Strong Pro-Life / Anti-Abortion Scranton, PA Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Martino
forced to resign by the Vatican / Pope ? That is what the sum of evidence indicates.
The Vatican / Rome's Pope appoints all the Roman Catholic Bishops and Cardinals.
Steve Lefemine
Columbia Christians for Life
September 7, 2009
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TIME
Was an Anti-Abortion Bishop Too Outspoken?
www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1919969,00.html
By Amy Sullivan Wednesday, Sep. 02, 2009
Outspoken Anti-Abortion Roman Catholic Bishop in Scranton, PA
Summoned to Rome, Submitted Resignation
Scranton Bishop Announces Resignation in Press Conference, Scranton, PA, August 31, 2009
Pro-Life / Anti-Abortion Scranton Bishop Joseph Martino
- Including United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) Press Release:
"Pope Accepts Resignation Of Scranton Bishops"
www.christianlifeandliberty.net/2009-09-03-Outspoken-Anti-Abortion-RC-Bishop-Scranton-PA-Summoned-to-Rome-Submitted-Resignation-Press-Conf-08-31-09.doc
While Boston Archbishop Cardinal Sean O'Malley honors pro-abortion extremist U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy at Boston Funeral Mass; Strongly pro-life / anti-abortion Scranton (PA) Bishop Joseph Martino gets the Vatican / Papal "boot" !
Boston Archbishop, Cardinal Sean O'Malley presides in the Roman Catholic Funeral Mass
for Pro-Child-Murder-by-Abortion, Pro-Sodomite, Pro-Amnesty-for-Illegal-Aliens, Socialist Oath-Breaker U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy, Saturday, August 29 , 2009
www.christianlifeandliberty.net/2009-09-02-Boston-Archbishop-Cardinal-O'Malley-Roman-Catholic-Funeral-Mass-Pro-Child-Murder-by-Abortion-Ted-Kennedy-08-29-09.doc
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Why is this important story not being reported more widely by so-called
"conservatives" and the so-called "Christian" media ??? It has been
well-reported by Roman Catholic media, and Roman Catholic pro-lifers.
Although this important, revealing story has not been widely reported, not by "conservative"
talk shows, nor even by the otherwise (largely) conservative, Christian (though unfortunately
quite ecumenical) on-line news source, World Net Daily (www.wnd.com), it has been thoroughly
reported upon, with numerous articles, by the Scranton Times-Tribune (covering the Scranton Diocese
of now-(forcibly ?)-retired Bishop Joseph Martino, and The Philadelphia Inquirer (covering the Philadelphia
Archdiocese of Cardinal Justin Rigali).
Below are several articles from the Scranton Times-Tribune and The Philadelphia Inquirer.
It will be very telling indeed of the ecumenically-compromised condition of the
so-called "Christian" and "conservative" media, if this story remains unpublicized,
in what appears to be the firing of an outspoken, strongly pro-life/anti-abortion
Roman Catholic Bishop in Scranton, PA, by the hand of Rome / the Vatican / the Pope.
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Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Video: Bishop Martino resignation news conference
Full video of the Monday, Aug. 31, 2009, press conference
announcing the retirement of Bishop Joseph F. Martino:
www.scrantontimes.com/news/video_bishop_martino_resignation_news_conference
Published: August 31, 2009
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Prepared Statement
Statement of Bishop Joseph F. Martino
August 31, 2009
http://scrantontimestribune.com/projects/MARTINO_STATEMENT.pdf
Statement of Bishop Joseph F. Martino
SCRANTON, Pa. (Diocese of Scranton) - August 31, 2009
www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=34345
Prepared Statement
Cardinal Justin F. Rigali
Archbishop of Philadelphia
PRESS CONFERENCE REMARKS
Diocese of Scranton
August 31, 2009
http://scrantontimestribune.com/projects/RIGALI_STATEMENT.pdf
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Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Video: Bishop Martino's resignation
www.scrantontimes.com/news/vatican_accepts_martino_s_resignation_interim_leaders_announced#
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Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Bishop Martino comments on abortion
www.scrantontimes.com/news/vatican_accepts_martino_s_resignation_interim_leaders_announced#
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Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Vatican accepts Martino's resignation, interim leaders announced
www.scrantontimes.com/news/vatican_accepts_martino_s_resignation_interim_leaders_announced
Published: August 31, 2009
[emphasis added]
Cardinal Justin Rigali, Archbishop of Philadephia, left, speaks during a press conference announcing
Bishop Joseph F. Martino's resignation, right. (Michael J. Mullen/Staff Photographer)
The Vatican accepted the resignations of Bishop Joseph F. Martino and Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty this morning.
The brief official announcement was delivered through the Holy See's [ CCL: i.e., the VATICAN'S ] daily news bulletin
at around 6:15 a.m.
