Clean-Up or Cover-Up?

Dear Parishioners,

The Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation (also called Confession) is meant to help an individual turn back to God, be forgiven of sin and restores a relationship with God and the Church that was damaged by sin.  The sacrament involves various components:  an examination of conscience, the confession of sin, an act of contrition, a purpose of amendment, and the fulfillment of the assigned penance.  When used properly, it is a supernatural means towards effecting a conversion in one’s life—a turning away from sin and a turning back to God.  The sacrament involves God’s grace, forgiveness, mercy and love.

A simple way of looking at the sacrament is as the cleansing of one’s soul—a spiritual clean-up.  There is a restoration back to the baptismal innocence we once had, if we are honest and do not deliberately conceal or hide sin in the sacrament and we are truly sorry (and not just going through the motions).  The priest is the instrument of God’s forgiveness and grace because Christ does the forgiving.  That is why, despite the personal sinfulness of any individual priest, Christ still forgives.

A Catholic can make the choice not to avail himself or herself of the sacrament for a short time or even a lifetime.  A person can conceal certain sins because of guilt or embarrassment:   I can never tell that sin to the priest!  A person might misunderstand how Christ acts in the sacrament through the priest:  I’m not going to tell my sins to those hypocrites!  They need to get their act together first!  A person may decide to go directly to God forgetting that all the other sacraments of the Church employ the working of us weak, sinful human beings.  Christ set it up this way using the apostles as clear examples of the first weak, sinful human instruments that He personally called.

When one chooses to deny the invitation to grace and forgiveness in the sacrament, it results in a type of cover-up. There may be the outward appearance that things are fine, but inside there is still hidden, unforgiven sin.  This cover-up provides no healing, no forgiveness, no mercy.

I thought about applying these principles of the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation to the sinfulness within the Church during the ongoing priest sex-scandal.  Are we trying to clean-up or cover-up the mess?  A spiritual clean-up would involve looking seriously at what was done (an examination of conscience) with complete transparency and honesty.  What was done wrong must be confessed (not lied about, kept silent or deliberately concealed to save face). If moral scandals or crimes were committed they should be acknowledged as such.  True, heartfelt sorrow in word and action (contrition) must be visibly expressed and not just some pious platitudes recited, or legally-constructed public statements made.  There must be a desire that this never happens again (a purpose of amendment) and the example set from the top of the Church (pope, cardinals, bishops, priests, etc.) on down.  Maybe there needs to be some resignations submitted at this point.  Public and private penance (especially by the Church’s clergy) needs to be done for the sanctification of the Church.  A life of prayer and penance, which a priest should already be practicing, needs to be taken seriously.

As I try to navigate through the current tempest and the various storms which lie ahead, I hope and pray for the Lord to calm the situation as He did for the apostles at sea (See Mk. 4: 35-41).  

I plan to pray for all of you next week as I make my annual retreat with the Trappist monks.  Please pray for me.  I depend on it.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Seeking "Truth"

Dear Parishioners,

Democrats or Republicans?  Devin Nunes or Adam Schiff?  CNN or Fox News?  Judge Kavanaugh or Dr. Ford?  Archbishop Vigano or Pope Francis?  Whom should I believe?

There’s a tremendous amount of confusion circulating today.  My head continues to throb daily as I, like many people, question and seek out the truth.  Pilate once questioned Jesus as He stood before him in judgment:  What is truth?  (Jn. 18: 38) It seems we are still looking for the answer to this question.

Going back to my days as a philosophy major in college, truth is defined as the conformity of the mind to reality.  Jesus declared himself to be the way, the truth and the life. (Jn. 14:6) If we believe that Jesus is the Son of God Incarnate, then we had better pay close attention to Him and His teaching.  Contrast this with Satan who is seen as the father of lies and we can begin to see the battle lines being drawn.

Lies and deception can potentially take place in any situation, circumstance and institution—unfortunately, even in the Catholic Church.  That is how we find ourselves in cover-ups and scandals.  The reason why a person traditionally was sworn in (with a hand on the bible) when giving testimony or taking an oath of office is to call God as a witness to what is being said “so help me God.”   When someone lies under oath, this is seen as committing the crime/sin of perjury.

