Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Bishop Martino


There is no doubt Bishop Joseph Martino is a decent human being.

Martino inherited a diocese in flux. Changes had to be made. Too much, too fast? Likely.

He had to do something. Money was drying up. The number of priests was dropping. The same goes for parishioners.

Martino will forever be known as the guy who shut all the schools and churches.

Here's where the train got off the track. I thought the elementary school closings were overly severe. He cut off the supply of students to the high schools, and the high schools will eventually be in worse shape, not better.

Then, there is the compassion factor. Martino showed none. He didn't talk to people. Even worse, he didn't listen. When asked for reasons, Martino hid behind e-mails and a spokesman. All we received as a reply was the church's equivalent of "because I said so." His spokesman had the easiest job in the world. There were only two choices-- don't return messages, and in the rare case that you do, issue a simple "no comment."

I'm sure the bishop felt a great deal about what he was doing. If he didn't, there wouldn't have been the stress that led to his resignation. Unfortunately, Martino sent signs he didn't care. The people left behind felt their church had abandoned them, and it resulted in Bishop Joseph Martino leaving his job.

I hope the new interim administration, and eventually the new bishop, learn from the past.