A temporary administrator, Cardinal Justin Rigali the head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and metropolitan
for the province that includes the Diocese of Scranton, has been appointed to lead the diocese until the Vatican
names a new bishop.
[ CCL: Key point: The Vatican / Pope appoints the American Bishops !!! - so when the
American Bishops do not support Personhood Bills in state after state, year after year,
this could not be sustained without the Vatican / Pope's at-a-minimum, acceptance,
and more likely, at the Vatican / Pope's INSTRUCTIONS ! ]
Msgr. Joseph Bambera, pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Mary of Czestochowa parishes in Archbald, will oversee the
day-to-day operations of the diocese, Cardinal Rigali said Monday morning at a news conference in Scranton.
Cardinal Rigali appeared with Bishop Martino and others at the news conference, broadcast live on Catholic Television (CTV).
(Watch it in full here) ( http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/1.219344 )
Speaking at that news conference, Bishop Martino confirmed his resignation and said he has suffered from "insomnia and crippling physical fatigue."
"As the song says, you have to know when to hold them and when to fold them," Bishop Martino said. "And I think it's time
to move on."
Bishop Martino defended his controversial actions to close and consolidate schools and parishes. "Something had to be
done to halt the rapid financial decline of our diocese," he said.
He also asked forgiveness of any who feel he did not serve the diocese well enough, because of his "human limitations."
Bishop Martino said he first submitted his resignation to the Vatican in early June, which began a long process
of reviewing and accepting it.
Bishop Martino said he now becomes the "Retired Bishop of Scranton." He has no immediate plans, will reside in Dalton
and still spend some time here, and hopes to be "helpful."
Bishop Martino's resignation at the age of 63 is unusual – it comes more than a decade before the age, 75, at which
bishops must submit their resignations under canon law – and caps six years of a tumultuous tenure as head of the
11-county diocese.
Auxiliary Bishop Dougherty submitted his letter of resignation to the Vatican more than two years ago, when he turned 75,
but it has not been accepted until now.
Check back for updates throughout the day. Click here to sign up for text message and e-mail alerts.
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Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Bishop Martino resigns, feels "free" after a tumultuous tenure
www.scrantontimes.com/bishop_martino_resigns_feels_free_after_a_tumultuous_tenure
Published: September 1, 2009
[emphasis added]
Bishop Joseph F. Martino ended his tumultuous six-year tenure as the head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Scranton
on Monday by addressing the exhausting stress of the office and acknowledging the rift he leaves behind.
At a 10 a.m. press conference in the Guild Building on Wyoming Avenue - not far from the rectory he is vacating –
Bishop Martino said the sorrow he felt at leading a divided diocese led to "bouts of insomnia and at times a crippling
physical fatigue."
"I think by the world's standards I have not perhaps been successful here," he said, "but I believe in my heart
that I have been faithful."
The prelate shared a table at the news conference with Cardinal Justin F. Rigali, the head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia
and metropolitan for the province that includes the Diocese of Scranton, who has been appointed by the Vatican
to lead the diocese until a new bishop is installed.
Bishop Martino's "right hand," Auxiliary Bishop John M. Dougherty, 77, who sat quietly at the end of the table, also
retired Monday, two years after he submitted his resignation to the Vatican as required by canon law.
Cardinal Rigali announced at the news conference he has selected Monsignor Joseph Bambera, pastor of
St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Mary of Czestochowa parishes in Archbald, to be his local delegate and oversee
the day-to-day operations of the diocese.
Monsignor Bambera, whose church ceiling recently collapsed, linked his "awestruck" feeling about his new post
to that unexpected event, in part because Cardinal Rigali first called him about the post only a day after the cave-in.
"I continue to feel things falling on my head," he said.
Cardinal Rigali oversees an archdiocese of 1.5 million and the Diocese of Scranton adds about 350,000 parishioners
to his care.
He called his appointment as apostolic administrator "an honor" and indicated the ways the diocese has been both
"richly blessed" and strained.
"So much of the meaning of Christianity is captured in the words of St. Paul," he said: "'Bear one another's burdens
and so you will fulfill the law of Christ.'
"These words... are actually lived here in the Diocese of Scranton in a very profound way by so many people," he said.
Bishop Martino said Monday he hopes his legacy will be the ongoing process he began of restructuring and rejuvenating parishes, which he believes will create a "leaner" diocese with "greater energy... to do the work of God."
But his manner of administering that process, which closed several diocesan schools and will eventually halve the number
of existing parishes, also contributed to feelings of disaffection among parishioners and priests that will equally mark his legacy.
His time in the diocese was filled with periods of controversy and unrest. He clashed with Catholic colleges, local and
national politicians, the Catholic teacher's union, parishioners and even his fellow bishops when he disagreed with them
on matters of church teaching.
