Yesterday, the Vatican announced the appointment of Monsignor Joseph Bambera as the 10th Bishop of Scranton. I jumped right on this, I am a blogger, that is what I do. Other people jumped on it as well. SNAP issued a few statements yesterday. One of them was on Bishop-elect Bambera of Scranton. In the interest… Continue reading What’s the SNAP Game Plan for the New Bishop of Scranton?
Category: Father Robert Gibson
Fund Drives and the Ghosts of Pedophiles Past
I received a letter in the mail not long ago from the "2009 Annual Campaign" for Notre Dame High School in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. The campaign has a theme, "Celebrating Today... Preparing for Tomorrow". As with all fundraisers, the letter came with a glossy brochure full of information on projects to be accomplished, scholarship assistance… Continue reading Fund Drives and the Ghosts of Pedophiles Past
Child Pornography in the Rectory at Lords Valley, Pennsylvania
In case you are one of the people who believe that the worst of the sex scandal in the Catholic Church is over, I have more bad news. Another priest in the Diocese of Scranton has been reported, this time for child pornography. According to news reports, and this is a story that is just… Continue reading Child Pornography in the Rectory at Lords Valley, Pennsylvania
Reports: Bishop Martino to Resign
This morning, the Scranton Times Website had an article indicating that Bishop Joseph Martino was going to resign his position as Bishop of Scranton early next week. Still no information from the Chancery or Bill "the mouthpiece" Genello on the reasons for the "Bully of Wyoming Avenue's" abrupt departure. The Bishop has already started moving… Continue reading Reports: Bishop Martino to Resign
Contact Policy and Information
I spoke recently with someone who contacted me through the kind offices of another blogger. The person wishing to speak to me was concerned about sending a comment to this blog and having it automatically post on the internet with their personal information available to anyone who may be reading the blog. It took some… Continue reading Contact Policy and Information
A few thoughts on the Diocese of Scranton’s Annual Appeal and the Collection for the Care and Education of Priests
Rachel, who contributed the only guest post on this blog to date, made an interesting observation on the failure of the Bishop of Scranton to meet the goals for the Diocese Annual Appeal. This year, for the first time, the Diocese came up $274G short of this year's goal of $5.3M. Since the Diocese usually… Continue reading A few thoughts on the Diocese of Scranton’s Annual Appeal and the Collection for the Care and Education of Priests
Threats and intimidation
Over time, Gibson became much more controlling and aggressive. He was less likely to "soften" me up with alcohol and much more forward when he had the opportunity to get me alone. His initial caring words and expressions of god's love and understanding that what we were doing was good and right and part of… Continue reading Threats and intimidation
First descent into hell
I knew something was wrong. I was supposed to spend the night at the rectory. The reason for the stay has long ago left my mind. Instead of getting on the East Stroudsburg School District bus in front of Notre Dame that would take me to East Stroudsburg High School to allow me to transfer to… Continue reading First descent into hell
The tyranny of distance and the curse of the Internet
I am frustrated. Admittedly, some of the frustration comes from a tyranny of distance. I am in southern Virginia and the diocese that I have an issue with is 400 miles worth of driving north of here. I would love to have a face to face conversation with the Bishop's advocate so I could look… Continue reading The tyranny of distance and the curse of the Internet
An Open Letter to Bishop Joseph F. Martino, Diocese of Scranton
At some point it stops being about God, doesn’t it?
Off My Knees - A Blog by Michael Baumann 