I received calls and messages about Deacon Anthony Laterza today.  It's bad news.  First, let me share three articles:

     Second, Deacon Anthony served as a deacon at St. John's for a couple months at the end of 2019.  He took a break.  When he asked to come back, I declined.  He completely left our parish around May.

     Third, remember that Deacon Anthony is innocent until proven guilty.  Please pray for him and his family.  Pray for the children who were victimized in the pictures.

      At St. John's and in the Diocese of Trenton, we take the protection of children very seriously.  Ms. Dempkowski is in charge of making sure all staff and volunteers who work with children do background checks and the Virtus program.

     More than a year ago, we added security cameras around campus.  We added doors in the Parish Center so that access to the classrooms could be managed.  Previously, once you entered the main entrance, you could get anywhere in the building.  We also implemented a lockdown procedure for the Parish Center.  The teachers can quickly lock the doors to the classrooms.  Children are now safer from an outsider trying to barge into the Parish Center.

     The first person to notify me was Joe Bianchi, our diocesan Chief Administrative Officer.  I had just talked with him last week when I needed to go into quarantine while I got tested for COVID-19.  I called him because he's one of our best problem solvers.  Unfortunately, he wasn't calling to see how I was doing.

     The second person who called me was Msgr. Thomas Mullelly, our vicar for clergy.  Msgr. Mullelly works diligently to make sure all priests and deacons are in good standing.  Several months ago, I had asked him NOT to renew Deacon Anthony's faculties.

     The third person was Ms. Rayanne Bennett, our diocesan Executive Director for Communications.  NJ.com had contacted her about Deacon Anthony.  She had a few questions for me.  The NJ.com story reflects her input.  I just wrote to the reporter for the Asbury Park Press.  He updated the APP story at 8:15 PM.

     Several people have contacted me since seeing the story.  So, I had to write to all of you to share more bad news.  With all these strange things happening in 2020, I'm not sure how to react anymore.  Perhaps, "reacting" is not the best approach.  We ought to take a step back and be more thoughtful before we respond.  If I have missed something about this story that needs to be addressed, please let me know.

     I expect that many of you will wonder how Deacon Anthony could do such a thing.  Since I have not seen him in a year and haven't heard from him since about May, I'd rather not speculate.  If you reply to this message, please be charitable.  Before "reacting", pray and use your reason.  Then charitably respond or ask a question.

God love you,

Fr. Jim