CHESTER The phone rings from central dispatch on the afternoon of Nov. 9 with terrible news: a collision on Rt. 206 in Chester Township here has taken the lives of a grandmother and her 5-year-old granddaughter. Immediately, Msgr. Raymond Lopatesky hangs up the phone, dresses in his clerical garb and heads out the door — ready to lend a willing ear or comforting word to law enforcement officers on scene and to the victims’ family as Chester Police chaplain.
So it’s no surprise that police from Chester and elsewhere, diocesan clergy and local public officials turned up on a cold Nov. 10 — a day after the crash — on a street corner in the rural township for the renaming of Meadow Lane to “Father Ray Lopatesky Rd.” Everyone here gathered to be there to honor a straight-talking clergyman, commonly known as the “Cop’s Priest,” who has been there for many law enforcement officers and community members — mostly during tough times — during his 39 years as Chester Police chaplain. That Saturday, the Chester Township Police Benevolent Association 315 unveiled the new sign to thank Msgr. Lopatesky and be a permanent symbol of his ministry of being there and watching out for his neighbors and especially his “Men in Blue.”
“I’m so honored,” Msgr. Lopatesky told those assembled for the renaming at the corner of Meadow Lane and Crystal Lake Road in Nazareth Village, the Diocesan community for retired priests, where he also serves as its director. He also serves as diocesan director of retired clergy and chaplain of police in Chester Borough and Washington Township. He retired as an FBI chaplain in 2013 after 20 years of service, which included a three-week assignment at Ground Zero in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
“I have come to love these officers; they are like my kids. I have great pride in our law enforcement in Chester and Washington Townships,” he said.
As police chaplain, Msgr. Lopatesky lends his ear in counseling — or “debriefing” — sessions with police officers who need to “vent”: that ability to express their anger, frustration or sadness, as they experience difficult on-the-job situations, such as robberies, fatalities and domestic violence, or face personal problems in a private and confidential manner. Often, an officer accompanies him on a “death notification” call where they have to inform family members of the death of loved ones — like he did for the Nov. 9 fatal crash. With each call, Msgr. Lopatesky anticipates a range of reactions: from falling down or sitting stoically to screaming or trying to attack the officer or chaplain.
“Officers experience a lot of stress that they don’t broadcast to other people. They want to talk to someone who is a peer because they often think that other people [not in law enforcement] might not understand what they’re going through. They trust me because I have been around for a long time and they know that I’m a straight shooter with them,” said Msgr. Lopatesky, who was inspired to pursue police work by his grandfather and father, who both served in law enforcement. The priest also established the Morris County Police Critical Incident Debriefing Team, in which he has trained 43 officers as “peer debriefers,” who in turn, have conducted more than 250 debriefing sessions in the county and in other states. “Serving as a police chaplain is a unique ministry. I consider it very fulfilling, because I’m there for my officers and I’m doing God’s work, just as they do,” he said.
Over his 39 years as chaplain, Msgr. Lopatesky also has become close to the officers on the Chester Township and Washington Township departments, which number 50 members today. He has witnessed the marriages of many officers — such as Officer Douglas Shea, PBA president, to his wife Shawna — and has baptized many of their children — such as one child of Police Chief Thomas Williver.
Ordained a priest of the Diocese in 1975, he first arrived in Chester a year later as parochial vicar of St. Lawrence the Martyr Parish. In 1979, he was named chaplain of the police departments of Chester Borough and then Chester Township. Msgr. Lopatesky was named director of Nazareth Village in 1993.
“Father Ray knows these cops who serve the township. They are good people, who are ‘Type A’ personalities, but still get affected by the incidents that happen on the job,” Williver said. “Father Ray is always there. If I call, he picks up the phone and is ready to go. If I come over to Nazareth Village, he always has a pot of coffee on and we talk,” he said.
Locally, Msgr. Lopatesky also serves as chaplain and trustee of the Chester Township PBA and chaplain of the Morris County Police Chiefs Association. In addition, he served as a certified instructor at the Morris County Police Academy, the N.J. State Police Academy and for the N.J. Police Training Commission. The priest also has served in many other capacities in the police departments of Chester Township, Chester Borough and Washington Township.
“Father Ray welcomes you when he first meets you. He has the backs of every officer. He is not only a member of the department, but also a part of the family,” said Shea. During a reception after the street renaming, Shea told The Beacon that the PBA secured permission for the new sign from the town and paid for the sign and its installation.
From the vantage point of Chester, Msgr. Lopatesky also took the opportunity to look back on his extensive ministry as a law-enforcement chaplain, which includes 20 years with the FBI’s Newark Division. He ministers to agents who experience or are threatened with violence, are facing an illness or are dealing with personal problems by counseling them, offering stress-management strategies and “spiritual support,” while not being allowed to proselytize, Msgr. Lopatesky said.
The priest’s assignments and deployments included the Oklahoma City Bombing, the Flight 800 airline crash off Long Island, the U.S. Embassy Bombing in Tanzania; Ground Zero; and agents assigned to the Flight 93 investigation. The priest has also served as an instructor at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Va. Recently, the U.S. Secret Service recruited him to serve as a chaplain in its Newark Division.
Before PBA officials unveiled the new sign, Msgr. James Mahoney, diocesan vicar general, moderator of the Curia and pastor of Corpus Christi Parish, Chatham Township, addressed all those assembled, calling the public honor emotionally moving and rare among priests.
“Father Ray, on behalf of the priests of the Diocese, congratulations on your many years of extraordinary police work,” Msgr. Mahoney said.