Bishop Martino's tenure officially ended at dawn, with a notice from the Holy See [ CCL: i.e., the Vatican ]
that Pope Benedict XVI had accepted his resignation. But the process began in earnest nearly three months ago, when he submitted his resignation, and had seeds in a passing conversation Bishop Martino had with Cardinal Rigali
a year ago, he said.
"There were times when I thought that perhaps the best thing I could do for the diocese really would be to move on,"
he remembered telling the cardinal.
"Things roll along and you begin to realize a small thought is a very good thought that needs to be implemented," he said.
Bishop Martino's resignation at the age of 63 is unusual - it comes more than a decade before the age, 75, at which
bishops must submit their resignations under canon law.
His resignation was accepted under section 401.2, which allows for a bishop to leave the seat "because of illness or
some other grave reason" which has made him "unsuited for the fulfilment of his office."
Along with insomnia and physical fatigue as evidence of his ailments, the bishop cited stress and lowered immunity,
which he said led to three bouts of flu in the last six months. But he repeatedly down-played his maladies, saying he is
"certainly not... prostrate with illness" and has "nothing like" a chronic disease.
"I feel fine," he said at one point, and added that announcing his retirement made him feel "free" and "much lighter."
But he emphasized in prepared remarks the diocese "requires a bishop who is at least physically rigorous. I am not
that bishop."
His resignation, and the appointment of Cardinal Rigali as apostolic administrator, diverged in several ways from
common church practices.
Generally, a diocesan administrator with less power than a bishop is elected temporarily by a diocesan college of
consultors when a bishop's seat unexpectedly becomes vacant.
"The naming of an apostolic administrator indicates a crisis situation," said Rocco Palmo, the Philadelphia-based
church observer who writes the Catholic blog Whispers in the Loggia. Such appointments are rare, he said, and
"a cardinal serving as apostolic administrator is rarer still."
Equally rare, he said, is for a bishop to retire on grounds of health. The last time it happened, in 2007, was with
Bishop Joseph Charron of the Des Moines Diocese, then 67, who suffered from an inflammatory disorder.
"A bishop's resignation on grounds of ill health is only accepted in cases of significant debilitating illness, normally,"
Mr. Palmo said.
Joseph K. Grieboski, a Scranton native and the founder and president of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute
on Religion and Public Policy, said, it will remain a mystery "why Rome accepted his resignation at such
a young age and with no obvious physical malady."
But, "all of the indications are that this is a matter of great importance to Rome, by virtue of everything that's happening and the personalities involved."
Why Scranton would matter to Rome, he said, is based on the history, size and strength of the diocese.
People who become upset with diocesan leadership in "major cities" like New York, Los Angeles or Washington
rarely garner much notice, he said. "The majority of the population isn't Catholic and so it's hard to tell the real reasons,"
he said. "But in a bastion of Catholicism in the United States like Scranton, for people to become disaffected has
an impact."
Bishop Martino continues to count many supporters, both inside and outside the diocese, who remain devoted to him
and his leadership: About an hour before Monday's press conference, a woman darted in front of traffic to cross
Wyoming Avenue and shake the bishop's hand.
In the Guild Building, Bishop Martino expressed optimism both he and the diocese will move forward.
"I'm very pleased to let the church do something new for this diocese that will give it the life that it deserves," he said.
He will take up residence at the Fatima Renewal Center, the rural diocesan retreat at the former St. Pius X seminary,
where the self-proclaimed "bookworm" said he hopes to have some quiet.
"I think it's very, very important for a bishop ... to be a retired bishop," he said.
"You have to fade in order for the new bishop - you have to let them shine a little bit and not be haunting them."
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Scranton (PA) Times-Tribune
Editorials & Columns
Resignation ends difficult era for diocese
www.scrantontimes.com/opinion/resignation_ends_difficult_era_for_diocese
Published: August 30, 2009
[emphasis added]
The impending resignation of Bishop Joseph F. Martino brings to a close a difficult era for the Diocese of Scranton
but does not resolve its future.
As reported by Laura Legere and Stacy Brown of The Times-Tribune, Bishop Martino will submit his resignation
Monday morning. Cardinal Justin Francis Rigali, archbishop of Philadelphia and metropolitan for the province that
includes the Diocese of Scranton, will become the apostolic administrator of the diocese until the Vatican
names a new bishop.
Bishop Martino, who was named to head the diocese after serving as an auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia, had a difficult
business case to deal with when he arrived in October 2003. Many parishes and their related schools bled money.
Diocesan high schools faced shrinking enrollment. There was little doubt that he had to launch a series of
closings and consolidations.
That need certainly was not Bishop Martino's fault. Things had changed long before his arrival. Population had declined,
generally, and moved away from neighborhoods that once had sustained big old churches and parish schools.
Bishop Martino resolutely set about the task. But he seemed to lack a sense of the deep emotional impact that the process
inevitably would have on people throughout the diocese, where neighborhood churches long have been the centers not