NEW JERSEY
The Record
APRIL 17, 2014
BY ALFRED DOBLIN
THE RECORD
Alfred P. Doblin is the editorial page editor of The Record. Contact him at doblin@northjersey.com. Follow AlfredPDoblin on Twitter.
LAST YEAR, Pope Francis made headlines for washing the feet of inmates at a juvenile detention center. Not only did the pope break with the Holy Thursday tradition of the pope only washing the feet of 12 priests, Francis included women and Muslims.
This Holy Thursday, the pope traveled to a home for seniors and the disabled. Again he broke with tradition. The washing of feet is symbolic of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples. While it is common in parish churches for priests to wash the feet of men and women, that was not the case in Rome until Francis.
If Pope John XXIII opened the windows of the Church, Pope Francis is smashing them. And back here in New Jersey, Newark Archbishop John Myers is installing double-pained glass ones in the 3,000-square-foot extension to his 4,500-square-foot weekend house in anticipation of his retirement.
I had an opportunity to read what appeared to be a form letter to a former contributor to the archdiocese. Myers wrote that he hoped this former donor would reconsider his decision not to contribute because of the negative press Myers was receiving about his retirement home.
Having spent a decade in and about the chanceries of three Catholic dioceses, I know a crisis when I see it and I know crisis management. Such a letter is not generated for one complaint. And while Myers may hope this particular crisis fades, that is not likely. You cannot hide a 7,500-square-foot mansion.
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