply must read this article, written by Matt C. Abbott. Have no doubt that this is the very same liberal agenda--which is in no way Catholic--that is running rampant and attempting to destroy the Diocese of Camden, its faithful priests, and the parishes within it. Have no doubt that what is at stake here is our souls and the souls of countless people in our diocese and beyond. Have no doubt that money is a motive (remember when Christ said that you can't serve both God and mammon?) and that the intent is to steal it just as was done in Pittsburgh. Most of all, have no doubt that the ultimate goal is to make us less Catholic and therefore further from the Eternal Truth! If you have any doubt of what's really happening here or if you simply want to be better informed, read the piece.

And remember, we must resist the plans of the bishop and preserve Catholicism throughout South Jersey! We must pray for the bishop's conversion. Be sure and find a good and faithful priest who is unafraid of the Truth, even if it appears to be in opposition to the whims of our current bishop. It's about obedience to our Faith and our Church! We are never allowed to fall into sin, even when we are commanded to by a superior. Consider what dire fates the English martyrs faced. In our case we do not risk martyrdom, but we could be risking our souls. Truth is Truth, Right is Right, and wrong is wrong no matter where or when we live.

While it is true that even poor church leaders may come and go, they can cause a lot of destruction during their tenures and will drag down souls with them when they fail to do the Will of God. So when you find a good priest who is faithful to the ancient teachings of the Church--as we have found in our dear Fr. Romanowski--stay close to him! He is a gem! Most of all, stick with Christ, who will never lead you astray!

Click here to read the article.

PS: This article was printed and given to me. Thank you so much for all your contributions to the site and your positive feedback.

This letter was sent by St. Mary's parishioner and historian William Sansalone. I thought it was worth publishing here:

Most Reverend Joseph Anthony Galante, D.D., J.C.D.
Bishop, Diocese of Camden
631 Market Street
Camden, NJ 08102

Dear Bishop Galante:

St. Mary's of Malaga is a treasure--and I ask that you keep it a free-standing parish. My letter is motivated, primarily, by a desire to ensure that you have more information regarding this church. I frame my request around four points:

• St. Mary's is an established faith community. About 100 immigrant families established this rural church 86 years ago. (For details about St. Mary's origins, please see the enclosed commemorative booklet.) Many descendents of these early settlers still live in Malaga, and their family histories are deeply rooted in the baptisms, confirmations, etc. that have taken place at St. Mary's. The disppearance of this church would have a soul-searing effect on them.

St. Mary's is also the spiritual home to families that began to move to Malaga after the Second World War. Working together, parishioners (old and new) established a Praesidium of the Legion of Mary during the postwar years. Many residents have been--and are being--brought back to the Church through the legion's visitations.

• St. Mary's is in solid financial condition and has a pastor in place. The parish is in sound fiscal condition owing to its long-time conservative mode of operation. About 35 percent of registered parishioners use envelopes for their weekly contributions. This is a respectable percentage, considering parishioners' modest incomes. Structurally, the church, rectory, prayer garden, and outdoor Stations of the Cross are in good condition. Much of the maintenance is performed by parishioners at no cost. In short, St. Mary's has never been the cause of financial problems for the Diocese of Camden, nor will it be in in the foreseeable future.

Our pastor, Rev. Jerome Romanowski, has been in place 11 years and is in good health. He promulgates traditional Catholic values that Pope Benedict underscored during his recent visit to the United States. Father Romanowski is a spiritual comfort to his parishioners. 

• St. Mary's is situated in a unique location. Because St. Mary's sits at the intersection of two major highways, travelers to and from Atlantic City (Route 40) and to and from Cape May (Route 47) frequently visit the church and its outdoor prayer sites. For this reason, then Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio designated St. Mary's a Shrine Church almost 10 years ago. If this historic landmark were to disappear, it would diminish the impact--regionally as well as locally--of Pope Benedict's recent message of hope and renewal.

• St. Mary's future plans. Under the leadership of the pastor and parish council, the Legion of Mary is implementing a plan with the following aims:

- expand the number of registered households (great potential exists in Malaga),
- increase the number of current registrants at Sunday Mass, and
- encourage vocations.

Pursuit of these aims started on Mothers Day weekend and will continue through spring and summer. On May 24 when I visited St. Mary's and spoke with Father Romanowski, he told me the above initiative had already yielded positive results.

