News - October 2018 RSS Feed

A new study, “Fiscal Effects of School Vouchers,” authored by Martin Lueken, reports that voucher programs across the country have saved taxpayers billions of dollars. He analyzed 16 voucher programs in nine states plus the District of Columbia. The conclusion: voucher programs have generated a “cumulative net savings to state and local budgets worth $3.2 billion from when they were launched to FY 2015.” This equates to $3,400 in savings per voucher recipient. In 2015 alone, voucher programs have saved taxpayers a whopping $408.5 million.

Ronnie Gonzalez of St. Anthony Parish, Hawthorne, and his wife, Cathy, often looked to the Holy Spirit for inspiration while planning fun activities for their weekly visits this summer to the seven developmentally disabled residents of Barnet House, a group home in Pompton Lakes. Once, the couple found that inspiration from a piece of tape.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Wayne on Oct. 14, where he was the main celebrant and homilist of the 10 a.m. Mass for the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Wayne Oct. 20 where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the Twenty-ninth Sunday in Ordinary Time. During his visit, the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to young people of the parish who had prepared for the last two years to receive the sacrament.

Around the world, brave men and women, religious and laity, leave their homes to travel to the farthest ends of the earth with one mission — to make known Jesus Christ as the Savior of all humanity. Because of this, every year on World Mission Sunday (WMS), the universal Church prays for and honors these missionaries, who are dedicated to teaching the faith to those in some of the poorest and most dangerous places in the world.

St. Pope Paul VI received long-overdue and richly deserved appreciation for his “courage, wisdom and prophetic witness” to the Church when Pope Francis canonized him and six other prominent Catholics as saints on Oct. 14 in St. Peter’s Square in Rome. Joyous celebrations to commemorate the canonization of El Salvadorian martyr St. Archbishop Oscar Romero rang out from Catholics of the Diocese from both sides of the Atlantic on Oct. 14.

They were known as the “St. John’s Boys:” 21 brave young men, parishioners of Paterson's St. John’s Parish, who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country in World War I. At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, World War I ended as Germany signed an armistice agreement with the Allies. On Sunday, Nov. 11, the centennial of the end of World War I, these 21 brave men will be remembered at a Mass with a plaque rededication at their home parish, the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson.

One of the most important stories never told by the mainstream media was that of Dr. Kermit Gosnell. In May 2013, a jury found Gosnell guilty in the murder of three babies that had been born alive at his Philadelphia abortion clinic. He was also convicted of involuntary manslaughter, 21 felony counts of illegal late-term abortion, and 211 counts of violating an informed-consent law.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to Corpus Christi Parish in Chatham Township on Oct. 13 and celebrated the 5 p.m. vigil Mass marking the 28th Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the Mass the Pilgrim Statue of Our Lady of Fatima from Portugal was present and the Bishop led the congregation in renewing the Diocese’s consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Msgr. James Mahoney, pastor and diocesan vicar general, and Father Lem Camacho, parochial vicar, who coordinated the statue’s visit, were concelebrants of the Mass.

Bishop Serratelli made a pastoral visit to St. Catherine of Siena Church in Mountain Lakes on Oct. 6. where he celebrated the 5:30 p.m. vigil Mass for the 27th Sunday in Ordinary Time. The Mass was concelebrated by Father Jared Brogan, pastor, and Father Michal Rybinski, parochial vicar.

Bishop Serratelli served as main celebrant and homilist of a Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Rite (Latin Mass) — steeped in the prayers, music and ceremony of the liturgy of the early Church — for the second time on Oct. 13 in Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. Also known as a Solemn or High Mass, the Pontifical Mass can be celebrated by a pope, bishop or other clergy.

Understanding its baptismal call to serve Jesus Christ, the Church of Paterson embraces this challenge and privilege by supporting dioceses in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific Islands and Latin America. Through its Mission Office, the Diocese is able to fulfill this mission to build unity among all people in the world. The Diocesan Mission Office is affiliated with the Pontifical Mission Societies — the Missionary Childhood Association, the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and the Society of St. Peter the Apostle and coordinates requests for funding from various mission sites and approves their representatives to visit the Diocese to speak in parishes and ask for financial support.

With each passing year, Sept. 11, 2001 reminds us all about the brave sacrifice 343 firefighters made as they rushed up the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center to save lives after the terrorists’ attacks that day. That ultimate sacrifice highlights what firefighters and first responders face every day on their jobs. Knowing these brave men and women risk their lives for others, the Diocese held its fourth annual Fallen Firefighters Memorial Mass in St. Gerard Majella Church here Oct. 9 to honor them.

Before the Blessed Sacrament, miracles can happen and Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon will be hosting a special evening of Eucharistic Adoration on Monday, Oct. 29, inviting the faithful of all ages across the Diocese to an evening of prayer, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, reconciliation and music. Presented by Adoration Artists, the 177 Project will lead this special evening, as they travel to all 177 dioceses of the United States to bring hope and encouragement to Catholics with a nationwide tour of Eucharistic Adoration.

Bishop Serratelli visited Holy Sepulchre Cemetery and Mausoleum in Totowa Oct. 5 to view the new mosaics that were, and currently are, being installed there. The mosaics are the final part of the construction of the additions to the mausoleum that was completed in 2017.

Two young men — Rev. Mr. John Rocco Calabro Jr. of St. Vincent de Paul Parish, Stirling, and Rev. Mr. Alex Nevitt IV of St. Rose of Lima Parish, East Hanover — could not contain their joy on Sept. 27, as they reached a milestone in their studies for the priesthood: being ordained as transitional deacons during a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Parishes, schools and religious groups across the Diocese have been holding an array of events to encourage public prayer of and a devotion to the rosary and the Blessed Mother throughout the month of the Most Holy Rosary this October. In a letter to all priests of the Diocese earlier this month, the Bishop urged all parishes to follow Pope Francis’ request to pray the rosary every day in “this time of spiritual turbulence.” And in his column in last week’s edition of The Beacon, he wrote about origins of Oct. 7 as the feast of the Most Holy Rosary and the need to pray the rosary daily.

Every day more than 115 people in the United States die due to abusing opioids, more commonly known for its use as a strong painkiller. That’s one person every 12 minutes. The opioid epidemic is the term used to describe this major health crisis that is constantly in the news headlines. Well before addiction to opioids became a major epidemic, Straight & Narrow (S&N), a diocesan Catholic Charities agency in Paterson, has been there for those struggling with addiction.

In a few weeks, we will be able to exercise one of our most cherished rights as citizens of our nation, our right to vote. This is a mid-term election year with all 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives up for election as are the six-year terms for 34 of the 100 seats in the U.S. Senate.

Bishop Serratelli helped to celebrate 30 years of tireless faith at St. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish in Sparta — inspired by its Native American patron saint — with an anniversary Mass in the church, where he had blessed two stained-glass windows on Sept. 29. One of them — a newly renovated window — symbolizes the prayers of its parishioners rising up with the intentions of all God’s people like the smoke from incense. The other — a new window — had been dedicated to their beloved late pastor, Father Patrick Rice, and depicts many of his favorite saints and others who serve as role models.