NEW JERSEY
National Catholic Reporter
Brian Roewe | Mar. 3, 2014 NCR Today
The costs of renovating Newark, N.J. Archbishop John Myers’ weekend residence for his upcoming retirement could exceed the $500,000 estimated for construction — it could also put a dent in archdiocesan donations.
Over the weekend, the Newark Star-Ledger reported on the hundred-plus people who wrote to the newspaper after it first reported Feb. 17 on the ongoing renovations that will expand the 4,500-square-foot home to 7,500 square feet, complete with six bedrooms, five bathrooms, a three-car garage, two pools (one outdoor, another small one indoors for exercise), a library, an elevator and a gallery room. Myers is set to retire in 2016.
The latest Star-Ledger story highlighted Newark Catholics who have pledged to cut off support of the appeal in protest of the construction project:
Parishioners, infuriated by what they call a tone-deaf show of excess at a time when Catholic schools are closing and when the pope has called on bishops to shed the trappings of luxury, say they’re cutting off contributions entirely or sharply curtailing them.
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