“My intent is not to close churches, but to encourage people to collaborate, to work together, so we can sometimes get things done better by working together.”
These were words that Bishop Scharfenberger used at his first press conference when he was introduced as Bishop of Albany. The Albany Catholic Reporter recently was made aware of a situation in which St. Patrick’s in Catskill is being shuttered. The Reporter will examine these issues more at a later point but from press accounts from the local paper it seems that the people at this parish have issues with the manner in which they were notified about the closing.
A parishioner, Anthony Petrianni of St. Patrick’s stated in the Daily Mail of Catskill that “There’s a lot of things he [Scharfenberger] did wrong in doing all of this, and we’re going to keep fighting.”
http://www.thedailymail.net/news/article_c2dae484-851d-11e6-9e11-63cd476e1c7c.html
There is a pattern emerging with Bishop Ed that he always sides with the bureaucracy and won’t take the time to meet with his sheep to address concerns that they have with the Church. This runs counter to what his boss, Pope Francis wants in his Bishops. Pope Francis recently said to a group of Bishops in Rome referring to their responsibility to the People of God, “I urge you be among them with discernment and understanding”.
Can we say that Bishop Ed is among us, listening to our concerns? This past May, when Troy Catholic School parents had legitimate questions about their children’s schooling, +Ed through his press spokesperson called their concerns “offensive”. These are the People of God that Our Lord Jesus entrusted to him that he is talking about! How can this be?
As we quoted above, Bishop Ed said that he wanted to “collaborate” with us in Albany. Has he??? Will he?? His continuance of going along to get along with the progressive bureaucracy here in Albany is hindering his ability to be with his sheep.
Has +Ed changed Albany or has Albany changed +Ed? – Martin Malachi
Albany Catholic Reporter 