Unfortunately, oaths and vows before God apparently are not taken too seriously anymore by far too many.  Married couples walk away from their marriage vows exchanged with each other before God.  Priests and religious are seen breaking their promises/vows of celibacy or chastity.  While people my not admit to lying under oath, they may have lapses of memory, inadequate recall or parse words or phrases.  “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.”  Sound familiar?

When searching for the truth, we need to look to Jesus.  We need to look to the Gospel and its eternal wisdom:

 

And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come toward the light, so that his works might not be exposed. But whoever lives the truth comes to the light, so that his works may be clearly seen as done in God. (Jn. 3: 19-21)

When no wrong is done, there is absolutely nothing to hide.  There is no need for continual silence, stalling tactics, deflection, or cover-ups.  This is true in politics, church management, and in a person’s personal life and morality.

To the faithful Catholics in the pews, I predict the days ahead will get even more ugly as hidden things are brought to light with ongoing investigations state by state.  While the Catholic Church is the current focus, the deep secrets of many other institutions will no doubt reveal universal sins/crimes and cover-ups as was the case recently in Australia (see the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse).  Jesus and His Church will endure in the end.  He promised it would. (See Mt. 16: 17-19) However, it can be relatively certain that there will be many battle scars and casualties.  

There already has been.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Scandal and Reputation

Dear Parishioners,

As a child, I can distinctly remember my father reminding us not to do anything that would embarrass the family name.  There were far too many times when ethnic jokes and slurs were directed towards the Poles, (and the Irish, the Germans, the Italians, the Jews, people of color, etc.) in everyday society.  We grew up in the days of Archie Bunker and All in the Family.  Meathead was a familiar epithet.  We were raised in a manner that avoided airing any personal/family laundry in public.  Don’t give people any reason to make fun of or criticize you!  Outward appearance and image were very, very important.

Does this mean that we didn’t have our family problems?  Of course not.  We just didn’t speak of them in public or do anything that would give people a bad impression of our family.  This approach never addressed—but rather hid—the various struggles that we (and most every other family) had to deal with on a regular basis.  Contrast this with these days of social media and it is hard to believe that people of earlier generations had been so much more private and even secretive.  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat (and whatever else comes along), seem to tell it all to anybody—and EVERYBODY—who wants to listen.

With this type of past conditioning towards silence and secrecy, I guess I can somewhat understand why the Church hierarchy would never want to do anything that would cause scandal to the laity or to society in general.  This attitude was true in many facets of culture besides the Church.  Things regularly got pushed under the rug, were hidden, not spoken about openly.  Any change to this modus operandi would necessarily involve a transparency that was not at all common in past generations.  The whitewashed tombs (see Mt. 23:27) that Jesus referred to when addressing the Pharisees is more than applicable to various institutions with their past hidden sins and crimes.  Appearance isn’t everything.  

While we should want to avoid giving people scandal, I am pretty sure that secrecy is not the best approach to solving certain problems or eliminating societal evils.  It is imperative that various types of sexual crimes not be hidden or covered-up to protect the perpetrator or preserve a pristine image.  I can completely understand why victims might not want to come forward and might choose secrecy or silence.  However, protecting sexual deviants, covering for criminal behavior or putting reputation over the permanent damage done to individual lives only perpetuates the harm and never addresses the evil.

This may sound harsh but if any of the Church hierarchy tried to hide, to protect reputations, and not deal with some of the crimes/sins of its clergy in the past, the matter has only returned with an absolute vengeance today.  Maybe if priests, bishops, or cardinals directly faced the public shame at that time and the truly guilty parties went to prison (instead of being transferred) for any crimes committed, we would not be in this mess today.  Maybe.

At any rate, we have reached the incredible scandal of a former apostolic nuncio accusing cardinals and even the pope of wrongdoing.  We need the truth.  We need transparency.  What we don’t need is more secrecy and silence.  Any lies, cover-ups and all deceit must end.

The reputation of the Church has already been horrendously damaged.

Fr. Ed Namiotka,

Pastor

Back to the Grind!

Dear Parishioners,

As I write this week, our elementary school children have headed back to school—some to Holy Angels Catholic School and others to the various public schools in the area.

First of all, I ask parents with school-aged children to consider the possibility of a Catholic school education for their children.  (I admit that I write with a certain bias towards a Catholic school education having attended Catholic schools for over 21 years and having been a teacher and/or administrator in Catholic schools for 20 years.)  I am well aware that, unfortunately, not every family is able to afford the tuition associated with a Catholic school.

