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A proposed amendment to New York state’s constitution is “a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” and Catholics should vote against it, according to a Sept. 5 statement from the state’s Catholic bishops.

The ballot initiative is known as Proposal One or the Equal Rights Amendment, but the latter name is misleading, according to the statement from the bishops, including Bishop Salvatore R. Matano of the Diocese of Rochester.

“The title suggests a noble cause, as all children of God should be treated equally under the law. However, this proposed amendment to the state Constitution is broadly written and could have dangerous consequences if enacted, which is why we oppose it and urge you to vote no,” the bishops wrote.
NY bishops say the ERA would permanently legalize abortion

It’s important for Catholics to educate themselves with the proposed amendment and its potential consequences before they cast their votes on Nov. 5, according to the state’s bishops. If approved, the amendment would permanently legalize abortion without restriction up until the moment of birth in New York, the bishops wrote.

“Aside from being redundant in a state that already has stripped away all abortion limitations, the amendment would render impossible any change to the law if the hearts and minds of New Yorkers were ever to shift toward protecting the child in the womb,” the bishops stated.
The ERA includes age as a protected class, which could strip parental rights

The broad, sweeping language used in the amendment also includes age as a protected class, which could cause parents’ rights to be stripped away, according to the bishops.

“Courts could decide that parents have no authority over their minor children on important matters and permit children to make destructive and permanent decisions on their own which they could well live to regret, including but not limited to so-called ‘gender affirming’ treatments and surgeries,” the bishops wrote. “The relationship between parents and their children is sacred. Parents must be able to support and guide their children in accord with the natural law, without interference from the government or courts, which would be reaching beyond their competency.”
Bishops urge Catholics to consider the ERA’s consequences and vote no

The proposed amendment disregards struggling children and the unborn in the name of political agendas and could have dangerous consequences for these children and their parents, the bishops stated.

“Proposal 1 is a wolf in sheep’s clothing that could led to darkness for many New York families,” they wrote.

Faithful Catholics in New York state should “consider these consequences and vote no” to the proposed amendment, the bishops continued.

“Likewise, they should thoughtfully vote their informed conscience up and down the ballot so that we might usher in change for good,” the bishops wrote.
Rochester Diocese’s Life Issues Office offers resources on the proposal

The Diocese of Rochester’s Office of Life Issues has made a number of resources about the proposal available on its website, www.LifeROC.org. A nonpartisan ballot-issue committee called The Coalition to Protect Kids — NY is working to defeat the amendment and also has resources about the proposal available on its website.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Bishop Salvatore R. Matano will further address Proposal One in his column in the October issue of the Catholic Courier, which will have continuing coverage of this issue.

NY bishops urge Catholics to reject constitutional amendment
Jennifer Burke/Catholic Courier | 09.06.2024
Section: Local News

The website of The Coalition to Protect Kids — NY, which is a nonpartisan ballot-issue committee working to defeat New York’s Equal Rights Amendment. (Courier screenshot)

ROCHESTER — As rain showers steadily fell outside Sacred Heart Cathedral June 29, those gathered inside welcomed the diocese’s newest priest with showers of prayer, love and well wishes.

It was enough to render newly ordained Father James Muscatella momentarily speechless following the ordination Mass.

“It’s more than I can say, because the love of Jesus Christ that would call any of us to the lives that we were meant is beyond words,” Father Muscatella told the Catholic Courier.

Bishop Salvatore R. Matano ordained Father Muscatella during the 10 a.m. liturgy. With a big smile on his face, then-Deacon Muscatella processed into the cathedral with diocesan deacons before taking his seat next to his parents, Karen and James Muscatella.

After the readings and the proclamation of the Gospel, Father Paul J. Tomasso presented Deacon Muscatella to Bishop Matano and testified to the candidate’s worthiness, prompting applause from family, friends, and the priests and deacons gathered inside the filled cathedral as the sign of their assent.

Then, seated in front of Bishop Matano, Deacon Muscatella looked directly at the shepherd of the diocese and listened as the bishop spoke of the witness of Ss. Peter and Paul, whose solemnity is celebrated June 29.

Bishop Matano reminds Deacon Muscatella of his purpose

In his homily, Bishop Matano also shared the words of the late Pope Benedict XVI, given on the occasion of his Solemn Mass of inauguration as pope in 2005, during which he told the world that the purpose of their lives is to reveal God to others and that only when we meet the living God in Christ do we know what life is.

“To this I humbly add,” Bishop Matano said, “and then love like Christ, but not without the path of sacrifice and spiritual martyrdom, surrendering your will to the will of Christ. It’s now your life’s all-consuming work to reveal God’s love to his people, to command the presence of Christ in the Eucharist, to raise your hand in benediction, in reconciliation in the sacrament of reconciliation, confession, in healing, preach his word, and to bestow his mercy and compassion, especially upon the sick and dying in the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.”

