The News Journal
January 27, 2008
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080127/NEWS/801270313/1006/NEWS
[See also The people's priest who became a bishop]
As CEO and the spiritual shepherd of 58 parishes in the Diocese of Wilmington, Bishop Michael Saltarelli's achievements include:
• Raising $54 million that has been invested in parishes and schools.
• Expanding Spanish-language worship services to 19 on a typical Sunday and expanding the ministry to meet the needs of a Hispanic population of about 100,000 on the Delmarva Peninsula. Immigrants, he says, have a vitality, love of family life and faith that's a gift.
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| The bishop helped raise money for this 24-foot Madonna. |
• Supporting the efforts of laity to build a 34-foot stainless-steel statue of the Madonna off I-295. They raised $500,000, and the bishop spoke at the dedication in May.
• Working with the Catholic laity to create A Rose and a Prayer, a group of Delawareans committed to stopping legislation that would legalize cloning and the destruction of human embryos for medical research.
• Opening three new schools and several large new churches in the fast-growing suburbs. (The diocese has added 64,000 members in the last 10 years, growth for which the bishop does not take credit.) * Launching a partnership of friendship and mutual assistance with the Diocese of San Marcos, partly because many Georgetown immigrants come from Guatemala.
• Adopting new policies for the protection of children to comply with a 2002 mandate from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the wake of the abuse scandal. Creating a review board to consult on cases of abuse while offering pastoral care to victims and families.
• Re-energizing people in the pews, especially when it comes to permanent deacons who are trained to preach, bless, marry, counsel people and bury the dead. He has ordained 47. They extend the reach of priests, but at its core, he says, it's the right of Catholics to be invited into ministry.
• Teaching through pastoral letters, which the laity and the clergy have contributed to, that have often received national attention.
• Setting a goal to raise $6 million to double the amount of tuition assistance for families to send their children to Catholic schools.
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