This being said, what does a Catholic school have to offer?  The simple answer is the integration of faith, morals and the love of Jesus Christ as part of the life of the school.  The administration, teachers and staff of Holy Angels Catholic School are working very hard to accomplish this task.  Together with strong parental support, the school is meant to be an extended family.  I have witnessed our school community living out its faith, striving to improve its academic curriculum and seeking to add additional programs to benefit its students.  I welcome Mrs. Patricia Paulsen as our new principal.   She comes with many years of experience as an educator and, as its new leader, is eager to see our school grow and flourish!  I congratulate the faculty and staff of our school for their continued dedication and fine work!

I have told prospective families for years now that our Catholic school students are our best advertisement.  I encourage prospective families to pray about it, make an appointment to visit and see if a Catholic school may be the right fit for your child(ren).  Yes, the added expense of tuition is difficult.  However, a limited amount of tuition assistance may be available for needy families.  Isn’t sacrifice usually a necessary part of obtaining something truly valuable?

Whether students attend our Catholic school or participate in our religious education program, my expectation is that they will attend Mass weekly.  It is so important that faith is practiced continually, beginning with prayer and example in the home, aided by religious instruction both in the home and by our various religion teachers, and lived-out by worship at Mass each week.  If students are supported by the example of loving parents who practice their faith, and students try to live out the teachings of their faith as articulated in the home, in their religion classes and from the pulpit, then I think that they will be as well-prepared as anyone to face the challenges, trials and tribulations that life may present.

My thanks to those parents who do their very best as the first teachers of their children in the ways of faith.  I pray that you be the best teachers by word and example.  You make many sacrifices for your children and their well-being.  There is certainly no greater responsibility that we have for them than for their eternal salvation.

See you at Mass!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Lord, To Whom Shall We Go?

Dear Parishioners,

The Sunday readings these past few weeks, focusing on Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse (John, Chapter 6), have been of great comfort to me during these times of difficulty and resurfacing scandal in the Catholic Church.  I focus particularly on last week’s (21st Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B) conversation between the Apostles, St. Peter and Jesus:

Jesus then said to the Twelve, "Do you also want to leave?"  Simon Peter answered him, "Master, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.  We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God."

It might be the immediate reaction of some to walk away from the Catholic Church, at times like these, as many did in Jesus' day.  Who can I trust?  They are all a bunch of hypocrites in the Church!  Even the bishops and cardinals (and pope?) are corrupt!  I dare not try to defend the indefensible actions of those who were horribly wrong, deceitful and guilty of moral and criminal actions.  I am hurt, disillusioned and offended as much as any of the trusting, faithful laity and dedicated, obedient clergy are.

What I must state clearly is this:  The evil perpetrated by some, at various levels in the Church, does not diminish the salvific action of Christ on our behalf.  Christ suffered and died for us and for our salvation.  He has the words of eternal life.  He is the way, the truth and the life.  This never changes.  It never will.  Christ is faithful to the end.

However, those in ministry who choose defiantly not to live by His teaching, who bring disgrace upon the Church, and who undermine the credibility of the Gospel and Church teaching must take certain immediate actions.  They need to repent of their sinful actions (like Peter did after his denial of Christ), turn to the Lord for His mercy and forgiveness, and, for the sake of their own salvation and the good of the people that they serve, step down form any positions of Church authority that they may currently hold.  Power, prestige, and honor are all worldly things.  Eternal salvation is much more important.

Yes, we are all sinners.  Sometimes even generally good people make grave, sinful mistakes.  Afterwards, the genuinely sorrowful will choose repentance and amendment of life.  They will make a heart-felt confession of their sins.  However, to choose deliberately a secretive, hidden lifestyle that is in direct opposition to the teaching of Christ and His Church, to be unrepentant, to justify, cover-up and lie about wrongdoings, to mislead the faithful, etc. are actions that continue down the same path as Judas who is seen as a betrayer (see Mt. 26:46)—not a follower—of Christ.

With the current public accusations of the former Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Vigano, towards members of the Church hierarchy, there needs to be a thorough, objective investigation of these matters by predominantly competent, professionally-trained laity (since it might be difficult or even impossible to know how bad the corruption is through some hierarchal self-monitoring process).  One should never fear the truth, even if it is initially painful.  It is the only way to rid the Church of the cancer that she now faces.  Continuing lies and deception will only bring us back to this point sometime in the future.

