Leave No Catholic Student Behind: Meeting Dates and Updates on the cause to save Catholic education in the R7 (Pittston area parochial schools) of the Scranton Diocese.

June 2004

UPDATE PAGE

Please take the time to read through all the information on this page.

This information chronicles the struggle experienced by the parents of the students in their attempt to not only preserve Catholic education in the Region 7/Pittston area of the Diocese of Scranton, but to uncover the truth of how this decision to close St. John the Baptist School, Pittston, and Saint Mary's School, Avoca came about- and who were the decision makers.

As you can see if you read the entire page, we lost our fight to save our Catholic schools. They closed their doors on June 4, 2004.

We have left the links and outdated text here - intact - for your viewing purposes.

Links to transcripts of calls dealing with the Pittston Catholic school closings are available below.

April 21st, 2004 transcripts May 12, 2004 broadcast

FINAL NOTE

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.

Our world is flipped upside down
Parents find out about the abrupt closing of their children's school by opening their newspaper, watching the evening news, or opening their mail only to receive THE LETTER.

A devastated community draws together
A huge telephone campaign among parents brings together over 300 people in St. John the Baptist Gym. Starting with a prayer the mass meeting draws up plans for a march.

A Historic March
A peaceful rally is started at St. John the Baptist Gym.
Led by Seton Catholic High School students and SJB alumni children from SJB and SMA begin a peaceful protest to Mt. Carmel Church. The gathering gains even more support when concerned parents from other schools join in praying the rosary in front of the church. Bishop Martino addresses the crowd which swells to over 500 and promises to meet with a group of concerned parents.

Plans Begin
Another packed gym at SJB is the sight of organization meeting. Sub committees are formed as volunteers express their concerns and step forward to offer help.

March 30, 2004
List of tasks formulated-Letter Writing Campaign.-Bishop's Meeting Preparation

Web Site committee - Letter to Bishop is drafted and reviewed
Group decides not to perform a peaceful protest during the final mass for the Road to Resurrection mass at St.John the Evangelist Church out of respect for the solemnity of the mass. Posters from school children to be displayed at the mass. A group of parents hold a productive meeting with Seton Catholic Administrators.

March 31, 2004
Work Continues and the Diocese Responds
Local media headlines post the Diocese further explanation of the restructuring plan. Road to Resurrection Mass focuses on the heavy burden the entire community is feeling with the closing of our schools. Students posters asking to 'Save Our Schools' are posted at the mass and the social that followed afterward. Once again our strongest voice is the voice of our children on this issue. Subcommitees continue planning and the letter to His Excellency Bishop Martino is signed by three members of SJB and 3 members of SMA.

April 1, 2004
Letter Delivered...
9 AM:
Pat Feeney appears on WILK talk Show to state what we are planning to do.

Ribbons (red and blue) to be worn in support of Catholic education where assembled.
Plans were made for the large, general meeting of concerned parents to be held on Friday, April 2nd, at SJB Gym on William St., Pittston. All concerned about the future of Catholic education are invited and encouraged to attend.
An invitation to set up a Catholic education table at the Pittston YMCA, during "Healthy Kids Day", was accepted. Healthy Kids Day is on April 3rd - Saturday. Admission is free.
Students who attend are encouraged to wear their Catholic school gym outfits.

Parents of SJB and SMA were joined by parents from other schools in Region 7 for a meeting to bring everyone up to speed on the events of the past week.

The meeting accomplished a great deal as parent groups from region 7 joined forces. A Liaison Committee has been formed on a basketball court where all 6 schools competed against one another. Meeting in small groups afterward phone numbers were exchanged to set up next weeks meeting dates and the groundwork for a Poster Committee was developed

April 3rd, 2004
Members of the Action Committee presented ribbons for the support of Catholic education to children in attendance of the Healthy Kids event at the YMCA in Pittston. Several SJB children attended and wore their gym uniforms.

Twelve members of the Action Committee met in the conference room of Milazzo Industries to outline what is going to be a very active week.
Parents are encouraged to bring pennies to Monday's PGA Meeting starting at 6:30PM in the school (SJB) cafeteria.
In a campaign called 'Pennies From the Heart', students of SJB are filling Easter Baskets to support the campaign to save SJB.
The PGA is forming a Speakers Bureau to handle the large number of requests to speak to parents from schools in Region 7.
There is much planned for this week and much work to volunteer.

