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On Sept. 20, 2019, the Diocese of Trenton was informed by a representative of the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office of the arrest of Father Brendan Williams on charges of criminal sexual contact with a child occurring in the late 1990s. Father Williams is the former pastor of St. Veronica Parish, Howell, and has been out of active ministry since 2012.

Middletown, NJ -- The 2019 New Jersey Catholic Charismatic Conference – “Arise!” (Is. 60:1) will be held in St. Mary, Mother of God Church and parish center Oct. 25 and 26, 2019. The New Jersey Catholic Charismatic Conference remains the longest-running teaching Conference in Charismatic Renewal in the United States, with workshops that complement the keynote talks at the general Conference gatherings.

The diocesan Department of Pastoral Care will sponsor a diocesan-wide Recovery Mass at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold. The theme of the evening, which includes refreshments and fellowship in the parish hall following Mass, is “Grace for the Journey.” Father Robert S. Grodnicki, pastor of St. Luke Parish, Toms River, will serve as celebrant.

The Diocese of Trenton was notified by the Provincial Superior of the Third Order Regular Franciscans (TOR) on Monday evening, Sept. 9, that a single allegation of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to 1975 has been made to the Franciscans against Father Gabriel Zeis, TOR, currently employed by the Diocese of Trenton as Catholic chaplain at Princeton University and Diocesan Vicar for Catholic Education. Although Father Zeis denies the allegation, he has resigned from his positions, effective immediately.

On Aug. 21, The Monitor went live with its newly redesigned website – TrentonMonitor.com. The new design will afford users a more simplified and streamlined approach to accessing content, and provides for greater integration of photos, videos and slideshows in posted stories, according to Rayanne Bennett, associate publisher.

Today, Bishops from three committees at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) expressed their deep concern about racism and xenophobia that apparently motivated this weekend’s massacre in El Paso and that have motivated numerous other recent mass shootings in the United States. The Chairmen called on our elected officials to exert leadership in seeking to heal the wounds that these shootings have caused and to deal with the scourges of racism, xenophobia, and religious bigotry, including refraining from expressing hurtful, painful, and divisive rhetoric that dehumanizes and polarizes people on the basis of their race, religion, ethnicity, or national origin.

WASHINGTON— Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, of Galveston-Houston, and President of United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Bishop Frank J. Dewane, of Venice, Florida, Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development have issued the following statement in response to the tragic shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Bishop Frank J. Dewane of Venice, Florida, Chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development, issued the following statement in response to the tragic shooting at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas.

The Diocese of Trenton will join with dioceses across the nation to take up the annual Peter’s Pence Collection at all Masses the weekend of June 29-30.

TRENTON -- Beginning June 15, 2019, the New Jersey Independent Victim Compensation Fund (IVCP) will begin accepting claims related to the Church sexual abuse of minors by diocesan priests or deacons of the Roman Catholic dioceses of Newark, Paterson, Metuchen, Camden and Trenton.

As had been announced in February, the Diocese of Trenton – along with the other Roman Catholic dioceses in New Jersey – has established an Independent Victim Compensation Program (IVCP) to compensate those who, as minors, were sexually abused by a priest or deacon of the Diocese. The IVCP will be open to claims beginning June 15.

Twelve parishes, organizations and agencies that serve the people of the Diocese of Trenton were awarded a total of $10,000 in grants from the 2019 Bishop George W. Ahr Endowment Fund.

Diocese’s Catholic school students collect funds, gifts for hospitalized children and their families

The annual collection for the Catholic Communications Campaign, held each year on World Communications Day (June 1-2 this year), invites the Church’s members to participate in and support this essential work of the Church – to share the Gospel with all peoples through word and image.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has announced the following pastoral assignments for priests of the Diocese of Trenton who are retiring, who will be promoted or transferred, or who have requested a change of assignment, effective July 1, 2019, unless otherwise noted:

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Trenton invites men and women of all faiths to attend the 20th annual Blue Mass set for 10:30 a.m., April 30 in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral in Trenton. Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., will serve as principal celebrant and homilist for the Mass, and will ask God’s protection for law enforcement personnel in the four counties of the Diocese and around the state. As many as a dozen diocesan priests are expected to concelebrate.

The following statement has been issued by Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo, Archbishop of Galveston-Houston and President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops regarding simultaneous explosions in Sri Lanka targeting the country’s minority Christian community as well as luxury hotels around Colombo on Easter Sunday morning. At least 200 people were killed and more than 400 injured in the terrorist attacks.

In a statement dated March 30, 2019, the Diocese of Trenton expressed profound sadness as it announced receiving an allegation of the sexual abuse of a minor against Msgr. Gregory D. Vaughan, who has served as pastor of St. Catharine Parish in Holmdel since 2013. The alleged abuse dates back to the late 1970s and early 1980s when Msgr. Vaughan was a parochial vicar in St. Ann Parish, Keansburg. This is the first and only allegation of sexual abuse of a minor against Msgr. Vaughan reported to the Diocese.

Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., has issued the following prayer request: The U.S. Senate recently failed to pass the Born-Alive Survivors Protection Act – legislation that prohibits infanticide by ensuring that a child born alive following an attempted abortion would receive the same degree of care to preserve her or his life and health as would be given to any other child born alive at the same gestational age.

Less than two weeks after Pope Francis convened a worldwide summit on eradicating the sexual abuse of minors by clergy, the Catholic bishops in New Jersey have issued a statement in which they detail their ongoing efforts, many dating back to 2002, to ensure safe environments for children and youth, deal with clergy charged with abuse and assist the victims in their process of healing. The statement was provided to 120 state legislators and media outlets March 4 by the New Jersey Catholic Conference.