For the Pope, a prayer to stop Archbishop Myers' luxury train: Moran

By Tom Moran
Star-Ledger
February 22, 2014

http://www.nj.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/02/for_the_pope_a_prayer_stop_archbishop_myers_luxury_train_moran.html

Newark Archbishop John Myers intends to live in luxury during his retirement, adding an expensive addition to his already ample home in Hunterdon County.

You have to wonder if Newark Archbishop John J. Myers has spent much time with the army of devoted Catholics and others who run the church’s charities.

They are inspiring people, many driven by the conviction that if Jesus were alive today he would be standing with them, running soup kitchens and homeless shelters and workshops for the disabled. They are hunkered down in places like Newark and Irvington, providing one of the few lifelines for neighborhoods that others have deserted.

They volunteer their time or make token salaries. Unlike Myers, they don’t insist on being referred to as "Your Grace" and they don’t wear fancy robes and jewelry. They go by names like Maria and Joseph, and when a single mom or an ex-con knocks on their door they offer help before judgment.

The tragedy is that Myers, already a diminished figure for his failures to protect children from predator priests, has now undermined this charitable work with a garish display of material greed.

It’s not just that he wasted lavish sums on his retirement home in Hunterdon County, money that these charities desperately need. He also made some of the good people in his pews feel like saps for donating their scarce dollars every Sunday.

"When the annual archbishop’s appeal is conducted, I will register my protest by not making a contribution," wrote Joe Verderami of East Windsor in a letter to The Star-Ledger.

Like many Catholics, he was furious to learn that Myers is building a giant addition onto his already lavish retirement home, as detailed by The Star-Ledger’s Mark Mueller on Monday.

Myers started with a home that most would envy, with five bedrooms, three full baths, a big outdoor pool, an elevator and eight acres of woods. You wonder how a single man can use all that. My bet is he didn’t bring poor kids from Newark to splash around that pool much during heat spells.

Now he is building a three-story addition that will cost $500,000, plus architectural costs, furniture and landscaping. And it will be magnificent, with an indoor exercise pool and hot tub, three fireplaces, a library and another elevator.

The views from the third-floor gallery, which will measure 28 feet by 28 feet, will no doubt be spectacular.

This is what my Catholic mother would have called sinful behavior. It shows that Myers, who presents himself as a spiritual leader, has some strange blind spots when it comes to basic morality.

This is a man who has repeatedly come to the defense of priests accused of sexual misbehavior.

In the worst case, his archdiocese signed a binding contract with prosecutors in Bergen County regarding a priest who had admitted he abused a young boy. Myers agreed to keep the priest away from children, a promise that was spectacularly broken when the priest attended overnight retreats with teenagers.

Now he is flattering himself with luxuries, even as he presses parishioners for donations to his latest fundraising initiative.

If you are a glutton for punishment, take a look at the website for Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Newark. It has a handy fact sheet that shows donors what a difference they can make.

For $300, an infant will get a crib. For $150, a homeless shelter will get a commercial cooling fan. For $1,200, you can send a poor kid to camp for the summer.

And for $5,000 you can pay for a month’s worth of groceries at St. Rocco’s Shelter for women and children.

Or Myers can let them eat cake and spend the money on that third fireplace.

Jim Goodness, the poor man whose job is to justify the archbishop’s behavior, says the addition will have no impact on the archdiocese’s finances because the cost will be borne by the sale of other church-owned properties.

Sure. Maybe I’ll take that trip to Vegas with my buddies after all, and explain to my wife that it won’t impact our finances because I sold the car to pay for it.

The only hope is Pope Francis, who must be infuriated by this.

He gave up a palatial home and a Mercedes in favor of a modest guest apartment and a Ford. He says he wants "a poor church for the poor."

So here is my prayer: I hope the pope draws the line on Myers, that he forces him into retirement now and orders the sale of that house in Hunterdon.

The proceeds could help the charities and maybe even keep open a school or two.

Myers could live out his days in a nice garden apartment, just like the pope’s.