President Mary Bone closed last night's PGA meeting after 15 minutes to give the floor to the Action Committee. Suggestions, ideas, questions and answers all with one goal: to stop the havoc created by closing our schools. Joined by ten parents from the other Region 7 schools, the work of the night was split into committees.

The Letter Writing Committee drafted a response to the April 2, 2004 letter on April 19th registrations.

The Action Committee gathered several ideas to promote our cause and sat down to organize this week's activities.

The demand for support ribbons is enormous, and work continued on the making of these ribbons.

The Planning Committee welcomed parents from St. Mary's in Avoca, St. Mary's Assumption, Sacred Heart, and Seton Catholic into their work session.

April 6, 2004
Several Committees Meet
Several Committee meetings (Action, Planning, Web Site, etc.) were held and plans were gone over.

April 7, 2004
Bishop replies through James B. Earley, Chancellor that he agrees to meet
with Pat and others who signed the April 1 letter. It is made very clear in the letter that the Bishop will NOT change his mind, no matter what is proposed by Mr. Feeney and the others. Here is a quote from the letter:

"He (the bishop) wants it known very clearly and explicitly that this decidion is not reversible."

April 7 - EVENING
A large group of students, in uniforms and with rosaries, gathered at the Saint John the Baptist School Fatima Grotto. A prayer vigil was held for our cause.

April 8 - 5:30PM
Saint Peter's Prayer Vigil, Scranton
Despite the cold weather, about 80 students from both schools, SJB and SMA, and their parents, gathered in front of Saint Peter's Cathedral on Wyoming Avenue in Scranton. While Holy Thursday Mass was being said inside, the group prayed the Rosary quietly for over 90 minutes. Neither Bishop Martino, nor any of his representatives, appeared or acknowledged the group of students and parents.

April 9
GOOD FRIDAY
This day was dedicated to remembering the Crucifixion of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

April 10
Rosary Vigil at Saint Peter's Prayer Garden
A large crowd of students in uniform, armed with Rosaries, and their parents and supporters, gathered in the opulent Prayer Garden between the Rectory and St. Peter's Cathedral. The group quietly prayed the Rosary, offered prayers for the enlightenment of Bishop Martino, and then left. It was a quiet, respectful - and hopeful- gathering.

April 11 - EASTER SUNDAY
Families gather to celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ
This day was set aside for God.

April 12th
Parents and students walked in shifts in front of the new Diocesean Chancery Building.
Signs proclaiming the grief and disappointment over the school closings were carried by all. Many signs appealed to the Bishop to reconsider his decision. Rain poured down like tears from Heaven.

April 13th
Holy Rosary Parents and students show support in front of St. Peter's Cathedral

It rained and it was cold and windy. But a group of parents and students, walked for two hours in front of St. Peter's Cathedral Rectory on Wyoming Avenue in Scranton to show support for the continuation of a strong tradition of Catholic education in the Pittston area. Thank you to all.

Several families from Holy Rosary School in Duryea joined us in our efforts to save our Catholic schools. We are very grateful for your support.

April 14th
Bishop Joseph F. Martino and his non-academic staff met with our Committee of Concerned Parents

Our Committee of Concerned Parents met with Bishop Martino and his staff. A detailed plan of how cost effective the combining of St. John the Baptist and St. Mary's School could be- within $4000.00 of the figures arrived at with the Bishop's Restructuring Plan.

The Diocesean staff did seem impressed at times, but made it clear that the main objective of the meeting was to satisfy the request for a meeting with the Bishop, and not to consider any alternative plans- no matter how viable. The Bishop reiterated this by stating, emphatically, that he did not want to be known as a bishop who reversed a decision once it was made.

Our Committee of Concerned Parents gathered with over 400 SJB and SMA parents to summarize (see above) the meeting between Bishop Joseph F. Martino and the Committee. Topics discussed, in addition the the summarization, were the upcoming and Open House and Registration. Parents planned to ask the Bishop's Office if the registration could be delayed. The consensus was that parents were not nearly familiar enough with the schools being offered to make such an important choise for their children.

One parent expressed distress over being told to "camp out", by a Wyoming Area Catholic school representative, in order to have a better chance of having her three children placed in the same school.

Representatives of the parents of SJB and SMA students contacted the Bishop Martino - Diocesean Cathoolic Schools Office team early this morning and requested that Registration at the four schools be delayed. This request was denied. In their response, the Catholic Schools Office, and Bishop Martino, sent orders that Open House at the four remaining schools in the Region 7/Pittston area of the Scranton Diocese would be held on Sunday, April 18th, in the afternoon.

