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Here are some suggestions on how to live greener from an "environmental task force" in the Archdiocese of Newark.ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — An “environmental task force” in the Archdiocese of Newark has been helping to make Essex County and other towns in North Jersey a little bit greener over the past few years. Now, its members are calling for Catholic residents across the state to join the effort. The archdiocese’s Environmental Justice Task Force was created with the blessing of Cardinal Joseph Tobin in 2019. The task force has since established a subcommittee of parish liaisons to foster environmental advocacy...

[Barf Alert] Accommodating homosexuality makes ‘better Catholics,’ priest insists at ‘Pride Mass’ Despite gay 'Pride' events being canceled from coast to coast due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardinal Joseph Tobin permitted an LGBT 'Pride Mass' to be conducted in his archdiocese. HOBOKEN, New Jersey, June 29, 2020 (LifeSiteNews) — Despite gay “Pride” events being canceled from coast to coast due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cardinal Joseph Tobin has permitted an LGBT “Pride Mass” to be conducted in his archdiocese. For the third year in a row, the “Annual Pride Mass in support of our LGBTQ brothers and sisters” was held...

[Catholic Caucus] McCarrick breaks his silence: ‘I’m not as bad as they paint me’ VICTORIA, Kansas, September 3, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) ― Ted McCarrick has broken his year-long silence.  Disgraced former cardinal Theodore McCarrick has granted an interview to a reporter and denied the accusations that have been made against him.  Several men have complained that McCarrick made unwelcome sexual advances to them when they were seminarians, and there have been two “credible allegations” that McCarrick also sexually assaulted two minors, a 16-year-old altar server and an 11-year-old family friend named James Grein. Grein alleges that the cardinal abused him...

NEWARK, New Jersey, June 6, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Newark archbishop Cardinal Joseph Tobin, who has come under fire for statements at odds with Church teachings about sexuality, was named by Pope Francis as a member of the Congregation for Catholic Education. In addition to Cardinal Tobin, Cardinals Luis Ladaria and Désiré Tsarahanzana and Bishop Joseph Ðình Ðúc Ðao were named to the congregation. The Congregation for Catholic Education is responsible for communicating and ensuring the implementation of the directives of the Holy See at Church-affiliated schools, institutes, colleges, and universities. Cardinal Tobin said in a nationally televised program in April...

The ‘Ethics’ of Trump’s Border Wall A wall would cause harm to immigrants and refugees, all of whom are equal to us in the eyes of God. Is the border wall ethical? President Trump has suggested the wall is moral and those who oppose it immoral. His critics claim the opposite. To answer this, we have to consider its effect on humans. What harm could a border wall cause to immigrants and refugees, all of whom are equal to us in the eyes of God? Some people who cross the border are in desperate search of work to support their...

Why is Bush getting the bishop's blessing? Thursday, October 14, 2004 NEWARK'S ARCHBISHOP John Myers wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal last month on why Catholics cannot in good conscience vote for a pro-choice candidate. It was titled "A Voter's Guide."Myers wrote that abortion and research that destroys human embryos are evil and that no other issue outweighs that evil in this presidential race: not the death penalty, poverty, or the war in Iraq.The archbishop did not name names, but his message is clear: Catholics can't vote for John Kerry. Since Catholics make up one-quarter of the...

In a historic moment for the Archdiocese of Newark, Archbishop John J. Myers on Monday is expected to announce his successor, Cardinal-designate Joseph W. Tobin, currently the archbishop of Indianapolis, NJ Advance Media has learned. Tobin, a moderate leader who has supported a greater role for women in the church, has also expressed the need for more dialogue over gay parishioners and has sparred with Indiana Gov. Mike Pence over the resettlement of Syrian refugees. Tobin has served as archbishop of Indianapolis since October 2012. Pope Francis named him a cardinal last month. The designation takes effect. Nov. 18. The appointment...

