Critics keep pressure on Newark archbishop

By Jeff Green, Minjae Park And Jim Norman
Record
April 13, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/news/critics-keep-pressure-on-newark-archbishop-1.961498

Kevin Waldrip, left, of Old Bridge and Diane Brennan of Bayonne holding signs in Newark on Sunday. About a dozen people protested outside the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, asking Archbishop John J. Myers to cancel the plan to spend approximately a half million dollars on an expansion of his retirement home.

In what seems to be shaping up as a tale of two churches, Roman Catholic Archbishop John J. Myers found himself increasingly isolated from congregants who attended an Easter season Mass at Newark’s Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart on Palm Sunday.

Although Myers greeted parishioners on the steps of the imposing twin-towered stone cathedral, he declined to meet with protesters carrying a stack of petitions signed by 22,000 people objecting to lavish renovations being made to his weekend residence and future retirement home in rural Hunterdon County.

Neither Myers nor his personal secretary, Monsignor Michael Andreano, who delivered the homily, made specific reference to the expansion of the residence, which includes a fifth bedroom, fireplaces and an indoor therapy pool, at a cost of more than $500,000.

But in his homily, Andreano focused on how Jesus was ostracized before his death.

“Perhaps we, too, are disappointed by crowds turning away from us, by being abandoned by friends and supporters, by experiencing our own little persecutions and beatings and horrors and tragedies and even death,” he said.

“So what do we do? What we do as Christians is just as what our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did: We take our consolation and hope in the Resurrection to God.”

In Rome, meanwhile, Pope Francis cast aside his prepared Palm Sunday homily and asked people — himself included — to look into their own hearts to see how they are living their lives.

“Has my life fallen asleep?” Pope Francis asked after listening to a Gospel account of how Christ’s disciples fell asleep shortly before he was betrayed by Judas before his crucifixion. “Am I like Pontius Pilate, who, when he sees the situation is difficult, washes my hands?”

Then, the pope took a turn around St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile, stopping frequently to wade into the crowd and pose for souvenir selfies with young people and sipping herbal mate tea thrust toward him by an admirer.

Many in the crowd of people outside Sacred Heart in Newark were not as admiring of their own prince of the church.

One couple who attended the protest, Arturo and Pat Martinez, shared a letter Myers wrote to them a few weeks ago in response to their decision to stop contributing to the archbishop’s annual fund drive, which collects money for Catholic schools, parishes and faith initiatives.

In the letter, Myers asked the couple to reconsider, saying he could “assure you that your gift has always, and will always go to the specific programs that directly serve and impact those in need.”

The Martinezes, of Hoboken, said they were not convinced, and would continue to withhold their usual $150 contribution.

Some parishioners said it was not too late for Myers to apologize and put the enlarged 7,500-square-foot home on the market. Kevin Davitt, who attends St. Catharine Church in Glen Rock, said he believed the archbishop would eventually change his mind.

Some who were leaving the noon Mass were less critical of Myers. Maria Palumbo of Wharton had no issues with the expense, saying many Protestant ministers drew high salaries, unlike Catholic clerics. “I really feel the Catholic priests deserve that,” she said of the retirement home.

Ted Burke, a St. Catharine parishioner, was not persuaded. “I recognize that the church needs a shepherd and I’m happy to be a sheep,” he said, “but I will not be fleeced.”

Jim Goodness, Myers’ spokesman, issued a three-page statement saying an archdiocese finance council has supported the archbishop’s decision to spend the money on his sprawling estate.

Goodness said the addition would be financed by the sale of a $913,000 residence in Connecticut formerly used by retired Archbishop Peter L. Gerety.

Catholics attending Palm Sunday services elsewhere in North Jersey also expressed their views on another controversy that has dogged Myers’ tenure as archbishop, the question of sexual abuse of children by priests.

“It’s about time somebody steps up and takes responsibility,” said John Lyons of Bogota, a parishioner at the Church of St. Anne in Fair Lawn, after he learned that Pope Francis had told representatives of a network of children’s rights organizations on Friday that he took “personal responsibility” for the “evil” that had been done by “many priests.”

Alice Reffini of Fair Lawn said Francis’ acceptance of responsibility “was wonderful. It’s about time, too. About time the Catholic Church owned up to its mistakes.”

Louis Smigielski, also of Fair Lawn, agreed. “He’s a terrific pope,” Smigielski said. “Just the one the church needed for a long time. No pomp and parade,” he added. “And the bishops, they should be held responsible” for sex abuse by priests, he said, adding that bishops who tolerate it should be removed.

At the St. Paul Roman Catholic Church of Clifton, Jaime Oviedo and his wife, Luz, said they approved of the pope’s remarks on sex abuse. “I think he’s going in the right direction,” Jaime Oviedo said.

But, said Luz Oviedo, “they don’t go to jail. I think they have to be like everyone else. It’s good that he’s sorry, but something has to be done.”

“ ‘Sorry’ is not enough,” her husband said.

“There should be more done to the priests,” said Evelyn Gagliano, as she left the church after the 11:30 a.m. Mass with her husband, Anthony. “They have to pay for their sins in some way. They’re not immune to punishment.”

Both said they felt that abusive priests should be excommunicated. “Never allowed to be near children,” Anthony Gagliano said.