The only concession regarding Registration was that it would be held at Seton Catholic High School in Pittston instead at the individual schools.

Bishop Joseph F. Martino's personal assistant/secretary, a young priest, was seen scurrying down William Street and into the SJB building shortly before the bell rang. It was later learned that he was coming to pick up address labels to be placed on envelopes and sent to all SJB and St. Mary's School parents.

The letter with the Open House and Registration announcement arrived in each parents' mailbox on April 17th, Saturday, via U.S. Mail.

On a happy note, several hundred white tee-shirts were purchased by Margie Pace (Seton Catholic Girls' Basketball Coach) and distributed to every student.
The white tee-shirts were screen-printed in red and blue with the following slogan:

CATHOLIC STUDENTS
ARE NOT
EXPENSES
(a red ribbon is exhibited at this point)
THEY ARE
AN INVESTMENT
IN
OUR FUTURE

A SPECIAL THANK YOU
to the PACE FAMILY from all of us!
Your generosity and kindness will never be forgotten by the families of
SJB and SMA

April 17th
Parents/Students Pray Rosary Before Bishop Martino
Bishop Martino Smiles, Blesses Gatheringat St. Mary's Help of Christians

A group of SJB students, proudly garbed in the Pace Family tee-shirts and their SJB uniforms and holding their Rosaries, gathered to wait for Bishop Joseph F. Martino to arrive at St. Mary's Help of Christians Church on N. Main Street in Pittston. The bishop was due to arrive shortly before 5 p.m. for a Confirmation at that church.

Finally, at approximately 4:25 p.m., Bishop Martino arrived accompanied by a young priest, his assistant, who was driving him. The pair pulled around to the back of the rectory and exited the car without addressing the praying students. The students and parents continued praying alongside the rectory, where the bishop and other priests were dining on a meal catered by Dente's Catering.

Finally, while nearly finished with their second Rosary, Bishop Martino, dressed in his off-white and gold-trimmed vestments, Bishop's miter, and carrying the traditional Shepherd's staff, exited the St. Mary's rectory and, en route to the Church, smiled and raised his hand in a blessing before continuing on to the Church. Bishop Martino did not address the children or adults. The group continued praying the Rosary before dispersing.

The Diocese issued a press release on this date, April 17th, implying that they have accommodated parents request regarding registration by moving registration to SETON. In TRUTH, parents begged the Diocese for a DELAY to do more research into the four schools. The DELAY was DENIED, the the PRESS RELEASE gave the public the impression that a change of venue (from the four schools to SETON) was all that parents asked for.

April 18th, Sunday
Sunday Night at SJB GYM - tears, shaken faith, and three priests with courage equal to their faith.

Over 400 parents and concerned supporters gathered in the SJB gym on Sunday night. The 18 pastors from the Pittston area, whose names had appeared on the March 25th, 2004 letter to parents announcing that they had "approved a comprehensive reorginization plan for Catholic education," to close SJB and SMA, were invited to tell, as one body, what really happened to lead up to such a drastic decision. Only three priests of the eighteen invited attended the meeting. The three priests were all from the Oblates of Saint Joseph order:
Names withheld to protect them from more calls and intrusions

There was an official spokesperson for the priests, but it was made clear that all three agreed with what was about to be told.
The spokesperson began by explaining that all 18 priests received a letter on March 18th requesting their presence at a meeting with the Bishop and staff, at the Scranton Chancery building in a lower floor conference room, the following Thursday (March 25th), at 2 p.m. There was nothing in the letter to indicate the school closings, although the letter did state that the priests' "incite" was "imperative".

There was a gathering of priests in Avoca on March 24th, the night before the scheduled Chancery meeting. The priests were asking each other if they knew what the big meeting was about, and no one seemed to know anything about what the subject matter would be at the following evening's meeting with the Bishop and Mr. Earley and Mr. Quinn from the Chancery of the Diocese of Scranton.

Long story short, the "restructuring plan", along with the school closings of St. John the Baptist and Saint Mary's, was a "done deal" before the meeting even started. The bombshell letter that all SJB and SMA parents received on Saturday, March 27th, announcing that the two schools their children attended were closing was already printed up and ready to go. And only were the school closings already printed on the agenda, but there was even preparation work for a press release. The press release was issued by the Diocese of Scranton at 5:11 p.m., shortly after the meeting adjourned, and before the letters to parents could possible have been prepared or mailed.

