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	Bishop Bambera Reflects on His First Year By Laura Legere Daily Review April 26, 2011 http://thedailyreview.com/news/bishop-bambera-reflects-on-his-first-year-1.1137425 In the year since Bishop Joseph C. Bambera became the leader of his home Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton, he has decided to close schools and helped celebrate the opening of a new low-income apartment complex. He welcomed more than 200 new members to the church during the Easter vigil and continued the ongoing process of consolidating parishes. The year has been "life altering," he said. Previously a parish priest with a low profile, he is still adapting to his new prominence. "I've had many a cold meal in a restaurant because of that," he said, "but I'm just grateful that people are kind enough to want to connect." He spoke with the Times-Tribune during Holy Week about his one year anniversary today. Q: I was struck by a quote in a recent article in The Times-Tribune by a parent of a student whose Catholic school is slated to close. She said, "People feel that Bishop Bambera has their best interest at heart." That is not an easy feeling to inspire in a short time and in a difficult job. A: I read that and I was very touched by that woman's statement. If you were to ask me what were the greatest challenges I faced in the last year, I would certainly have to say that the announcement of having to adjust our Catholic school system as radically as we did was one of them. To have to displace one child is one too many. I am grateful however that somehow in the midst of this process, this woman and hopefully others, realized that my decisions were not simply based on expediency and dollars and cents, but in a desire to continue to provide for them a Catholic school system in the Diocese of Scranton. I can't really speak for what went on before, because I was never integrally involved in school restructuring prior to my being appointed bishop, but what was important for me in this process was that we involve as many people as possible in the process of arriving at that decision. I'm sure there is still a level of pain and loss and grief. But what was so encouraging to me is that within one week of a painful announcement of four school closings that affected approximately 750 children, 660 children were registered in the neighboring Catholic schools. That is incredible. Eighty-eight percent of the children whose current buildings are being closed continue to commit themselves to Catholic education. Not because they wanted to look good for me, but because they believe in the value of Catholic education. That says much much more about them than me. Q: You and the diocese have been working toward articulating a vision for the future that you hoped to reveal around this time. Can you give us a preview? A: The vision will be shared probably closer to Pentecost [June 12]. We're not ready to unfold it yet. One of the reasons that slowed it down is the amount of input coming from our people. I wrote a letter to the people of this diocese in December and invited them to participate in this. Many parishes used it as an opportunity to reflect together and to send me their thoughts. A lot of individuals took those questions and responded to me individually and personally. Some of them are filled with images that are very personal; some are a little bit more global. Some are very touching from elderly people and recently I got a whole stack of letters from Boy Scouts. Really the challenge is to be able to pool all those thoughts and find some common denominators, which we clearly are able to do. The process is important to me as much as the product. I've been given a treasure in the people of this diocese. The people of God and the church, they are not simply bystanders. There is a wisdom that God has placed in the lives of our people, a wisdom, an energy and an excitement, that is clearly evident to me. I want to tap that, not just in terms of creating this vision. Q: Along with the announcement of school closures we've recently seen the sale of Mercy Hospital to a non-Catholic owner. Do you think the Catholic influence on this historically predominantly Catholic region - not just in parishes, but health care facilities, schools and social service agencies - will wane? A: As much as it pains me to see that Catholic facility no longer affiliated with the Sisters of Mercy and no longer being recognized as a Catholic institution, I don't see that as a sign of diminishment at all here. I see that as a result of a lot of very complicated things that have to do with health care. Quite the contrary. Look around this region of Northeastern and Northcentral Pennsylvania. It is a very Catholic area. We still have four very strong and vital Catholic universities that continue to adhere to their Catholic identity and Catholic values. We also continue to have growth in the Roman Catholic Diocese of these 11 counties. We have had to recognize shifts in population, which obviously means we don't have as many kids to go to Catholic schools or churches. But our parishes in the Poconos are growing. Our largest parishes are no longer in Luzerne and Lackawanna counties. They are in Pike and Monroe Counties. We also continue to respond to the needs of the broader community through service. I don't see us diminishing in that respect at all. Those are just individual signs that tell me over and over again that we're very much present here and very much alive. Q: The diocese, like all English-speaking Catholic churches, is preparing for the new Roman Missal. How is the process going? A: The use of the new Roman Missal will begin on the first Sunday of Advent this year. There are obviously changes in the translation that make it far more consistent with more ancient texts. It is really a beautiful translation. Change is never easy, whether it means moving where you worship or where your child goes to school. And so when you begin to change something as dear and as close to a person as the way in which they pray publicly, that becomes a little bit of a challenge. We've been doing a great deal of work, not only communicating with our priests and deacons, but we've also been providing opportunities for our musicians and there are retreat opportunities in many of our parishes. In some respects, it will be as simple as having a little worship aid. People will limp along for the first week or two and after that they'll be fine. We're trying to be as well prepared as we can for it. Q: New sweeping allegations of abuse have recently hit the nearby Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Have those events caused new reflection here in the diocese about whether enough has been done to address instances of abuse? A: Absolutely. As I look at my life as a priest for some 28 years now, the sex abuse crisis is clearly the most unsettling thing that has unfolded in the church that I have ever experienced. The bottom line of this abuse crisis is that somewhere along the way somebody betrayed trust. A priest, a bishop, a deacon, religious. Somebody betrayed trust and lives are ruined because of that. That doesn't mean that people can't move forward. But we as a church need to be very conscious of what we have done. What has occurred in Philadelphia in recent months has been a reminder to every other diocese and archdiocese in the United States that for all the effort that we have made to respond appropriately to this crisis, we can't sit back and just presume that everything is okay. We have to consistently and constantly look at how we ensure that our people are safe. How we are responding to allegations. How we are protecting the rights of innocent individuals who are charged - and that happens on occasion - while recognizing the fact that so many people have been victimized. My sense from what I have understood when I came on board as bishop here is that we have responded appropriately to all situations. Priests who have been involved in misconduct have been removed from ministry over the last number of years. When we do have allegations that are brought forward, we respond to them very very quickly. I believe, to the best that I can humanly sense, that we are compliant here in the diocese with national expectations of us. That is something that I can never rest with but must consistently reassess. We need to be able to tell our people: Have mistakes taken place? Yes. Have people been hurt? Yes. Is that tolerable for the future? No. Not at all. Contact: llegere@timesshamrock.com
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