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	Parish Group Keeps up Its Opposition to Church Merger Plan By Stephanie Brown Gloucester County Times June 26, 2008 http://www.nj.com/news/gloucester/index.ssf?/base/news-3/1214464234156300.xml&coll=8 Local Catholics continued to speak out against diocesan plans to consolidate parishes by holding another demonstration at a local church Wednesday. Holding signs the read "Save St. John Vianney" and "No Merger for Queen of Peace," more than 20 Catholics gathered at St. Agnes Parish Center in Blackwood to picket a meeting of the bishop and representatives from parishes across the diocese to discuss charity funds. It was the 11th demonstration held by the group, called the Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey, since Camden Bishop Joseph Galante announced plans in April to cut the number of parishes in the six-county diocese from 124 to 66. And while their pleas went largely unacknowledged, council members said they plan to keep fighting to stop their churches from being closed. "We are going to be here until he reconsiders his illogical, inane decision," said Charlotte Ryan, council co-chair and member of Our Lady Queen of Peace in Pitman. The decision, Galante has said, was driven by a projected priest shortage, shifting demographics and a need for more-vibrant churches. The Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey refutes the plan for a number of reasons. It says a future shortage of priests can be prevented, and that many parishes are already vibrant. "If we all stick together we can stop this process in its entirety," said Leah Vassallo, council co-chair and member of St. Mary's in Malaga. "It's not just about my church or someone else's church, it's about the entire diocese. If we save one church and the rest of the diocese is destroyed, then we really haven't done what we should be doing." Andrew Walton, spokesman for the Camden Diocese, said that come 2015, the diocese expects to have about half the number of priests it has now. But even if there was no shortage of priests, the diocese would still move forward with the configurations, he said. "The key factor being the need to provide the full range of services that would benefit the people," he said. "And by joining parishes together, which might be struggling on their own, you create opportunities for stronger parishes." Walton said demonstrations like those held by the Council of Parishes are "to be expected." "It's a normal part of the process to have some opposition when you're dealing with this amount of change throughout the diocese," he said. On Wednesday, Galante visited St. Agnes Parish Center to discuss with parish representatives and pastors the House of Charity, the bishop's annual appeal to raise money for a number social and community services and ministries. As parishioners and priests walked into the center, some acknowledged the group with a wave or a thumbs-up. Others, including the bishop himself, made a beeline inside. "We feel that there's a very strong case to be made and the bishop has not listened," said Kathleen Stevens, a member of Queen of Peace. While Galante has not changed his mind, nor has he publicly shown any indication he would, Vassallo said part of the council's goal is to communicate to as many parishioners as possible that there are other ways to try to stop the plan. That's one of the reasons why the group has been staging these demonstrations, she said. "There are a lot of people who don't know how to fight it," she said. One form of action is to take recourse through Canon Law, the ecclesiastical law of the Catholic Church. Some parishes have already started the process by sending a letter to Galante asking him to revoke the decision. Other parishes are waiting for the plan to be formalized by decree before starting the appeal process, Vassallo said. The group is also looking at what civil recourse they may have to stop the merger. Vassallo said the council has been effective in getting its message out. What started as a handful of parishes has now grown to include 27 parishes. "We're very pleased with the results so far," she said.
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