Pray to St. Michael the Archangel, emphasize the deliver us from evil when you pray the Our Father, fast and pray for the faithful clergy in the trenches fighting the battle, and, most importantly, seek the continual intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary by praying the rosary.

Be faithful to Jesus and His Church.  Don’t leave the Church but encourage (demand) its genuine reform from within.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor 

     

Nothing Less Than Diabolical

Dear Parishioners,

I honestly thought (perhaps foolishly or naively) that we, as a Church, had made some drastically needed reforms regarding the sexual morality of our clergy.  I was/am not aware of any type of high profile, sexual scandal among our Camden diocesan clergy from more recent history.  I know that there had been far too many ugly, painful disclosures, however, during my more than three decades as a Catholic priest.  Even a solitary case, in my opinion, is far too many.

Now we must face these current glaring revelations:  the McCarrick disgrace and the Pennsylvania Grand Jury Report, preceded by notable clergy scandals in Australia and Chile, to name a few.  At any given moment, my emotional state ranges from sick, disgusted, angry, infuriated, depressed, sorrowful, ashamed, aghast, overwhelmed and generally extremely grieved and totally embarrassed by the clerical sex abuse being made public at this time.

How I feel means little, however, compared to what the actual victims of sexual abuse must have experienced.  To have been taken advantage of or to have been coerced at the hands of a supposedly religious or spiritual authority figure—someone who should have been completely trustworthy—is well, nothing less than diabolical.  One must question what spirit was being followed.  Obviously, the spirit of evil.

When I think of the same sacred, consecrated hands that are used to make Christ present on the altar, to forgive sinners, to anoint the sick, to baptize, etc., being used for deviant, sexual purposes, I am ready to vomit.  The ordained, consecrated person is configured to Christ and acts in His very person.  Unspeakable, perverted sexual acts reveal the powers of darkness and evil.  I am not saying that anyone is possessed or acting beyond their own free-will powers in these situations.  However, there is a glaring manifestation of such grotesque, depraved proportion to bespeak of a supernatural, demonic influence present even in the Church.  Blessed Paul VI said the following in a homily back in 1972: “From some fissure the smoke of Satan has entered the temple of God.” (Homily, 29 June 1972) The traditional prayer to St. Michael the Archangel is said to have been composed by Pope Leo XIII after a vision of the demonic he experienced while celebrating Mass.  One only need go to the Book of Revelation (Chapter 12), Sacred Scripture itself, to hear of the battle between Satan (the dragon) and the Woman (the Blessed Mother) and St. Michael.  Spiritual warfare is happening in our world, in our Church.  Today.  Now.

Evil exits and rears its head in far too many ways in our society.  Sexual perversion (including homosexual acts like sodomy), a desire for unbridled, sexual license, the killing of our unborn children, rampant pornography (especially on the internet), etc. all manifest a degrading of humanity to a deviant, animal baseness rather than elevate humanity to a God-like holiness.

I give a heartfelt apology to all victims of clerical (or any kind of) sexual abuse, to their families and to the wide range of people who are also victimized by this far-reaching scandal and its perversity.  I make no excuses for anyone’s atrocious behavior or any abuse of power.  Sin is wrong no matter who commits it and certain grave sin cries out to God for vengeance.  May Almighty God give us whatever we need to begin the healing.   

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Looking for "Love" in All the Wrong Places

Dear Parishioners,

Some time ago when I was teaching a religion class in the 7^th grade of my former parish, I asked the students:  “How are we made in the image and likeness of God?”  Obviously, we all can’t look like God physically.  But we do have two qualities or characteristics in particular, that make us like God—our intelligence and our free will.

Look at a young child.  From his or her earliest days there is the desire to know.  “What’s this?”  “Why? “ The child asks questions.  In fact, we should all want to know various things throughout our lives.  Our minds seek knowledge.

We also experience the ability to make free choices.  We can say “yes” or “no.”  We can do something or choose not to do it.  We will usually choose that which we think will make us happy as opposed to something that will hurt us.  Essentially we seek love—we want to love and be loved—which will fulfill our deepest human desires.

