Some would say that New Jersey Archbishop John J. Myers is the epitome of a good Catholic bishop. But it seems like this Prince of the Church should have some splaning to do to the new Pope. The archdiocese of Newark, which encompasses a good part of northern New Jersey, is building a 3,000 SF addition on the Archbishop's 'weekend retreat'. The original palatial building was 5,000 SF. The original cost was $800,000 and the addition is costing about a $500,000. The Archdiocese closed a school two years ago, because of the amount of resources required to fund the school. But it seems no expense was spared in building the Archbishop's retreat/retirement home. The house includes an indoor pool, outdoor pool, whirlpool and a host of other amenities. According to this article in TPM about the new palatial addition, the archbishop has been spending weekends at the 'retreat house' since 2002. That is interesting because, as Newark is the archbishop's residence, that means that the archbishop hasn't been around his own church to say Mass in some 13 years. You just have to ask, I thought Sunday was a work day for these guys? Just sayin'. Here is the TPM article: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/...
Pope Francis has forsaken the Papal Apartments in the Vatican and lives in the hotel room that he initially stayed when he came to Rome to vote for the new Pope. The lives of the two princes of the Church could hardly be more different.