Please look at the beautiful, HOPEFUL faces of the
CHILDREN
of St. John the Baptist School - Pittston and St. Mary's Avoca
Bishop Joseph F. Martino has never visited with the children of St. Mary's or St. John the Baptist schools.
He refused to answer their many letters, e-mails, and phone calls- including one from this webmaster's daughter, who left her name and phone number.
Nor has he spoken with any of the children personally, nor gazed upon them with a comforting glance.
He has ignored their prayers, even while in their presence.
In early May, he sent Auxiliary Bishop Dougherty to St. Mary's Church, Avoca to perform the confirmation ceremony.
WWJD?
A Brief Introduction
On March 25th, 2004, Bishop Joseph F. Martino, only in the Scranton Diocese for 5 months, called a meeting of his 18 pastors in the Pittston area. His excellency gave the 18 priests a letter with THEIR names on it, not his- even though he or another official in the Diocese of Scranton apparently wrote it because the Diocese of Scranton letterhead appeared on the top of the first sheet of the two-page letter.
The letter stated that the priests, "in consultation with" Bishop Martino, had decided to close two very beloved grade schools which had each been operating for nearly ninety years. Bishop Martino had never set foot in either school, it should be noted, nor met with any of the students, faculty, staff or parents.
The bishop then ordered his shocked priests, many who later confided to parishoners that they had not been consulted beforehand about the decision to close the schools, to immediately copy and send the letter out to all parents of students from St. John the Baptist School in Pittston and St. Mary's School in Avoca.
Word of the closings spread like wildfire the next day (Friday, March 26) when the faculty and staff of the two schools learned of the impending closings. Parents and students learned about the closing of St. John the Baptist and Saint Mary's Catholic schools on the news, others through the grapevine. The letters arrived at homes on Saturday, March 27.
Needless to say, the unexpected decision to close these two Pittston area Catholic schools sent shockwaves of disbelief throughout the entire Diocese- and beyond. Parents and students have been working to stop the closings non-stop (see our summary page) since the bomb was dropped on us.
Bishop Martino has since refused to explain many of the more mysterious elements of his plan, including just which "official" initiated the Pittston "study". He also has refused to clarify who owes what when he speaks of the over $1Million dollar debt owed to the Diocese of Scranton by ALL of the Pittston parishes.
The parents of St. John the Baptist know it isn't their parish/school owing that money, and have asked Bishop Martino, on his May 12th live-on-the-air show, Ask the Bishop, Live, to clarify, once and for all, to the public who owes what.
He refused, instead, saying that to discuss finances would be "inflammatory", again giving a false impression to the public that the schools closed are the ones responsible for the more than $1Million dollar debt owed to the Diocese of Scranton.
Bishop Martino seems to pride himself on his "irreversible" decision- making. But he has no experience with children or grade schools. And, inspite of a public outcry, tears, pleading, letters, e-mails, prayer rallies, protests, this web site, a meeting to present an merger plan to merge both schools so that the children could remain untraumatized (refused), and a great deal of evidence that he made a foolish mistake which has alienated many Catholics in the Diocese and hurt the children, Bishop Joseph F. Martino continues to pride himself on his decision making.
St. John the Baptist Elementary School in Pittston (1917- June 4,2004) and Saint Mary's Grade School in Avoca, PA (1919 - June 4,2004), closed on June 4, 2004 despite a long battle, which included a lawsuit filed by parents of SJB, to keep them opened.
Many of the students' parents have, as a result of their disillusionment with Bishop Joseph F. Martino, the Diocese of Scranton,and the Catholic Schools office, enrolled the children in public school.
Copyright 2004 by Committee to Save (Pittston Area) Region 7 Catholic Schools (of the Diocese of Scranton)
All Rights Reserved