As you probably know, New York Times writer Laurie Goodstein selected St. Mary's to illustrate the problem of church closures in the United States. (Her article appeared on the front page of The Times on the eve of Pope Benedict's arrival in the United States last month.) St. Mary's must have caught the eye of Ms. Goodstein's editors as well. Both photos accompanying her story show striking views of the church. This article attests--albeit from a secular perspective--to St. Mary's singularity.

We prayerfully hope you can view historic St. Mary's as a treasure--one that should be preserved.

                                                                            Sincerely Yours in Christ,
                                                                            William R. Sansalone
                                                                            (Native of St. Mary's Parish
                                                                            and author of St. Mary's of
                                                                            Malaga: 1922-1997)

cc: St. Mary's Parish Council Chair (Malaga, NJ); Pastor of St. Mary's (Malaga, NJ); His Eminence Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. (sent to the USCCB, Washington, DC); Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States (Washington, DC); and Cardinal William Joseph Levada (Vatican City)

Enclosure (St. Mary's of Malaga: 1922-1997)

June 28, 2008: About 16 picketers stood outside the St. Pius X Spiritual Life Center today to let the bishop know that they want to keep their houses of God open. Sixteen people at a moment's notice, and on a lovely Saturday afternoon? Not bad.

Instead of standing outside with a sign, my son Theo and I went in to the picnic and were warmly greeted by a Sr. Judith. They even had face painting, a large selection of food, and games for the kids.


As you can see from the pictures, we took advantage of the face painting.




There were only about two dozen people in attendance. I had expected quite a bit more, and I suspect they did, too.


We brought a bouquet of Gerber daisies with six little cards attached with prayers we would say on each. We also brought two cards, one on behalf of the campaign (and me personally) and one from my four-year-old son. My card had a picture of the Good Shepherd on it. On the inside it said (as I recall--I didn't photocopy it),

Dear Bishop Galante,
      On the occasion of your birthday, we offer this Spiritual Bouquet of prayers to you. As always, we sincerely pray that you be a true shepherd to the diocese, that you do God's will rather than your own, and that you spare our churches. We pray that you experience a conversion of heart...

It also said on the opposite page, as I remember,

A Happy and Blessed Birthday
Praying for your soul and those of the whole diocese

Theo's card said, "Happy Birthday" on one side and, "Please don't take my church away" on the other. (In the picture, his card is the one rolled up like a scroll.)


Theo and I presented these to the bishop, who graciously received them. We asked him for his blessing, which he gave. He seemed to be in a very good mood, and it seems he will be on vacation at his beach house for about a month so that may be the reason.


The picnic was open to friends and family of diocesan employees. I was never asked anything but my first name. Needless to say, no one knew who I was. The point, though, was for Bishop Galante to know we were there and that we will continue to make our presence known until our churches are safe. We continue to pray for his conversion and that he changes his mind and heart, and that he conform himself to the will of God. My family is depending on nothing less than this miracle.

From the bulletin this week, 6/29:

"Holy Spirit, give me courage to fight the evil I must battle today."

Prayer to the Holy Spirit in Favor of the Church:

O Holy Spirit, Creator, be propitious to the Catholic Church; by Your heavenly power make it strong and secure against attacks of its enemies, and renew in charity and grace the spirit of Your servants whom you have annointed, that they may glorify You and the Father and His only-begotten on, Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

From catechism:

363 Q. Are we bound tohonor and obey others than our parents?
         A. We are bound to honor and obey our bishops, pastors, magistrates, teachers, and other lawful superiors.

362 Q. What are we commanded by the Fourth Commandment?
         A. We are commanded by the Fourth Commandment to honor, love, and obey our parents in all that is not sin.

Explanation:
"In all that is not sin," because if our parents or superiors, being wicked, bid us do things that we know to be certainly sinful, then we must not obey them under any circumstances. God will not excuse us for doing wrong because we were commanded. But if, on the contrary, we are forced in spite of our resistance to do the sinful act, then not we but they have to answer for the sin....

364 Q. Have parents and superiors any duties toward those who are under their charge?
         A. It is the duty of parents and superiors to take good care of all under their charge and give them proper direction and example.

Explanation:
It is so much their duty that God will hold them responsible for it, and punish them for neglecting it...