State of the Diocese 2018

I frequently visit our Catholic schools throughout the Diocese. On one of those occasions, a student assigned to accompany and lead me around the school asked: “What does a bishop do?” I thought of the words of the psalmist: “Out of the mouth of children, you have formed strength (Psalm 8:2).” It is a good question and an important one in any diocese entrusted to its bishop’s care. The answer is as ancient as the Apostles whose “Successors” the Church’s bishops are. A diocesan bishop’s
primary “job” is to share and carry on the Lord Jesus Christ’s mission in and for the Church: “to teach; to govern; to sanctify” the diocese assigned to him by the pope. The ways a bishop fulfills that mission are always “works in progress” as they attempt to meet the evolving needs of the Church in his diocese.

For my purposes in developing this State of the Diocese Report 2018, I will use the
three-fold mission of Christ, the Church and the bishop/diocese as my guide.


TO TEACH

Personally, as the Bishop of Trenton, I try to fulfill this element of mission --- teaching
and handing on the Catholic faith --- by preaching in the Cathedral and Co-Cathedral
and in the parishes of the Diocese during pastoral visits, Confirmations and other
important diocesan/parish occasions. It is important for the Bishop to speak and the
people of God to hear him. Similarly, with my extensive background in Catholic education, I attempt “to teach” through the things I write and publish in The Monitor and across our diocesan media, and through my presentations on Domestic Church Radio each month.

The mission to teach the Catholic faith, however, is not restricted or limited to the
bishop although he is the “Chief Teacher.” Here in the Diocese of Trenton’s 106 parishes, pastors, priests, and deacons primarily through their homilies, as well as other parish lay ministers, religious, and Catholic educators all work to help fulfill that mission. We cannot forget or ignore the role of parents either, the “first teachers of the faith,” who share this mission because of their own Baptism and their decision to have their children Baptized and later Confirmed.

Our Catholic schools and religious education programs are one primary means, after
the home, for the transmission of faith. Sometimes, they are the first or only means and, so, they deserve and need our prayerful encouragement and financial support.
In 2012, I commissioned a large, diocesan-wide group of Catholic educators, parents
and others with a vested interest in Catholic education to work with a nationally recognized expert in Catholic schools to develop a “Catholic Schools Sustainability Plan” for the Diocese with criteria for their sustainability and other recommendations that I accepted. In 2017, after five years, I commissioned another task force to
review and update that study in order to ensure that its focus and content remain current.

There are times, however, when a long history of downward trends cannot be reversed,
despite the best of efforts. In December, after years of careful analysis, steadily declining enrollment and $13.8 million in diocesan subsidies, I announced that the Diocese could no longer sustain and subsidize Holy Cross Academy in Delran as a diocesan high school. Rather than closing the school outright in June 2018, I accepted the proposal of a group of dedicated alumni and benefactors to pursue “independent Catholic status” for Holy Cross Academy following the model of Mater Dei Prep High School in Middletown in 2015. I pray that they can attract the enrollment and revenues necessary to make the transition and stay open.

Our Catholic schools are enriched by competent and devoted lay administrators, faculty and staffs, supportive priests and parish communities and committed parents. All are agreed that our Catholic schools are effective at teaching and handing on the faith. The issues they face, however, are declining enrollments and, therefore, shrinking financial resources to support their Catholic educational mission. The reality of shifting demographics, escalating costs, competition from tax-supported public schools, and a growing secularization in society at large are added challenges that our Catholic schools confront in our Diocese and in other dioceses all over the country. I believe we are doing everything possible to sustain our Catholic schools, including providing tuition assistance and financial support to the extent the Diocese
is able. The job is not easy. Neither are the decisions that sometimes I must make.

But our diocesan resources are not unlimited and other needs compete for them as
well.

Catholic education, however, is not only about Catholic schools. Most of our parishes
run good religious catechetical programs for those children who cannot or do not attend Catholic schools for whatever reason. Their numbers far exceed those enrolled in Catholic schools. Parishes and their religious education teachers must be affirmed and supported in this monumental effort. Understanding and living the Catholic faith depend upon the strength of religious catechetical formation in the Diocese up to and beyond Confirmation. The involvement and encouragement of parents is without equal in this effort. Religious catechetical instruction is not simply offered for the future of the Church: it is for the present.

