Providing pastoral care to those battling drug addiction, seeking God’s blessings for those involved in the legal profession, and affirming the men and women who support Catholic schools through the PTA were front and center as members of the diocesan community took part in several events during the last weekend of September.
Diocesan symposium offers insight into how parishes can support those battling drug addiction
The Sept. 29 addiction symposium drew over 200 participants from across New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania to St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold.
Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M. was in attendance during the event, and welcomed guest keynote speaker Cardinal Joseph Tobin, C.Ss.R., Archbishop of Newark, emphasizing the importance of the symposium. Bishop O’Connell shared, “It struck us…that we weren’t having this kind of conversation, so we gathered together some people in the Chancery and started talking about the idea of how we can help those who help others in our parishes and schools.”
They symposium was sponsored by the Department of Pastoral Care and had been more than a year in the planning. Other guest speaker for the event included: Rob Fasoli, director of community outreach for City of Angels, Hamilton; Father John Stabeno, Diocese of Camden Catholic Charities coordinator of Recovery Ministries; Kevin Meara, City of Angels founder; and Nancy McCann Vericker, co-author of “Unchained: Our Family’s Addiction Mess is Our Message,”
Bishop inspires school community leaders at annual PTA conference
Bishop O’Connell joined more than 100 school administrators, parents and teachers gathered for the 93rd annual Diocesan PTA Fall Conference, held at Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton on Sept. 29.
This annual meeting serves as a time for those in leadership on their PTA boards to gather together in community and fellowship, and share ideas on how to better serve their school community.
During the meeting, Diocesan PTA president Paula Pangilinan discussed the diocesan PTA’s plans to monetarily assist the local PTA Boards, namely, through the creation of the Outstanding PTA Leadership Award. Superintendent of Catholic Schools, JoAnn Tier, asked those in attendance to reflect on the reality that the diocesan PTA in the Diocese of Trenton has been around for almost a century and discussed several programs that were able to be implemented due to the generosity of the diocesan PTA, including the recent summer training for teachers that offered practical ways to improve instruction for students with dyslexia.
On Sept. 30, the third annual Monmouth County Red Mass, which calls down the blessing of the Holy Spirit on all who seek and administer justice, was celebrated in St. Michael Church, West End.
More than 300 people attended the annual Mass that was sponsored by St. Michael’s parish. Bishop O’Connell served as the main celebrant for the Mass and in his homily, he spoke of how Catholics in the United States live in two worlds: “We live in a secular world – the state – and we live in a religious world – the Church or comparable communities defined by religious belief. They are distinctively different – they are separate worlds but they co-exist simultaneously.” He also shared that we gather at the Red Mass to “ask God’s blessings, the God ‘in whom we trust’ on the judicial year ahead.”
For more coverage of the annual Red Mass in Monmouth County, please see the following links: