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Each year, the Catholic Church celebrates the World Day for Consecrated Life. Instituted by Pope John Paul II in 1997, the celebration is in conjunction with the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord, also known as Candlemas Day, commemorating the coming of Christ, the Light of the World, through the symbolic lighting of candles. Similarly, consecrated men and women are called to spread the light and love of Jesus Christ through their unique witness of selfless service, such as caring for the poor, the contemplative work of prayer, or through their professional careers.

Camille S. Biros and Kenneth R. Feinberg, administrators of the New Jersey state-wide Independent Victim Compensation Program (IVCP) announced Jan. 2 that the program’s deadline has been extended to Jan. 31, 2020 for the registration of new allegations and to Feb. 15, 2020 for the submission of all claims.

Faced with declining enrollment and significant financial shortfalls, two Catholic elementary schools in the Diocese of Trenton will close this June. The news was shared Dec. 10 in separate meetings with the faculty, staff and families of Pope John Paul II Regional School in Willingboro, which is overseen by the Diocese, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help School in Maple Shade, which is sponsored by OLPH Parish.

The Diocese of Trenton joins with the other Roman Catholic Dioceses of New Jersey in continuing our outreach to victims of clergy sexual abuse.  Our goal has been and remains to offer healing and justice to those who have been sexually abused as minors, while making every effort to protect our children and to prevent such abuse from ever happening again within the Catholic Church and its institutions. 

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.