TO GOVERN

Here, the bishop of a diocese can be compared to the governor of a state or, perhaps
better, to a CEO of a large corporation, although one that is faith-based and spiritual in
nature. I know people do not like that comparison but I sit “in the Chair” and regularly
experience it that way. The bishop guides the diocese in an administrative way and the goal of his administration is evangelization. He is responsible for diocesan personnel (training and assigning clergy, supporting retirements and health needs, motivating lay ministers and staff); facilities; overseeing diocesan finances and fundraising; promoting good stewardship of diocesan resources; administering parishes and Catholic organizations and agencies; providing Catholic pastoral and social services, and fostering the spiritual welfare of the Diocese he serves. That list is extensive but not exhaustive. My days are full but thank God, I do not exercise these responsibilities to govern alone! The effective governance and administration of all aspects of diocesan life and ministry bear many, many fingerprints of incredibly dedicated personnel – clergy and lay faithful alike – who give of themselves generously and without reservation to the service of the Church in the Diocese of Trenton.

On January 25, 2017, I announced the conclusion of a three year, diocesan-wide
initiative called Faith in Our Future. Beginning with consultations at the parish level,
the 107 parishes in the four counties of the Diocese of Trenton were divided into “Cohorts” or groupings of neighboring parishes – primarily composed of members of the lay faithful – in each county or “Vicariate” which, in turn, studied the reports of these parishes and presented them to a diocesan commission. The commission, in turn, evaluated these reports and formulated recommendations to me. At that point, I analyzed and prayed about these recommendations with diocesan officials, pastors and others in the Diocese in order to develop a comprehensive plan to support, quite literally, the Diocese’s Faith in Our Future. I am happy to report that I accepted the overwhelming majority of these recommendations. The work of implementation has now begun in the Diocese and will continue.

To support this renewed “vision” for the Diocese of Trenton, I simultaneously initiated
a diocesan fundraising campaign --- the first of its kind since 1992 --- to build an
endowment for future ministry in service to the Diocese and all its works. Entitled
Faith to Move Mountains, this campaign relied extensively on the work of pastors
and parishes and the amazing, characteristic generosity of the people of the Diocese of Trenton. A goal was set --- $75 million --- and by December 2017, nearly $72 million was raised. A formula was established to return a percentage of the funds generated directly to the parishes. All but five parishes in the Diocese of Trenton actively participated in the Faith to Move Mountains initiative. It is my hope and prayer that the pledges made to the Diocese will be honored in the next three to five years. As Bishop, my gratitude knows no bounds.

Annual diocesan fundraising efforts will now focus on the Annual Catholic Appeal --- formerly called The Bishop’s Appeal --- first established in 1990. In 2017, the Annual
Catholic Appeal raised $5.8 million, slightly behind previous years, no doubt because of the simultaneous Faith to Move Mountains campaign. I was advised by the expert fundraising counsel we enlisted not to discontinue the Annual Catholic Appeal since experience in other dioceses demonstrated that once it was interrupted, it would be very hard to reintroduce and re-engage. Whereas the Faith to Move Mountains campaign secures needed funding for the financial health of the Diocese in the future, the Annual Catholic Appeal supports diocesan operations year by year.

Currently, the Diocese of Trenton shows an operating deficit of over $3 million. It is my hope that the endowment campaign and the Annual Appeal will help reduce that debt
along with positive gains in Diocesan investments. The financial management of the Diocese received a “clean audit” from the auditing firm with “no material conditions” reported.

This past July, the Diocese welcomed to the Chancery staff a new Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Kevin Cimei, and promoted a new Chief Administrative Officer from its ranks, Mr. Joseph Bianchi. Mrs. Terry Ginther, Executive Director of Pastoral Life and Mission, was promoted to become Chancellor of the Diocese and Ms. Brenda Rascher was appointed Executive Director of Diocesan Catholic Social Services. From my vantage point, they and their staffs, along with the rest of our curia, serve the Diocese effectively.

New pastors and parish priests assumed their parish responsibilities or other assignments in July and four priests began their retirements. On May 20, four men were ordained transitional deacons for the Diocese, moving on to their final year in the seminary and, on June 3, four men were ordained to the priesthood. Nineteen other men began or continued seminary studies at St. Charles Seminary, Philadelphia; Mount St. Mary Seminary, Emmitsburg, Maryland, and St. Mary Seminary, Baltimore.
One of our priests continues to serve on the seminary faculty at Seton Hall University, West Orange. Another priest was appointed to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy for diplomatic service in Rome, and a third priest began graduate studies in Canon Law in Rome’s Gregorian University. A fourth priest of our Diocese continues to serve the Holy See at the Vatican. Closer to home, one priest serves as a U.S. Navy chaplain at Annapolis, Maryland.

