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METUCHEN – When sin entered the world, the mirror image of God was shattered, said Metuchen Bishop James F. Checchio at a June 19 prayer service for racial harmony, peace, justice and healing of the nation, which was held at the Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi.

Speaking to a group of young black people, all Catholic high school students in the Diocese of Metuchen, the Most Rev. James F. Checchio, Bishop of Metuchen, said, “I’m here to listen to you.”

We have been alerted once again that many parishioners of the Diocese have been targeted by fraudsters and it’s not just happening in New Jersey. The alert indicates that the scammers are probably using information found on church websites or in online parish bulletins to trick parish members into parting with their cash.

In his pastoral concern, Bishop Checchio has directed a time of sustained prayer during this month of June, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to bring racial harmony, healing and peace to our nation. I invite you to join us tomorrow, and every Friday in the month of June, at 5:00 PM for an evening of prayer.

Come Holy Spirit! Just like the Apostles gathered in the Upper Room on that first Pentecost, we prayed this past weekend with expectant faith for the coming of the Holy Spirit to renew the Church and the face of the earth once again!

METUCHEN – While the universal Church prepares to celebrate Pentecost, the Holy Spirit is already moving for Catholics in the Diocese of Metuchen, even in the midst of a global pandemic.

Bishop James F. Checchio will celebrate Mass on Memorial Day, May 25 at 11 a.m., at St. Bernard of Clairvaux in Bridgewater. The Mass will be offered for military personnel who made the ultimate sacrifice and died in service to our country, and also for those who have died during this pandemic.

PISCATAWAY – A third-party reporting service is now in place to receive claims of abuse against U.S. Roman Catholic Bishops. The Catholic Bishop Abuse Reporting (CBAR) service was launched by the U.S. Bishops in March as part of their ongoing commitment to carrying out Pope Francis’ Motu Proprio Vos estis lux mundi – or "You are the light of the world" – issued in May 2019.

On Thursday, May 14, all Catholics and believers of all religions and people of goodwill, are invited to spiritually unite themselves in a Day of Prayer, Fasting and Works of Charity for the good of all humanity.

NEW BRUNSWICK – As rain fell on Friday at St. Peter’s Catholic Cemetery, a parochial cemetery in the Diocese of Metuchen, a small number of mourners clad in face masks – each of them strangers to the departed – gathered to remember the lives of the infants cradled in the casket before them.

As the nation continues to battle the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Bishop James F. Checchio, the spiritual leader of the Diocese of Metuchen, will turn to Mary, Mother of the Church in prayer on May 1, joining the U.S. and Canadian bishops all seeking her protection and help.

I write to you with great hope and confidence that God is close to us in these very difficult days. We must never doubt that our daily concerns are His concerns too. And no one knows our needs better than Jesus’ own mother, Mary. 

For many in the Diocese of Metuchen, Easter was different this year, but for some, the day was business as usual. Staff of the Ozanam Inn, a men’s shelter in New Brunswick, operated by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Metuchen, served dinner to their 40 residents who would otherwise be homeless, much like they do every day.

As Catholics around the world entered into Holy Week on Palm Sunday with the commemoration of Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem, Catholics in the Diocese of Metuchen, unable to be physically present together in their local parishes due to social distancing, participated in livestreamed Masses from their own homes.

We have been alerted once again that many parishioners of the Diocese have been targeted by fraudsters and it’s not just happening in New Jersey. The Diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and the Archdiocese of Miami, Florida and others also have reported the scam and the Texas attorney general issued a consumer alert about it. The alert indicates that the scammers are probably using information found on church websites or in online parish bulletins to trick parish members into parting with their cash.

As members of the Coalition of Religious Leaders of New Jersey and as interfaith religious and spiritual leaders we seek at this moment in time to affirm our concern for the common good of the people of New Jersey. Our deep concern is grounded in our moral and ethical sacred texts that teach compassion and caring for one another.

As pews sit empty in churches around the four-county Diocese of Metuchen because of social distancing due to the coronavirus, Catholics in the diocese are finding new ways to stay connected to their faith. In absence of being able to gather for daily or Sunday Mass, and now Holy Week, parishes around the diocese have opened their churches, virtually.

In light of further restrictions by Governor Murphy and the Decree of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Disciple of the Sacraments, Bishop Checchio promulgates the following regarding the liturgies of Palm Sunday 2020 and Holy Week 2020 throughout the Diocese of Metuchen to assist the clergy and the faithful in the spiritual celebration of the Paschal Mysteries. 

Bishop James F. Checchio has granted a dispensation from abstaining from meat on Fridays for the rest of Lent, except Good Friday which is universal law and a day of fasting and abstaining from meat, so Bishops do not have the authority to dispense. He gave the dispensation based on the difficulties of obtaining some types of food by some of our faithful and the many other sacrifices which all of us are suddenly experiencing given the coronavirus. 

Today is the Solemnity of the Annunciation. How grateful we are for Mary's "yes" to become the Mother of God. What a gift she gave us, Jesus! Let's all make sure we pray a rosary today in thanksgiving for this. In Jesus, God became man, one of us, so He could be near us and with us, always. He stays with us in the Eucharist and through the Holy Spirit which He has gifted us each with.