Bishop Martino and Auxiliary Bishop Dougherty did not stay until the end of the meeting. The left about 4 p.m. for a confirmation meeting. Before leaving, Bishop Joseph F. Martino stated to the 18 priests - regarding the backlash that was bound to come after the announcement of the closing of SJB and SMA was made public - that he )Bishop Martino) would be there "to deal with it."

The 18 remaining priests, still in shock, had conversations amongst themselves. As the spokesperson pastor pointed out, they are the soldiers, and the Bishop is the leader. They have to carry out orders because of their vow of obedience.

Questions/Concerns from Parents at the Meeting on Sunday, April 18th Meeting at SJB gym

Responding to the first parent's question about the supposed "2 year study" we've all heard about the the Diocese claims led to the school closings: it was reported to the audience of parents at the SJB gym by the priests that they had no knowledge of any extensive study going on. The only indication of any study at all, according to the priests, was a meeting held in March 2003, where the not even ALL of the 18 priests were present (Father Paisley and the priests from the West Side were not there). At this particular meeting (March 2003), the priests were only asked about "Baptisms and trends" and "nothing else".

From the March 2003 meeting until the school closing meeting of March 25th, the priests of Region 7 were unaware of any big "study" which would impact Catholic education in the Pittston area of the Scranton Diocese.

If there was a "compresensive review", as claimed by the Diocesean Offices in their press releases, none of the 18 pastors, as far as the three Oblates of St. Joseph's priests knew, were aware of it.

It was at this point that one of the parents who had met with the Diocesean officials and the Bishop on April 14th opined that, while the Bishop was the official executor of the plan and gave his approval, the actual plan was Mr. Earley's handiwork.

One of the three Oblates of St. Joseph's priests stated that he had the impression that there are more changes coming, and that they were only starting with the Pittston area.

One of the parents at the meeting then put the question to the three priests about why they hadn't spoken. Again, the spokesperson pastor explained that it is within the Bishop's perogative to close Catholic schools, and that, according to Canonical Law, the priests are basically powerless to challenge the Bishop.

Another parent stood up and stated his feelings about the secretive and disrespectful way in which the closing of St. John the Baptist and St. Mary's was handled. He asked that the priests carry his feelings back to the Bishop. It was at this point that another parent, who had been on the Committe who met with Bishop Martino on April 14th, pointed out that he had requested that the Bishop and other Diocesean officials face the parents who were coming to the meeting on April 15th at SJB gym, the night after the Committee-Diocese meeting.

Obviously, the Diocesean Officials and the Bishop do not want to face the parents, because they haven't come to one of our meetings to explain, apologize, or ease our pain and grief yet.

One of the mothers then took to the podium and expressed great dissatisfaction with the manner in which the whole registration process was being handled, not only how parents are being forced to enroll before we have time to really learn about the schools in a manner other than by reading quickly-printed brochures, but also because there is an obvious lack of forethought and planning given to the whole process.

One father addressed the crowd and asked the press not to quote him. He then went on to explain, in a voice choked with emotion, how this whole crisis has nearly destroyed his faith in the Catholic Church. Previously a religious man, he recounted how he has been so distressed over the arrogance of the Bishop, the calloused way in which the staff, students and parents of SJB and SMA were treated, and over the deception and lies utilized to execute the "plan" formulated by the Diocese, that he had to leave Mass early on Easter because he just could not stand to be there.

There were heads shaking in agreement with the parent's testimony, and tears flowed freely from several of the parents as the truth of what this man said hit home. There was general agreement from the 400 plus parents that this was no longer about school closings, but about a crisis of faith in our Catholic Church and its administrators and Bishop.

Further pressing home his point, this parent stated that Bishop Martino "lied". And in addressing the excuse that the schools were closed because the Diocese of Scranton is in need on money, this father of an SJB student asked:

Another parent took the microphone and expressed disgust at how Maria Orzel released a statement to the press at 5:11 p.m., so that it could be announced on the evening news- and before many of the effected students and parents knew about it. As stated previously on our parents, many parents and children were devastated to hear about their school closing on the news.

Near the end of the long meeting, upcoming meetings were discussed. There was a Seton Advisory meeting on April 19th, and a Seton Parents meeting on April 22nd.

