State of the Diocese

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 have used the
three-fold mission of Christ, the Church and
the bishop/diocese as my guide.

Click here for Bishop O'Connell's full statement on the State of the Diocese.
 

Click image or here for the full e-edition
State of the Diocese 2018.

Front page photo key for State of the Diocese 2018

Here is information about the photos on the cover of the State of the Diocese report:

#1 – Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M., blesses the chalices before the ordination of four new priests in June, 2017. Craig Pittelli photo

#2 – Students from Trenton Catholic Academy, Hamilton, sing during the annual Catholic Schools Mass celebrated by Bishop O’Connell in October 2017, in St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold. Craig Pittelli photo

#3 – A woman holds a candle at the start of the Easter Vigil Mass in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, April 2017.  Craig Pittelli photo

#4 – Bishop O’Connell prepares to enter St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral, Freehold, at the beginning of the Mass of Elevation in February, 2017.  Craig Pittelli  photo

#5 – Girls sing and clap during the Diocese’s Splaash youth service event held in July 2017 in St. Catharine School, Spring Lake. Ken Falls photo

#6 – A couple kisses after renewing their vows in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral during the Bishop’s Anniversary Mass and Blessing in October 2017. Joe Moore photo

#7 – A woman prays in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, during the Mass for Life celebrated Jan. 22, 2017 by Bishop O’Connell. Joe Moore photo

#8 – Father Augusto “Al” Gamalo is shown during a basketball game between priests of the Diocese and students of St. John Vianney High School, Holmdel, in December, 2017. John Blaine photo

Audits confirm Diocese's compliance in child protection, financial stewardship

Two recently completed audits confirm the Diocese’s compliance in its work to keep children safe and to exert vigilant stewardship over financial resources.

“Audits are done every three years by an independent agency not affiliated with the Diocese,” said Joe Bianchi, executive director of the Diocese's Office of Child and Youth Protection.

“The process includes providing documentation to an independent agency for review, relating to such issues as reporting allegations, background checks, training, care for victims and transparency, among other goals. In all, there are 17 articles in the charter, which are reviewed for compliance,”
 

Click here for the full article about the Diocesan Audit.

New diocesan initiatives launched to strengthen marriages

“As couples see themselves as living signs of Christ’s love in the world, that witness will go out in the streets, like a grass-roots campaign,” said Peg Hensler, associate director for marriage ministries and NFP in the Department of Evangelization and Family. “The three-minute pulpit talk by couples in the parish is a witness talk about what it means to understand their vocational call to serve.

“Marriage is a vocation of service,” Hensler continued. “They will speak about the beauty of sacramental marriage and what it has done for them to serve as a couple. There are all kinds of ways that married couples can serve together in a parish now: they can be lectors, do Bible Study, be Eucharistic Ministers, work in marriage ministry, mentor other couples and serve as pre-Cana team members. Through the witness talks, we expect couples will see themselves in those couples and be encouraged.”
 

Learn more about the diocesan efforts to strengthen marriage here.