In the end, human beings are designed in such a way by the Creator to seek knowledge and love.  And where do we find all knowledge and all love?  Only in God!  It is God alone who will be able to satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.  I refer to the well-known quote of Saint Augustine:  “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless, until they can find rest in You.”  Confessions, Book I, Chapter I

Sometimes people are deceived in their search for love.  We may get caught up instead in the glamour of evil.  We look for love in all the wrong places.  We accept that which may appear to be good for us and which we think may bring us the happiness that we seek.  But we are fooled.  Whatever it was that we chose didn’t quite live up to expectations.  It only appeared to be good—most likely it was only temporarily pleasurable, and, ultimately, could be harmful to us.

I think that’s why addiction is so commonplace in our society.  We keep trying to fill the void in us with the things that the world deceptively offers as “good” (alcohol, drugs, illicit sex, pornography, gambling, excessive computer or TV usage, excessive shopping, etc.) rather than with God.  Only God can fill the void.  Everything else is a false god and will fall short of expectations.  I can guarantee it.

Jesus gave assistance to us along life’s journey to make it easier for us.  He gave us Himself in the Most Holy Eucharist to satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart.  “Amen, amen I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”  (John 6:53)   We run the risk of being spiritually empty without Jesus.  It seems pretty clear to me that Jesus (and the early Church) was quite definitive with this message.  Therefore, it is a no-brainer that we need to participate in Mass regularly and to receive Holy Communion frequently.  Otherwise, we will wind up seeking that which we really need—God’s love—in some other unsatisfying place. . .  

. . . and being unhappy in the process.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

The Pain in a Mother's Eyes

Dear Parishioners,

Last Saturday I concelebrated a funeral Mass. It was a very difficult time for all involved. Katie was only 33 years old. She left behind her husband Todd and three little girls, Natalie, Kelly and Marley Mae (7, 6 and 4). Katie's mother Lisa had worked for me in my last assignment as the parish secretary. Katie, like her mother, usually had a huge smile on display to greet whomever she met. The smile on Lisa's face was conspicuously missing. The inexpressible pain could be seen in her eyes.

No parent expects to lose a child. It is not the way that things are supposed to happen. We usually bury our parents—as sad as this may be—not the other way around. I could not even imagine the grief that Katie's parents, Lisa and Brian, were experiencing. Todd's face had just a blank stare of unbelief.

The funeral Mass congregation packed St. Joseph Church in Somers Point. I was told the viewing the night before went on for hours, with a line of people around the block. People were extremely supportive and empathetic. There are just no words appropriate for times like these. People just feel the sadness and pain.

The Catholic funeral Mass tries to bring a sense of hope to the situation. Jesus' salvific action is once again made present on the altar. We are reminded of His Resurrection from the dead. We, as believers, are told that death and the grave are not final—life is changed, not ended.

As I looked into the congregation from the altar, I saw two other mothers who had experienced the loss of their sons not too long ago. I had been pastor there at the time of both of these funerals. I knew that these mothers knew all too well what it was like to go through this pain.  Somehow their slowly-healing wounds get ripped open once again. Courageously, they were there to support this newly-grieving family.

In the front pew sat the three little girls, too young to realize just how tragic this situation was for them, now and into the unforeseen future. Where's mommy? Somehow children are remarkably resilient. They looked like little angels—pure, innocent and holy. Thankfully, they had each other to hold on to as they watched their newly-born baby cousin, also there with them. The circle of life continues.

We are all reminded, at times like these, just how brief and how fragile life is. Things can change too quickly for any of us.

Personally, I don't know how I would survive without faith in Jesus Christ and His Resurrection form the dead. I know that He knew what it is like to die so young. Wasn't He also approximately 33  years old at the time of His tragic death?

I have once again seen the pain in the eyes of a grieving mother, reminiscent of what it must have been like when Mary met her Son on the road to Calvary, when she saw her Son hanging from a cross.

There really are no adequate words for such times.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Katie

Preparing for "Catholic Strong"

Dear Parishioners,

In the months ahead, you are going to hear much about our diocesan wide campaign called Catholic Strong.  Essentially each parish is being asked to assess the future needs of the parish, develop a strategic plan and to conduct an initiative to meet those needs.  We are being aided by Changing Our World, an organization chosen by the bishop and the diocese to accomplish this task.

The plan will look at various needs of our parish including enhancing the necessary ministries and programs, maintaining our current facilities, funding capital projects, reducing parish debt, and planning for the future.

