For the past 12 years, St. Joseph Parish in mendham has sent a crew of teenagers to eastern Kentucky to help working poor families with home repair and renovation. This year’s team was the largest yet: 75 high school students and 24 adult chaperones were signed up for a week’s work when the pandemic shutdowns made the trip impossible, especially maintaining social distancing during a 10-hour van ride.

Although the Catholic Church is not an expert in the global health crisis forged by the COVID-19 pandemic, Catholic social teaching is fundamental to healing the issues faced by the world today.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained Francis Hamilton Balfour Lennie IV to the transitional diaconate Aug. 9 during the noon Mass in Lennie’s home parish of St. Pius X Parish in Montville, the final step before being called to be ordained a priest in 2021. This was the second ordination of a transitional deacon that the Bishop presided at since being ordained and installed as the eighth Bishop of Paterson on July 1.

An empty lot on 410 Straight St. in Paterson is all that remains from the devastating five-alarm fire last August that destroyed one of the buildings of Straight and Narrow, an agency of diocesan Catholic Charities. A year later, the plan to rebuild is more of a reality thanks to the thousands of faithful parishioners across the Diocese who made pledges to the 2019 Bishop’s Annual Appeal (BAA).

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney will ordain 14 men to the Permanent Diaconate of the Diocese on Satur­day, Aug. 22 at 9 a.m. in the Cathe­dral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson. It will be the first Mass of the Rite of Ordination for permanent deacons that he will preside at since being ordained and installed as the eighth Bishop of Paterson on July 1.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained Rev. Mr. Joseph Anthony Mactal to the transitional diaconate on July 31 in his home parish of St. Thomas the Apostle in Oak Ridge — the first ordination to the diaconate that the Bishop has presided over since his ordination/installation on July 1. It also marked the last step for Rev. Mr. Mactal, a parishioner of St. Thomas and St. John Vianney in Stock­holm, before he is called to ordination as a priest of the Diocese next year.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to St. Joseph Parish in Newton Aug. 1 where he celebrated the 5 p.m. vigil Mass for the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time.

St. Luke Parish in Long Valley welcomed Bishop Kevin Sweeney as he made his first visit to the Morris County parish on Aug. 2. During the visit, the Bishop celebrated Mass marking the 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the Mass, he administered the Sacrament of Confirmation to seven young people of the parish.

At Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta, 164 seniors had the opportunity to celebrate their graduation day at the high school’s in-person commencement ceremony July 29 on the football field. The graduation ceremony had originally been scheduled for early June, but had to be cancelled due to State mandates in place at that time related to the pandemic.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made his first pastoral visit to Nazareth Village, the diocesan priest retirement residence in Chester, July 28. During the visit, the Bishop met some of the priests who have served the Diocese for many years. The Bishop celebrated Mass with the priest-residents in Our Lady, Mother of Priests Chapel at Nazareth Village. Following the Mass, the Bishop and the priests enjoyed a luncheon prepared by the staff at Nazareth Village.

With creativity and the use of technology, the Department for Per­sons with Disabilities (DPD) virtually reopened its Gruenert Center in Lake Hopatcong July 22 in an effort to continue the many opportunities provided to the 60 individuals who take part in the programs offered at the center. On March 16, DPD had to close the doors to this vital program following the directives of the N.J. Division of Developmental Disabili­ties in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. DPD is an agency of diocesan Catholic Chari­ties. The other two diocesan social service agencies are Catholic Family and Commu­nity Services and Straight and Narrow.

During these past few months as we faced the pandemic and the protests for social justice and racial equality, the need to have school choice in place for every student in the nation has never been more apparent. That is why a bill, “The School Choice Now Act,” sponsored by two Republican senators, Tim Scott and Lamar Alexander, both from South Carolina, needs to be passed immediately by the Senate and have the bi-partisan support from the Demo­cratic-controlled House of Representatives.

Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney ordained five men to the priesthood on Aug. 1 in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson while presiding over his first Mass of the Rite of Ordin­ation for priests since being ordained and installed as the eighth Shepherd of Paterson on July 1. The Bishop urged the new priests to follow the example of Jesus as the Good Shepherd “who came not to be served, but to serve and who came to seek out and save what was lost.”

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit on July 23 to St. Joseph’s Health in Paterson where he celebrated Mass in the chapel. Afterward, the Bishop met with administrators and staff members and thanked the healthcare workers for serving on the front lines during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

Bishop Kevin Sweeney made a pastoral visit to Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Pompton Plains July 27 where he celebrated Mass to mark the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time. During the visit, the Bishop blessed high school graduates of the parish, members of the Class of 2020, who attended the Mass.

The parish community of St. Matthew the Apostle in Randolph welcomed Bishop Kevin Sweeney during his pastoral visit July 25 where he celebrated the vigil Mass for the 17th Sunday in Ordinary Time.