Most of the crowd were shocked to learn that there were parents already camped out in front of Seton at 4:30 p.m. that evening for registration the next day.

One parent, who lives near Wilkes-Barre, informed the group of parents that he was not allowed to register at a Catholic school outside the Region 7 (Pittston area) when the school administrators found out his child was a student from St. John the Baptist. Before the Wilkes-Barre school knew his child was an SJB student, they were all ready to take the child.

This certainly appears to mean that the Scranton Diocese's PLAN is to force students from St. John the Baptist and St. Mary's Avoca into the other Pittston Catholic schools to strenghten their enrollment. Children treated like pawns?

April 19th, Monday
Desperation, tears and fear permeate the forced Registration Day at Seton Catholic High School

Parents lined up from the night before (20) and parents who had arrived early in the morning lined up for registration at the four remaining schools.

No one wanted to be there, and there was desperation, tears and fear in an effort to keep friends and family members together.

At one point, a parent was told that there was not room for her three children to attend WAC, which most of the parents from SJB seemed to have chosen. Anger and shouts from the other parents caused WAC to open up more spots and allow her children to attend school together.

The fact happens to be that, to the best of our knowledge, NO one was happy with the registration outcome. It was just a necessary next step for parents whose pleas for a school merger between SJB and SMA have been ignored.

Newspapers reports: Parents unhappy, Diocese disappointed
Newspapers reported that the Diocese of Scranton was disappointed in the less than 46% of student re-enrollment. They had, they stated, anticipates 100%.

There were also television images of frustrated parents crying on the news on Monday evening as they got the news that there was no room for all their children in the same school.

Of the 46% of the students who were enrolled in the four remaining schools, it seemed to be a mass migration from SJB to WAC in an attempt for friends to remain together. WAC had the designated a larger class size capacity for new students, with a limit of 30, is also more centrally located of SJB students than is Holy Rosary in Duryea. Of the 88 students newly enrolled at WAC, a great many are 2004-05 eighth grade students from SJB who want to graduate together.

WAC has added a second eighth grade to accomodate the demand. There were also additional spaces opened up in the second grade classes to keep families from being separated.

Only about a dozen students from SJB or SMA were enrolled at St. Mary's the Assumption, Pittston.

Over 30 students enrolled at Sacred Heart, Dupont. Many of these are presumed to be from St. Mary's School in Avoca, which is only about a mile from Sacred Heart. Several other students, about 35 and many from St. Mary's, chose Holy Rosary in Duryea, which is also close to Avoca.

April 21, 2004 Bishop Marting on Catholic Television (CTV)
It is reported that Bishop Martino went on CTV (Scranton Catholic Television) and implied that the displaced children of St. John the Baptist and Saint Mary's are all happy and settled in their new schools.

This webmaster did not see the show. Is this TRUE? Did the bishop imply that everyone is happy with being forced to re-enroll in a new school?

Clarence Eck donates 2 Million to Lycoming County Catholic Schools
Channel 16 showed a smiling Bishop Joseph F. Martino, dressed in formal Bishop's garb, as he accepted a 2 million dollar check from Clarence Eck. The check was presented for Catholic education in the Williamsport.

If anyone happens in here who has a desire to donate to Catholic education, please e-mail us and let us know and we will contact Bishop Martino.

One concerned parent travelled to Scranton to pray for our schools in the newly dedicated (last Fall) St. Peter's Cathedral Prayer Garden. The garden was locked. (Bishop Martino had travelled to Williamsport that day to pick up Clarence Eck's $2M check.) The garden, a gated enclose of granite benches, bronze and brick monoliths bearing the names of benefactors, and concrete slabs with the different names of Our Lady engraved into them, reportedly cost about $500,000.00.

In all fairness to Bishop Martino, he wasn't the bishop of the Diocese of Scranton- Bishop Timlin was. However, one has to wonder why so much money, donated or not, could have designated to a Prayer Garden when a few shade trees, K-Mart benches, and an opened gate would be so much more conducive to prayer and contemplatino that granite, bronze, brick and self-promotion.

The $500,000.00 used for the St. Peter's prayer garden could have educated the entire St. Mary's School student population for an entire year...

Also, does this prayer garden belong exclusively to the BIshop? If not, why were the gates locked at 5:30 p.m. on a Thursday evening?

Seton Catholic held a parents meeting tonight. Please continue to support Seton Catholic High School in Pittston.