Bishop Dennis Sullivan writes the following:

Our theme, CATHOLIC STRONG, is not just a slogan. It is a goal that we can reach together.

To accomplish this, we must: invest in evangelization programs, particularly crafted for youth and young adults; strengthen faith formation programs for families, adults and children; encourage professional development of parish ministers and staff; and continue to expand our social service efforts. In this way we bring the truths of our Catholic faith to more people; serve our neighbors spiritually and practically; and lay the groundwork for the future of the Church in South Jersey.

The remarkable aspect of this program is that 70% of all the money raised remains right here in the parish.  Most campaigns of this nature place a much greater emphasis on diocesan programs and initiatives while Catholic Strong is intended to strengthen the parish—our parish!

We have begun assessing our various needs here at Holy Angels.  As I wrote previously, I have prioritized funds to help us with evangelization and outreach to young adults and their families.  I think it is urgently needed.  We also must look at our many aging buildings needing repairs (roofs, sidewalks, heating/air-conditioning units, etc.)  We plan to renovate our recently purchased property (81 Cooper Street) to consolidate most of our offices in this one central location.  Creating a reserve fund to prepare for the unexpected is also on the list.

We will need volunteers to help with the workload.  Parishioners will be needed for various tasks ranging from clerical work to actual solicitation of homes and families.  If you would like to hear more about what you can do, please call the parish office.  We will try to find you a task to suit your abilities, comfort level and area of expertise.

Most importantly, please start praying now for the success of Catholic Strong in our parish.  If there is something that everyone can do to help, it is pray.  Remember this initiative is about the future of our parish.

We will have more details in the weeks ahead.  Stay tuned!

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor

Encountering the “Convenience Store” Mentality

Dear Parishioners,

Many of us run into the local convenience store to pick up bread, milk, a cup of coffee, a sandwich or something similar.  We’re in and out, usually in a couple of minutes.  These stores are usually busy, but still make it easy for us to shop quickly.

Unfortunately, too many people have brought this mentality into church life.  They run to the church when they need to have their child baptized, to obtain a certificate of eligibility to be a godparent, to get a Mass card, etc.  “Church” is available to me when I need something, rather than being an integral part of it.  There’s no real commitment, just some service rendered.

For the Catholic Church to flourish in this or any parish, it needs a commitment by its parishioners to help build the Kingdom of God.  This may sound like some lofty ideal, but, essentially it means helping people to know, love and serve Jesus Christ.  It means to make disciples.  And this task involves commitment rather than just some occasional appearance on an as needed basis.

Remember how God through history made a covenant with His people.  I will be your God and your will be My people (Ex. 6:7, Jer. 30:22).  All the covenants of old culminated in Jesus’ new and eternal covenant sealed in His Blood.  We are reminded of this during the Eucharistic prayer of every Mass.  We are told:  Do this in memory of me.  Covenant involves total commitment.  Just look at the cross for Jesus’ commitment to us.

Granted there are all too many excuses that people have for not making a serious commitment to church: “There’s just too many rules,” “The people who go to church are all hypocrites,” “I can pray on my own,” “All they want is my money,” “All religion is pretty much the same,” “As long as I believe in God . . .,” “I am just too busy,” etc., etc.  Have you used any of these?

At times, the Church shares some blame.  When people did make an initial commitment, they became disillusioned or felt betrayed.  Their parish was merged, and their lifelong church permanently shuttered.  Some scandal (financial, sexual) upset them.  The priests, religious or parishioners did not seem welcoming or even interested.  The experience of church, for some reason, did not seem relevant to everyday life.

I am frustrated as much as anyone with the lack of interest or apathy among young adults (millennials) and their families.  As someone involved in high school teaching/ministry for 20 years, I look for the young at Mass and am frequently disappointed that they can be counted on one hand.  Knowledge of the faith is rapidly diminishing along with its practice.

We need outreach.  We need evangelization.  We need more youth ministry.  We need a commitment to Christ and His Church.  And I alone cannot do any of this without your assistance.  We should be quite aware by now that the number of priests and religious in our area is insufficient to reach the multitudes.

As we prepare for our Catholic Strong campaign this fall, I have prioritized funds to help us with evangelization and outreach to young adults and their families.  I think it is urgently needed.

I also need committed volunteers.  Please look in the mirror and see if you meet the qualifications.

Fr. Ed Namiotka

Pastor