News - June 2020 RSS Feed

The parish community of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Swartswood welcomed Bishop Serratelli, who made a pastoral visit there and celebrated vigil Mass marking the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 20.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Luke Parish in Long Valley where he celebrated the 11:30 a.m. Mass marking the 12th Sunday in Ordinary Time on June 21, which was also Father’s Day. This was the second weekend that churches around the Diocese were open for Masses. All who attend Mass are required to wear masks and follow strict social distancing guidelines to ensure the safety of everyone attending Mass.

Weeks before parishes started to reopen for Masses on the weekend of the Feast of Corpus Christi, June 13–14, 60 directors of religious education (DREs) programs in parishes in the Diocese began discussing when and how they might restart their programs after months of a statewide lock down due to the coronavirus pandemic. DREs discussed possible plans in the still-uncertain future on a May 28 Zoom online video-conference of the diocesan Cate­chetical Leaders Association (CLA).

While COVID-19 has caused the Department for Persons with Disabilities (DPD), an agency of diocesan Catholic Charities, to cancel its 2020 Wiegand Farm Golf Classic, the DPD still intends to honor its frontline heroes by inviting the faithful to make a difference and donate to its appeal virtually. The golf classic was originally scheduled for June 22 to help the hundreds of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities who are served by the agency.

In the wake of nationwide calls to end racial inequality, many Catholics are getting involved to affirm and protect the human dignity of each person. The U.S. Bishops have called Catholics to pray, listen, study, reflect and respond to ensure that all human life is respected following the principles of Catholic social teaching. Christina Ferguson, a member of St. Paul’s Young Adults at St. Paul’s Inside the Walls: the Diocese’s Evangelization Center in Madison, felt compelled to write a novena through the intercession of St. Katharine Drexel on racial justice.

Bishop-elect Kevin Sweeney will be ordained and installed as the eighth Bishop of Paterson in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson at 2 p.m., Wednesday, July 1. Cardinal Joseph Tobin, Metropolitan Archbishop of Newark, will ordain Bishop-elect Sweeney to the Order of Bishops and install him as the new bishop of Paterson with Bishop Serratelli and Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn as co-consecrating bishops.

All the faithful in the Diocese of Paterson are looking forward to joyfully celebrating the ordination/installation of Bishop-elect Kevin Sweeney as the eighth bishop of the Diocese on Wednesday, July 1, the feast day of St. Junipero Serra. Often called the “Apostle of California,” this Franciscan priest not only helped to convert thousands of Native Americans to Christianity and taught them new agricultural technologies but also was a staunch advocate for them and a champion of human rights.

Parishioners who returned to Mass at St. Vincent Martyr Parish in Madison this month didn’t have to say a word because their eyes said it all — brimming with joy from over the protective face masks that they have had to wear. It was evident to Msgr. George Hundt, pastor, as many faithful approached him for Holy Communion. Their masks were wet with tears of happiness now that churches of the Diocese have reopened after a lengthy COVID-19 lock down that kept them away from their parishes — and the Eucharist.

As usually happens, science and religion end up pitted against each other in the classrooms of academia. That is because some scientists and philosophers ask people of faith to leave God by the door when discussing science and its study of the universe and its origins, arguing that religion is at odds with logic and reason and that the empirical method of science cannot prove or disprove the existence of a Creator. However, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has argued often that science and faith can — and do — work in harmony.

With race relations in the headlines today and civil unrest in many communities following the death of George Floyd, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is offering several resources for parishes, schools and ministries to promote the end of racism and bring peace to the community. According to the USCCB website, “Open Wide Our Hearts: The Enduring Call to Love” — A Pastoral Letter Against Racism, which was created in 2018, was developed by the Committee on Cultural Diversity for Catholics to take action.

It is never easy to say goodbye. And sadly, the pandemic in our nation has only made farewells even more difficult: no huge gatherings to pay tribute to one’s lifetime of achievements, not even a handshake for a job well done is safe to do. In this “new normal” has come the time for the Diocese of Paterson to bid a fond farewell to Bishop Serratelli upon his retirement.

A recent online course in Spanish on Catholic social teaching has prepared and inspired its 60 students from Hispanic parishes in the Diocese to make a commitment to advocate for social justice to make better faith communities, neighborhoods — and world — right at this chaotic moment in history ravaged by a global pandemic and widespread outcry against racial injustice.

For the second Sunday in a row, Our Lady of the Mountain Parish in Long Valley held an outdoor Mass at 11 a.m. on June 7. Celebrating the Mass was Father Marcin Michalowski, pastor, who is also pastor of St. Mark Parish in Long Valley, where a Mass was celebrated on the grounds of the church at 9 a.m. Sunday.

The Community Emergency Support Programs of diocesan Catholic Charities has reached out to those in need during some historic times — the terrorist attack that occurred on Sept. 11th, Hurricane Irene, Superstorm Sandy and the great recession of 2008. These regional and international events have taught Catholic Charities how to respond to some significant emergencies and help those in need get through tough times.

Parishioners of St. Vincent de Paul here along with Catholics from other Morris County towns lined the sidewalk outside the church on Sunday, June 7 in a vigil to protest Gov. Phil Murphy’s continued restrictions on houses of worship and voice support for the full reopening of the church. The vigil began with a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Help of Christians and was followed by a group meditation on the glorious mysteries of the rosary.

Social restrictions to help stop the COVID-19 pandemic have postponed an official graduation ceremony for now, but it has not delayed 17 passionate lay leaders of Spanish-speaking parishes in the Diocese from celebrating their recent pioneering achievement as the first class to complete a diocesan Leadership Certificate in Hispanic Ministry with Speciali­zation in Evangelization.

All churches in the Diocese of Paterson will be reopened to resume publicly celebrating Mass and the Sacraments beginning this weekend, June 13-14, which is the Solemnity of Corpus Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ). The announcement that all 109 churches will be reopening was made by Bishop Serratelli, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese, in a letter emailed to all pastors on June 8.

The U.S. House of Representatives recently voted on and passed the Health and Economic Recovery Omni­bus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act along party lines with the Democratic majority prevailing. The U.S. Senate is now in the process of reviewing the bill that has an issue that should concern every Catholic.

Leaders of the U.S. bishops’ conference responded to the killing of an African American man in Minneapolis by stressing that the fight to eradicate racism is a pro-life issue. “As bishops, we unequivocally state that racism is a life issue,” they said in a May 29 statement.

As the world recognizes the great accomplishments and the heroic efforts of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the alumnae association of All Souls Nursing School is remembering the impact, legacy and commitment of nurses. The former All Souls Hospital, which was the first hospital in Morris County, was sponsored by the Sisters of Charity of St. Elizabeth for several decades.