Pocono News Section

No Shortage of Opinions on Martino

No Shortage of Opinions on Martino - Monday, August 31, 2009 at 4:58PM EST

Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Monday, Aug 31, 2009 @ 04:58pm EST
LUZERNE COUNTY- Bishop Martino's tenure was controversial. He was known for closing and merging parishes and schools. One of the areas that saw lots of change was Hazleton.

There was no shortage of opinion. People there are talking about the end of the Bishop Martino era.

The word we kept hearing over and over again was “controversial." Bishop Martino will be remembered as a leader who made tough decisions. Some of those decisions will not be forgotten for a long time to come in the Hazleton area.

Bishop Joseph Martino's departure as leader of the flock in the Hazleton area comes as no big loss for many. The closing of churches like St. Nazarius in Pardeesville angered many who felt he did not care to listen to what the parishioners had to say.

Those we talked with say, while they respected him as the bishop, they did not respect the way he made some of his decisions. Mike Dubatto of Hazleton said, "They’re going to remember all the churches closing and schools and that took a lot of slack from a lot of people I think."

The decision to close Bishop Hafey High School several years ago really turned many people against Bishop Martino. They could not believe the only Catholic high school in this part of Luzerne County would be closed.

Mike DeCosmo of Hazleton said, "Down here the bishop was very controversial. Three of my children went to Bishop Hafey. We had fond memories. With the closing of Bishop Hafey, unfortunately he will not be remembered very fondly down here."

But some folks like Pat Wegland say the bishop had no choice but to make tough decisions, that people just don't go to church like they used to. "People don’t take their children to church. If the child don't come to church, they don't have upbringing like when we were children. If you missed church you didn't go out that day," she remembered.

Most people we talked with understand the reasoning for the bishop's decisions to close schools and churches, but they felt they were unfairly left out of the process.