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	Changes Set for 4 Other Counties Courier-Post April 4, 2008 http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080404/NEWS01/804040376/1006/news01 The Diocese of Camden's plans to create 66 parishes out of the current 124 affected several in the outlying counties of Cumberland, Salem, Atlantic and Cape May. In Cumberland County, the diocese's plan will move 12 churches into three grouped parishes, while leaving St. Padre Pio in Vineland as a stand-alone parish. St. Isidore the Farmer will merge with Sacred Heart Parish in Vineland. St. Isidore, on Magnolia Road, was named the primary worship site of the two Vineland parishes. The primary site will be where "parish life will be carried out on a day-to-day basis," said Andrew Walton, spokesman for the Diocese of Camden. The secondary site is for special circumstances, such as a surge in congregation population or for holidays as needed, he said. Both church families number roughly 3,500 each, but Saul Rivera, a freshman at Sacred Heart High School, sees the merger as a consolidation of families. Frank Guaracini Jr., president of Sacred Heart's pastoral council, believes the merger offers both churches a chance to grow stronger, he said. Msgr. Victor Muro's church will merge with St. Francis of Assisi, which will serve as the primary worship site. "We lose certain independency, and in this sense everybody loses," Muro said. "But we hope that everybody will win with these changes in the programs that we are going to implement gradually in our parishes." The Immaculate Heart of Mary Church will continue as a historical site, said Muro. Details of the merger in Millville are still undetermined. It is known that St. Anthony Mission in Port Norris will merge with St. John Bosco and St. Mary Magdalen, both in Millville. St. Mary Magdalen will serve as the worship site. In Hammonton, Atlantic County, St. Joseph, St. Martin de Porres and St. Anthony will merge with a primary worship site at St. Joseph and secondary site at St. Martin de Porres. Also announced Thursday, St. Michael Parish in Cedarville, St. Teresa of Avila and Immaculate Conception churches in Bridgeton and St. Mary's in Rosenhayn would merge with primary services at St. Teresa and St. Mary. Last year it was announced Blessed Sacrament school in Margate would close, and students would be sent next door to St. James in Ventnor. On Thursday, the ax fell on St. James parish, with Blessed Sacrament emerging as the lone Catholic Church among the three downbeach communities, which includes The Church of the Epiphany parish in Longport. But both St. James and Epiphany will stay open in the summer months, when the population more than doubles, said Father Joe Janiel of St. James. He accepts his parish's fate. The decision to retain St. James School over Blessed Sacrament was based on practical matters. "St James School had a greater potential for expanding. Blessed Sacrament has no room to expand," Janiel said. The Church of the Epiphany in Longport, St. Ann's Church in Elmer, St. Elizabeth Church in Goshen, St. Peter in Pleasantville and Our Lady of Good Counsel in Ocean City declined comment, referring questions to the diocese. Other churches closing include St. James in Penns Grove and Assumption in Wildwood Crest, Holy Spirit in Atlantic City and St. Bernard Mission in Dorothy.
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