L'Osservatore Scrantonio...

Pardon my mangling the Italian language and kindly overlook the liberty taken with the localization of the name of the Vatican's official newspaper.

L'Osservatore Romano is the Holy See's weekly newspaper, available in myriad tongues.

I've never read it. I should. It's always good to get all sides of any given story, and you if you can't count on L'Osservatore for solely one side, heck, who can you count on?

Recent developments, emerging developments, in the Diocese of Scranton are such that observing them at present is left to the individual, since "officially" no one seems to know what's really and truly unfolding here. Whatever it is, suffice to say it's unprecedented.

Unprecedented is the resignation of a bishop not under any Curial injunction to do so, meaning the man is not yet of resignation age. By the Church's yardstick, he has years to go, miles to travel, much to accomplish before Rome demands he submit his resignation. Apparently, he has done just that.

Unprecedented is a bishop moving from the traditional home of diocesan ordinaries, which would be next door to St. Peter's Cathedral on Wyoming Avenue in Scranton. He has moved to the former Pius X Seminary in Dalton. Though no longer a seminary, the buildings and property have not been abandoned by the diocese and offered for sale.

Unprecedented is a bishop strolling around downtown Scranton without benefit of a Roman collar and smiling with warmth and sincerity at passersby. We've seen the photos.

Published reports claim Joseph Martino has suffered "a near nervous breakdown." As to that, I have neither substantiation nor opinion.

What I do have are observations of my own, my L'Osservatore Scrantonio.

It's established that Bishop Martino is about to become the former Bishop of Scranton. Precisely why, I feel safe in saying, we will never know. There are three possibilities in my view;

1) He collapsed beneath the stress and weight of doing what he felt the need to do here. Subsequent to following orders, he became the target of severe criticism and contempt across the width and breadth of the diocese. All of this took an awful toll. Toll taken, he resigned.

2) Those who sent him here to do what needed to be done realized that the emotional damage and the emptying pews far outweigh the pecuniary benefits of shuttering churches and abandoning neighborhoods that are in need of the stabilizing effect of an open church. It's the flaw of "Knowing the price of everything and the value of nothing..." Damage done, perhaps far overdone, he was asked to go with as little fuss as possible.

3) What is now playing out has been the plan all along, meaning this man was sent here to do seriously unpopular work which, once finished, he could leave behind and go elsewhere. Drama done, curtain down, no bows, houselights up, go home.

It could be any of the above, it could be a combination, it could be all three.

Monday's news conference will shed scant light on the situation, it's a strictly controlled affair not open to the public. Shocking? Hardly.

I'd love to be there. I'd love to ask a question, just one question:


"Bishop Martino, sir, considering your shutting down dozens upon dozens of churches due to the weighty burden of expense, just why is a 'closed' seminary still in use by the diocese? How can the diocese justify the upkeep, including grounds maintenance, of this expansive piece of property in a very pricey neighborhood?"

Is there an answer to the question. Sure.

Will it ever be revealed? Of course not.