News of Seton's accreditation by Middle Atlantic was featured in this week's Seton News. You can read more about the fascinating history of this high school, which was founded in 1864, at Seton Catholic High School - History

Scranton Diocese loses 118 students from Catholic schools, but focuses on $1M in savings, not student loss.
When contacted by Times Leader reporter Bonnie Adams about the 118 Catholic grade school students from St. Mary's and St. John the Baptist who did NOT re-enroll in the remaining schools this week, Scranton Diocese spokeswomen did not focus on the ebbing away of enrollment. Instead, she focused on the money saved, over $1 million dollars, according to Maria Orzel.

The newspaper headline read: "Church officials say $212,400 will not be missed. The $212,400, of course, represents 118 students who are leaving the Catholic education system. Maria Orzel also said, according to the article, that the diocese is pleased that 59 percent of students registered.

"We would have hoped of course for 100 percent," the Scranton Diocese spokesperson was quoted as saying.

You can view the whole article here: Student Loss Equals Savings to Scranton Diocese (SORRY, ARTICLE NO LONGER AVAILABLE AT THE TIMES LEADER - LINK REMOVED!

April 26, 2004 PGA meeting held at SJB
A special PGA meeting was held in the SJB cafeteria to discuss unfinished business for the year. Plans for the next step to be taken towards saving our schools was discussed, as well various other topics such as the eighth grade party, how to spend the PGA funds, the putting together of a scrapbook, etc.

Sheets will be sent home this week for the parents to fill out regarding some of the suggestions which were brought up, both openly and on index cards.

Other topics discussed:
May 13th - Special 8th Grade Lunch The 8th grade, by tradition, chooses their "last meal" at the school. This year they have chosen chicken patties, mashed potatoes, and Brownie Sundaes. It was decided that this year, ALL children will be given the brownie sundaes.

Cafeteria Day - May 28th
Dominos Pizza will be served on the last day of the school year. As a special thank you, Dominos has offered to provide free Cinnamon Stix to all children on this special day.
Chips, pretzels, watermelon and - NO MILK - Kool-Aid and soda will be the beverages of the day!

No one can say that SJB doesn't make it fun to be a kid!!

There will be another PGA meeting Monday.

We have been quiet, but not inactive
There are a number of plans we are working on which cannot be reported here. Please continue to check up on the front page and here, on our update page, and to contribute to our "Ask the Bishop Live" and "True or False" pages.
The truth is important to our cause to preserve Catholic education in the Pittston area.

WILK hosts two hour discussion on the recently filed lawsuit
WILK radio host Sue Henry held a two hour discussion on the impending lawsuit against the Diocese of Scranton by the parents of SJB students. The parents contend, through Atty. Michael Butera, that their contract for next year's school year has been breached. Several parents and supporters of the cause to keep both Saint John the Baptist and St. Mary's School, Avoca, called in.

There will be a special Rosary recitation at St. Peter's Cathedral, Wyoming Ave., Scranton on Sunday at 2 p.m. to honor Our Lady. May is the month of Our Lady, and this special recitation will be led by Bishop Martino. Several students of the Region 7 plan on attending this recitation to honor Mary, the Mother of God.

May, the Month of Mary: Special Reciatation of Rosary led by Bishop Martino
There was a special recitation of the Rosary at St. Peter's Cathedral Prayer Garden on Sunday, May 2nd, at 2:00 p.m.
Bishop Martino was scheduled to lead the praying of the Rosary. Afterwards, all moved into Bishop Hannon High School for a reflection on the Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II, "The Rosary of the Virgin Mary."
Some of the Region 7 students of the Scranton Diocese were planning on attending this special Rosary recital. We are sure they prayed for our schools.

A PGA meeting of SJB parents was held on Monday evening at 6:30 in the cafeteria. Details of the lawsuits which, of course, cannot be published here, were discussed. Also discussed were plans regarding a carnival/picnic for all students.

The activities were aimed not at saving our schools, but at making the last days of our children at both schools filled with fun, laughter, hope, and memories. We hope we accomplished that, and we think we did.

On June 4th, both schools had their last day of school. It was tear filled and there was no joy amongst the adults. Many of the children cried but, thankfully, the anticipation of getting out of school for the summer buoyed them and numbed them against, we believe, the reality of what this last day really meant- that it was the last day ever at their schools.