“If you do all of this with a zealous, vibrant faith, a sacrificial spirit and a loving heart, you will also inspire other young men to follow the call of Jesus Christ to be priests,” Bishop Matano told Deacon Muscatella.
Ordination contained special moments for Father Muscatella

After the homily, Deacon Muscatella knelt before Bishop Matano and made a promise of respect and obedience before prostrating himself in the center aisle of the cathedral for the litany of supplication as family and friends knelt in prayer that God “pour forth heavenly gifts in abundance” on him.

The two-and-a-half-hour liturgy included the ancient and essential priestly ordination ritual of the Laying on of Hands, during which Deacon Muscatella knelt before Bishop Matano, who laid hands atop his head, calling down the Holy Spirit upon him. Then the priests in attendance, both of the Rochester Diocese and friends of Deacon Muscatella’s from across the country and world, laid their hands on Deacon Muscatella. Bishop Matano then prayed the Prayer of Ordination conferring the priestly office upon him.

It was a memorable moment, Father Muscatella told the Courier following his ordination.

“It was sort of a waterfall experience of this is what your life has been, this is what you have been preparing for and these are the people that have been in your life,” he said. “Then a few short moments later, I was standing, dressed as a priest and embracing them as their brother.”

Following the Prayer of Ordination, the investiture of stole and chasuble was assisted by Father William Leone, pastor of St. Jerome Church in East Rochester, where Father Muscatella spent a summer assignment in 2022. After Father Muscatella was vested, Bishop Matano anointed Father Muscatella’s hands with sacred chrism before handing him the chalice and paten containing the bread and wine, which points to the sacred duty of priests to offer the holy sacrifice of the Mass. Bishop Matano and the priests then welcomed Father Muscatella into the Order of Priest with the fraternal sign of peace.

After the conclusion of Mass and the recessional hymn, Father Muscatella stood in front of the altar and imparted his first priestly blessings on family and friends.
Father Muscatella looking forward to priestly ministry

A native of Gates, Father Muscatella, who turned 31 on May 25, entered seminary in 2018 after spending three years as a behavioral assistant and substitute teacher for the Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES alternative high school. He spent his first two years of formation at St. John’s Seminary in Boston before continuing his studies at Pontifical North American College in Rome. He was ordained a deacon, along with 18 of his North American College classmates, at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Sept. 28, 2023.

Father Muscatella will celebrate his first Mass of thanksgiving as a priest on June 30 at 2 p.m. at the Parish of the Holy Family in Gates. He will begin his first assignment July 5 as parochial vicar at Blessed Trinity/St. Patrick parishes in Owego, Tioga County.

“I look forward to seeing what every day brings and where Jesus Christ will take me in those days,” Father Muscatella said of his new priestly ministry.

ROME — With a big smile across his face, 30-year-old seminarian James Muscatella processed into a packed St. Peter’s Basilica Sept. 28 as he embarked on his next step toward becoming a priest.

A seminarian of the Diocese of Rochester, he was among 18 men ordained to the transitional diaconate that day. The newly ordained deacons, representing 14 U.S. dioceses and with the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, are studying for the priesthood at the Pontifical North American College in Rome.

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City ordained the 18 men and was principal celebrant and homilist for the liturgy. Three U.S. cardinals — Cardinals Raymond L. Burke, retired patron of the Order of Malta; James Harvey, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls; and Edwin F. O’Brien, retired grand master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and a former rector of the U.S. seminary in Rome — concelebrated the Mass along with four bishops and several priests. Among the priests were Fathers Aaron Kelly, Roman Caly, Joseph Martuscello and Kevin McKenna from the Rochester Diocese.

After the Gospel reading, each diaconal candidate presented himself to Archbishop Coakley, who confirmed the candidates’ worthiness, prompting applause from family, friends and fellow seminarians gathered. In his homily, Archbishop Coakley told the men that “it is not enough to be good churchmen, you must be disciples.”

“Your life and ministry must be deeply rooted in an intimate friendship with Jesus Christ,” he continued. “Be prepared for sacrifice, be prepared for opposition and indeed, at times, persecution.”

He urged the ordinands to look to such models as Blessed Stanley Rother, Blessed Michael McGivney and Servant of God Emil Kapaun, who all were diocesan priests “whose lives and witness offer a whole alternative to the conventional and planned aspirations of a faithless secular world.”

“This is an awesome time to be undertaking ordained ministry in the Catholic Church,” he added. “This is an awesome time to be ordained as transitional deacons and, God willing, in some months to be ordained as priests.”

Following the homily, the ordinands knelt before Archbishop Coakley to make their promises of obedience before prostrating themselves below the sculpture of the chair of St. Peter, sculpted by the Baroque Italian master Gian Lorenzo Bernini.

