December 28, 2004

Camden bishop views new post as a homecoming

CAMDEN (NJ)
Courier-Post

By JIM WALSH
Courier-Post Staff
CAMDEN
Bishop Joseph A. Galante, who arrived here this year as the spiritual leader of South Jersey's Catholics, is preparing to learn more about his new home.

"In January, I want to start getting out and meeting people in the parishes," says Galante, 66, who formerly was the No. 2 cleric in the Dallas diocese. "I'm hoping to do it three nights a week, just to listen to people's concerns."

No schedule has yet been set for the sessions, which will also allow Galante to meet with local priests, nuns and other church personnel.

Galante was installed April 30 as the seventh bishop of the Camden Diocese, which serves some 458,000 Catholics. He succeeded Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, who left in 2003 to head the Brooklyn Diocese.

"I've probably never been happier in my life," said Galante, a native of Philadelphia who now is close to family members and to his longtime vacation home in North Wildwood. "I love the people here and I've been very warmly welcomed."

In fact, Galante draws cautious approval from a spokeswoman for the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests, a group that often is critical of church policies.

"He certainly seems to be trying," says Barbara Polesir, a Cherry Hill woman who represents the group's South Jersey chapter. "He has met with a number of survivors and he seems to be trying to see their point of view.

"So far, nothing concrete has been done, but I still believe he will be better (than previous bishops)," Polesir said.

In a sermon at his installation Mass, Galante apologized to victims of clergy abuse. But he also strongly defended priests who had done no wrong, saying they represent the bulk of the clergy.

Posted by kshaw at December 28, 2004 08:40 AM