On June 7, 2004, many of our SJB parents and children went to Dorney Park in Allentown, PA,on what would be the last ever school trip for St. John the Baptist Elementary School in Pittston, PA. A few of the others went to the Luzerne County Court House, second floor, at 9:30 AM to sit in the court room of Judge Gailey C. Keller of Columbia County and Luzerne County.

45 of our parents (about 30 others signed on later) had filed a lawsuit against Bishop Joseph F. Martino and the Diocese of Scranton as a last ditch effort to keep our St. John the Baptist School opened for one more year. The lawsuit was based on contractual obligations: up until the week of the announcement by the Diocese of Scranton and Bishop Joseph F. Martino that SJB was closing, the Diocese had allowed St. John the Baptist School to accept deposits for kindergarten registrations and applications, as well as re-registration forms from already-enrolled students, to continue to come in. (An open house for new enrollment candidates had been held on March 14, 2004 at Saint John the Baptist School in Pittston -only 10 days before the announcement by the Scranton Diocese and Bishop Martino that our school was closing.)

Parents knew the lawsuit was a long-shot, but Attorney Michael Butera of Pittston had offered to take the case and the parents were willing to take this desperate step. Anything within moral reason would be done to save our children from the trauma of losing their wonderful Catholic grade school.

The three and one half hours of testimony heard by Judge Keller was very revealing. We learned who had initially requested the study of our Catholic schools in the Pittston area of the Scranton Diocese (it was Father Paisley of Maria Goretti Parish. He was concerned about finances, as each pastor, prior ot the restructuring plan of March 2004, had to pay a stipend for each and every child from their parish to attend Catholic school. Maria Goretti parish has many young families with many children who attend Catholic school. Now, there is an automatic, fixed assessment from each parish. Father Paisley couldn't have known that the study would end up with our two beloved schools being closed.)

We also learned that it was Mr. James Earley fo the Chancery Office of the Scranton Diocese, with the approval of Bishop Joseph F. Martino, who had composed the famous March 25th letter to the parents of St. John the Baptist in Pittston and Saint Mary's School in Avoca, informing us that our beloved schools were closing.

Testimony was given by several Diocesan officials: Dr. Ruth Connolly; Mr. James Earley; Mr. Quinn; Auxiliary Bishop Dougherty, and several others from both the Diocese of Scranton Catholic Schools office and Chancery and from St. John the Baptist Elementary School in Pittston and from Saint Mary's Grade School in Avoca, Pennsylvania. Dr. Janet A. Donovan, who had taught first grade at St. John the Baptist Grade School in Pittston for many years, and was vice-principal for the last few years, before leaving for her position as head of curriculum in the Catholic Schools office of the Diocese of Scranton in late October 2002, was not subpoenaed.

In the end, Judge Gailey C. Keller, citing the 1st amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America (separation of Church and state), granted a motion to dismiss from Diocese of Scranton attorneys James E. O'Brien and John A. O'Brien. The date on the official Memorandum Opinion by Judge Keller was June 15, 2004.

And so our schools are both now closed. If you have come to this page because your school is about to be closed, is being considered for closure, or has been closed by your bishop, our prayers go out for you. We understnad the tremendous pain and frustration you must now be feeling.

The bishop of any Diocese has the absolute authority in matters pertaining to that diocese. This includes the abrupt closing Catholic schools which are run by parishes under the Diocesan rule. Obviously, as you can see from our story, and in the many hundreds and, perhaps, thousands of stories about school closings, something must change.

Children are not pawns to be moved about a the whim of any man. Changing schools is tremendously traumatic for most children. The procedure of Catholic school closings should and must include the input of all involved: teachers, principals, parents, pastors,parishoners and, perhaps even the older children. After all, it is their lives who are most severely changed when their Catholic/Parochial school is closed.

Our struggle was not totally in vain. In April 2004, in the midst of our battle with the Diocese of Scranton to keep St. John the Baptist Catholic School and Saint Mary's Catholic School opened, the Diocese of Scranton, no doubt still reeling from our protests and the media attention, announced publicly that an in-depth study, involving input from and meetings with parents, parishoners, pastors, teachers, and other principles, would be conducted BEFORE any recommendations would be made, to Bishop Martino, about closing. Our schools were not given the same consideration, but we can find some comfort that we, no doubt, gave Hazleton area Catholic schools a chance to do something to save their schools.

The Committee to Save Saint John the Baptist in Pittston and Saint Mary's School in Avoca is no longer active.