The two-hour liturgy also included such ancient diaconal ordination rites as the laying on of hands, in which Deacon Muscatella knelt before Archbishop Coakley, who laid his hands atop his head and called the Holy Spirit upon him. Investiture of stole and dalmatic was by Father John Bilenki of the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“As I was being vested by Father John, I thought about how I have been given a new role and ministry in the church, by a grace from God in the ordination,” Deacon Muscatella wrote in a message to the Catholic Courier following his ordination. “God has used the work of so many good people, cooperating with him to prepare me for this step, and surely will continue to use the work of good people to prepare me for my life as his priest.”

Deacon Muscatella will preach his first Mass at the Basilica of the Twelve Holy Apostles in Rome Sept. 29. He is scheduled to be ordained a diocesan priest at Rochester’s Sacred Heart Cathedral in the early summer of 2024.

Until then, Deacon Muscatella will continue his studies at the North American College before returning home at the end of June 2024.

“It is a wonderful walk I have taken,” Deacon Muscatella told the Catholic Courier in August. “I just couldn’t be happier.”

Rochester seminarian ordained deacon at St. Peter’s Basilica
Gina Capellazzi/Catholic Courier | 09.28.2023
Section: Local News

Archbishop Paul S. Coakley of Oklahoma City ordains Diocese of Rochester seminarian James Muscatella to the transitional diaconate during Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Sept. 28. (CNS photo by Lola Gomez)

Eighteen newly ordained deacons from Rome’s Pontifical North American College pose for a group photo after their ordination Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican Sept. 28, 2023.
Diocese of Rochester seminarian ordained deacon in Rome

Statement of The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester
Upon the death of His Holiness, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI
December 31, 2022
Vigil of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God

Indeed our challenges in so many areas of life continue. People of
good will long for unity where there is division, hope where there
is despair and peace where there is discord.
How much we all need the joy of Christmas!

As we celebrate the birth of Our Savior, Jesus Christ,
I with you the peace and happiness of Christmas and
I pray that the Child born in Bethlehem will bless you
and your loved ones throughout the New Year and always!

You and all dear to you will be remembered in the
Holy Sacrifice of the Mass during the Christmas season.

With sincere gratitude for your prayers, I remain
Devotedly yours in Christ.

Salvatore R. Matano

The Most Reverend Salvatore R. Matano
Bishop of Rochester

All Saints Academy in Corning will not reopen for the 2022-23 school year due to a sudden and severe drop in enrollment.

School families, teachers and staff were notified of the decision — which came just three weeks before classes were set to begin — in a letter dated Aug. 18. The letter was signed by Father Matthew Jones, pastor of All Saints Parish; Mary Ann Lacey, All Saints Academy principal; and James Tauzel, diocesan schools superintendent.

Low enrollment countered by combining classes, eliminating teacher positions

Tauzel told the Catholic Courier Aug. 19 that going into the summer, 82 students were registered at All Saints for 2022-23 following an enrollment of 105 at the end of the 2021-22 school year. But by Aug. 10, he said, enrollment had dropped to 67, and classrooms were to be consolidated to make the budget work.

In an All Saints Parish bulletin column for the weekend of Aug. 20-21, Father Jones noted that enrollment had dropped even further in the week after plans were announced to combine classes in lower grades and eliminate three teaching positions.

According to a diocesan statement, as of Aug 18, there were only 33 students registered for the coming academic year, with 102 needed in order to balance the operating budget.

The diocesan statement said that the profound decline in enrollment made the school — which served grades prekindergarten through 8 — financially unfeasible to operate. It stated that the majority of families who withdrew their registrations in July and August cited “economic and practical challenges that make Catholic education at All Saints difficult to maintain.”

Bishop Matano to visit All Saints Parish to thank the All Saints Academy family

The statement added that Bishop Salvatore R. Matano will visit All Saints Parish on Sept. 18, to preside and preach at the 10:30 a.m. Mass. At that time, according to the statement, “Bishop Matano and Father Jones will thank the teachers and staff from All Saints Academy, and the families and alumni of the school, for their dedication to Catholic education and in sharing the faith with young people for so many years.”

All Saints, located at 158 State St. on the campus of St. Mary Church, was the second-oldest diocesan school to still be operating in the Diocese of Rochester, having been established in 1855. It also was the last diocesan Catholic school to remain open in Steuben County following the closing of Hornell’s St. Ann School in 2012.

“The faculty and staff of All Saints Academy have been some of the longest serving and most dedicated in our diocese,” remarked Tauzel, who served as principal at the Corning school from the 2014-15 to 2016-17 school years. “The school leaves a legacy of strong Catholicity and outstanding academics evident in every graduate. I thank the families for their support and commitment to Catholic schools and the sacrifices they made to prioritize a Catholic education for their families.”