At this time, there are just over 200 fulltime, active diocesan, religious order and adjunct priests; 197 deacons, and over 260 women and men religious serving in the Diocese of Trenton.

As we all know, the Catholic Church in our country continues to address the devastating toll of the sexual abuse of minors by clergy and Church personnel. The Diocese of Trenton, sadly, was not spared its own part in that story over the years, but we have made an earnest and dedicated effort to respond responsibly and appropriately, and to insure that these abuses never happen again. As a Bishop, I feel deep grief and grave sadness for the victims.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has required that all bishops and dioceses implement the most stringent measures to protect the young under our pastoral care. To that end, the USCCB has mandated an audit in every diocese to evaluate the effectiveness of these measures. This past year, once again, the results of that audit have indicated that the Diocese of Trenton is in full compliance with the audit’s provisions. That is not a source of pride but, rather, a reflection of our determination that we must, and will, remain absolutely vigilant in protecting the young.

As Diocesan Bishop, I serve as ex officio president of Catholic Charities, the Mount Carmel Guild and Mercer CYO. Effective Executive Directors and Boards of Directors of each of these Diocesan organizations and agencies make these responsibilities a positive experience not to mention the amazing contributions they make to the lives of people served. In addition, several priests and deacons joined by many of the Catholic lay faithful provide service in prisons, hospitals and high school and college campus ministries throughout the Diocese’s four counties. If the Diocese of Trenton could be compared to a “machine,” I would say it runs pretty well. The evidence can easily be found in the pages of The Monitor and throughout our diocesan digital and social media sites.
 
TO SANCTIFY

Whatever else happens in a Diocese, it matters little unless it’s all about Jesus Christ, all about the Church he established, all about the People of God and all about evangelization and the call to holiness. As Bishop, I am personally called to lead efforts here to sanctify the people of the Diocese of Trenton, not only through Masses I celebrate or sacraments I administer --- as critically important as they are --- but also by my own personal witness and commitment, where I place my energies and the motivation and inspiration I offer to those with whom I share my mission and ministry. “To sanctify” means that I incorporate the call to holiness --- my own and those who work with me --- in the responsibilities “to teach” and “to govern.” We need God’s help. I think of St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent (Romans 10:14)?

Throughout this past year, the Diocese of Trenton has offered many “opportunities” to grow in holiness and sanctity. In addition to the regular, daily and weekly schedules for Masses, sacraments and confessions of the 106 parishes of the Diocese in multiple languages; special parish missions and celebrations are regularly offered; adult formation classes and spiritual talks are presented; special diocesan liturgies are celebrated especially in the Cathedral and the newly established Co-Cathedral, retreats for people of all ages are offered in our several retreat houses and in parishes and schools; a Diocesan Pilgrimage to the National Shrine in Washington, DC was held along with participation in the Annual March for Life as well as many other pilgrimages to holy places sponsored by parishes; Advent and Lenten penance services offer special times for Confession; extraordinary ministers bring Communion to the sick and homebound and parish priests and chaplains visit the sick; pastoral care and training sessions are regularly provided; people receive spiritual direction from priests, deacons and lay people; diocesan publications present articles focused on personal and communal spiritual growth; diocesan spiritual organizations like the Legion of Mary, parish or regional altar and Rosary societies, Cursillo, Holy Innocents Society, parish-based Knights of Columbus and many similar Catholic groups reach out to their members; Catholic Men for Jesus Christ, Charismatic Renewal, Women of Zion, Pro-life activities, Rachel’s Vineyard, Diocesan Youth Conference, the Diocesan Departments of Catechesis, and Evangelization and Family Life sponsor annual conferences and gatherings; Catholic service agencies and parishes link their work to the Gospel throughout the Diocese; individual parishes and other groups visit the elderly; parishes sponsor prayer groups and the list goes on and on.

There is no lack of “opportunities” for spiritual growth in the Diocese of Trenton. The real evidence for such growth, however, comes down to those who participate or take advantage of these opportunities and, ultimately, to the personal spiritual life and personal prayer of the clergy, religious and faithful of the Diocese, young, old and in between.

The “universal call to holiness” proclaimed by the Second Vatican Council, echoes throughout the Diocese of Trenton and acknowledges no exceptions. The State of the Diocese is as strong and healthy as those who respond positively to that call in our families, parishes, organizations and personal lives.

“In the end, three things last: faith, hope and love. And the greatest of these is love (1 Corinthians 13: 13).” That is the foundation and goal of our mission from the Lord Jesus Christ: to teach, to govern and to sanctify.

May God bless the Diocese of Trenton.





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