Assistant Newark archbishop's remarks invite a look at Myers’ retirement residence

By Jeff Green
Record
May 26, 2014

http://www.northjersey.com/news/assistant-newark-archbishop-s-remarks-invite-a-look-at-myers-retirement-residence-1.1023647

Assistant Newark Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda greeting visitors following a Memorial Day Mass at Maryrest Cemetery & Chapel Mausoleum in Mahwah.

MAHWAH – After urging people during a Memorial Day Mass to sacrifice for the poor, assistant Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of Newark said the church needs to reevaluate its spending amid a controversy over lavish upgrades to the retirement home of the prelate he stands to succeed.

The archdiocese has been besieged by criticism, some of it directed at Hebda, for a $500,000 expansion under way at the 8.2-acre property in rural Hunterdon County used by Archbishop John J. Myers. The 4,500-square-foot house is getting a 3,000-square-foot addition complete with fireplaces, a “therapeutic whirlpool” and a second office.

While Hebda did not directly criticize Myers or the use of church money for the archbishop’s personal residence, he said in an interview that Myers and the archdiocese must pay close attention to the words of Pope Francis, who has over the past year used the world stage to focus on the suffering and the impoverished. Asked if Myers needed all the new amenities, Hebda said, “Clearly, all of us have to hear what the Holy Father is saying – that’s not just for priests and bishops, either. It’s for all of us.

“We have to find those ways of being really faithful to the Gospel and figuring out what it is that we need,” he said. “Not always what we want, but what it is that we need.”

Pope Francis appointed Hebda, 54, coadjutor or assistant archbishop last fall. He is expected to take over the archdiocese after Myers submits his resignation in two years, when he reaches the mandatory retirement age of 75.

Hebda was transferred from Gaylord, Mich., where he led a tiny diocese and his parishioners said he embodied the same values as Pope Francis, most notably his humility. In the seven months he has been in Newark, he’s taken up residence in a two-room dormitory suite on Seton Hall University’s campus, in stark contrast to Myers.

After an article in The Record about the comparison, Hebda wrote an op-ed article defending Myers as a “generous shepherd who works tirelessly for his flock.” At the time, he did not address whether the expansion of an already large home was a wise use of church money.

Hebda said Monday he wasn’t sure if the property was a good use of money, something the archdiocese’s finance staff helps determine. But his comments, while careful, appeared far more critical.

“It’s certainly something that we’ll have to continue to look at it to see what’s the best way in which we’re able to give witness to what the Lord’s asking us to do and what Pope Francis is asking us to do,” Hebda said. “I think it will be an ongoing examination.”

Jim Goodness, an archdiocese spokesman, stressed that Hebda has consistently said the archdiocese will eventually reconsider its holding of the retirement home when it is no longer used.

Goodness also said that during Myers’ tenure as archbishop since 2002, the archdiocese has spent more than $200 million on Catholic education, hospitals and charities and that Hebda’s remarks should not be construed to mean the church is not spending on people’s needs.

“This conception that Newark is not doing what it should be doing is wrong,” Goodness said. “Clearly we know where things are needed, where support is needed and we are trying to do that.”

The archdiocese is paying for the retirement-home upgrades with designated contributions and proceeds from the sale of another residence owned by the archdiocese – a Cape Cod that sits on 2½ acres in New Canaan, Conn. — that was used by retired Archbishop Peter Gerety. That home is on the market for $1.1 million. At age 101, Gerety now lives in a nursing home.

But many parishioners, outraged by the retirement home controversy, have said they are not donating to a key annual fundraiser this year. Some formed protest committees and signed a petition calling on Myers to sell the home.

Hebda was at the Maryrest Cemetery in Mahwah on Monday for a Memorial Day Mass. In his homily, he prayed for those in the military and urged his flock to sacrifice for others and be “instruments of peace in this world.”

After the Mass he blessed a statue of St. John Paul II outside the cemetery mausoleum.

In the interview, Hebda said that Memorial Day was about honoring veterans and mirroring their actions, particularly putting the needs of others above our own desires.

“Here, in this part of Bergen County, there’s a great deal of resources,” Hebda said. “Not too far from here there are plenty of people who worry about their next meal or where they’re going to get their next pair of shoes. That same kind of selflessness can be brought into practice here.”

He also acknowledged heavy criticism he received after defending Myers in his op-ed.

The criticism of Hebda included a jab from Vatican analyst Robert Mickens, who wrote on Twitter that the op-ed was a “very poor attempt” at damage control of the retirement home controversy. “Circle the wagons, boys,” Mickens added.

But, Hebda said, he also received many positive notes.

“I think it was an important moment for me to recognize the importance that people see of people standing up for the church, and certainly also made me wary how I have to be clear in expressing my thoughts,” Hebda said. “But I was grateful for the attention that came from the response – it was a little bit severe, I thought, but it was a good lesson. It was very fair.”