Today the Archdiocese of Newark released To Whom Shall We Go?, a new pastoral by Archbishop John J. Myers reflecting on the spiritual nature of the human person and the role of God’s grace in guiding us to live in today’s world according to His plan.From the Scriptural accounts of Jesus preaching to the disciples at Capernaum (John 6) and St. Paul preaching to the people of Athens (Acts 17), to reactions of everyday people following the sudden and massive experience of terror in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, to the exhortation of St. John...

Even as Pope Francis and Catholic leaders from around the world debate ways to make the Catholic Church more inclusive, Newark Archbishop John Myers has given his priests strict guidelines on refusing Communion to Catholics who, for example, support gay marriage or join an organization that rejects Church teaching.In the two-page memo, Myers also orders parishes and Catholic institutions not to host people or organizations that disagree with the Church.He says Catholics, “especially ministers and others who represent the Church, should not participate in or be present at religious events or events intended to endorse or support those who reject or...

Trenton, N.J., Mar 26, 2015 / 04:01 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A New Jersey law crafted to ban the Archdiocese of Newark from selling cemetery headstones might not pass muster under judicial review, according to a constitutional law expert. Matthew Franck said the law “may well be violating the freedom of religion” guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution because it “singles out religious organizations for disfavored treatment.” Franck directs the Simon Center on Religion and the Constitution at the Princeton, N.J.-based Witherspoon Institute. He characterized the law as “a direct assault on the freedom of churches to offer services to the bereaved...

Zen master tells curious to embrace a new faithRIDGEWOOD - The two-hour lecture at the Old Paramus Church Education Center began with several minutes of silent meditation.  And for many who attended, participating in meditation was a first step in understanding the basic teachings of Buddhism and Eastern philosophy.  "All attempts at mutual education are important to help us grow," said Robert Kennedy, the noted Jesuit priest and Zen master. "It widens our vision."Kennedy Roshi, as he is known to Buddhists, was the key speaker at Saturday's event, which was attended by more than 100 people of varied faiths. It...

From 1999 to 2003, government money flowed to Mount Carmel Guild Hospital like never before, a total of $40 million extra the Newark hospital used to help poor people with mental-health issues.But officials in the state Attorney General's Office say Mount Carmel's windfall was crooked, the result of a fraudulent Medicaid reimbursement scheme that boosted the finances of the hospital, which is affiliated with Catholic Charities, the social services arm of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark.Not only did the agency's former chief financial officer plead guilty last month to fraud, but Catholic Charities now needs to repay the government...

HOUSES OF WORSHIP A Voter's GuidePro-choice candidates and church teaching.BY ARCHBISHOP JOHN J. MYERSFriday, September 17, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT Amid today's political jostling, Catholic citizens are wondering whether they can, in conscience, vote for candidates who support the legalized killing of human beings in the embryonic and fetal stages of development by abortion or in biomedical research. Responding to requests to clarify the obligations of Catholics on this matter, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome, under its prefect, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, released a statement called "On Worthiness to Receive Holy Communion." Although it dealt primarily...

June 16, 2004Gala celebrates the helping hand of Catholic Community Services With the New York skyline as a background, guests of honor with Archbishop Myers at the 30th annual Catholic Community Services gala included, left to right, Charles Kushner, chairman of Kushner Companies and co-chair of the dinner; Veronica Smith, recipient of the Spirit of the Heart award; Montel Houghton, recipient of the Spirit of the Heart award; Anne Evans Estabrook, named Humanitarian of the Year; Henry J. Amoroso, chairman of the Catholic Community Services Board of Trustees, and Phillip Frese, executive director of CCS. The gala took place in...

In New Jersey, an Archbishop Conservative and ControversialBy DAVID KOCIENIEWSKIPublished: May 30, 2004 EWARK, N.J., May 27 - As a young priest who studied in Rome while the Second Vatican Council was redefining Catholicism, John J. Myers began his clerical career in the late 1960's as part of a progressive wave of clergymen determined to modernize the church's rigid doctrines. Yet today, Archbishop Myers is one of a handful of outspoken bishops whose conservatism has become controversial, even in a church which has for a generation been moving toward a stricter adherence to doctrine under the prodding and direction...