"Cardinal Brennan Farewell Celebration
Rev. Adam C. Sedar, President of Cardinal Brennan Junior Senior High School, has announced that a Farewell School Liturgy, Open House and Social Celebration have been scheduled at the Fountain Springs Campus for Sunday, July 1, 2007. Specific details regarding the day’s time schedule and other arrangements will be released in the near future. On a related note, Father Sedar commended Alumni Joseph Chiaretti, IHHS ’60, Mark and Amy (Madden) Fanelli, CB ’74 and ‘75, Mary Beth Dougherty, CB ’83, and Jennifer Salukas Kowalonek, CB ’93, for volunteering to chair the festivities for this historic farewell celebration event.
The following Committees have been established in order to help coordinate event festivities: Liturgical Celebration; Food and Refreshments; Decorations; Setup for Tents, Tables and Chairs; Memorabilia Collection and Display; and Multi-Media Presentation. School alumni or parents willing to participate on any of the above listed Committees are requested to submit their name and contact information, along with their choice of Committee, to the school Development Office at 570-874-3921, or at mnieddu@cardinalbrennan.net by Tuesday, May 8, 2007. Alumni and parents are also encouraged to submit to the school as soon as possible any current contact information that they may have on former school administration, faculty and staff members to have them included on the celebration’s Invitation List."
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Official press release.. The goodbye to CB
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87 comments:
There have been quite a few priest alumni from the Fountain Springs Campus over the years. Fr. Sedar is one and I wonder how he feels presiding over the demise of the place he went to high school. Considering the campus and the renovations, I wonder if the school can find another use within the diocese, assisted care living or some kind of health care site. Then again North Schuykill HS might be able to make use of the campus too.
In any care, the place deserves a splendid party.
"On a related note, Father Sedar commended Alumni Joseph Chiaretti, IHHS ’60, Mark and Amy (Madden) Fanelli, CB ’74 and ‘75, Mary Beth Dougherty, CB ’83, and Jennifer Salukas Kowalonek, CB ’93, for volunteering to chair the festivities for this historic farewell celebration event."
I am one of the first graduates of this splendid institution and I find no reason whatsoever to celebrate its demise.
jesus. some people complain about anything. let them have their little party already. and maybe they can convery this "splendid institution" into another halfway home for those wonderfully wayward priests you like ragging on so much.
Gimme that OLD-TIME religion!
Gimme that OLD-TIME religion!
Gimme that OLD-TIME religion;
it's good enough for me!
Are you offended, Mr. Connors, that they didn't personally ask you to chair one of their farewell committees? i mean, being among the first to ever graduate from the place and all... right up to the end it's all about image and social status with you people.
Doofus!
The wayward priests can all go to hell.
You can follow them if you want.
That things change, people move on, regions change and places close is part of life.
It even happens in Schuykill County, so get on with life and stop whining like you're entitled to get everything handed to you because the county is needy. Nobody seems to get it that it takes hard work to make a region livable and harder work than that to make it thrive. The Lehigh Valley and Berks County areas are flourishing. Schuykill County is floundering. It's all so unfair, right?
DOOFUS. "lol." i think i'll do best to NOT follow those pleasant patrons of pastoral perversion (and i don't think the devil wants them, either). but you're totally right in your assessment of priests, people, whining, schuylkill county, work, unfairness, Berks County, and the whole damned human race in general. your rant could not have been better directed or more pervasive, like the odor of some kinky french cheese i can't afford on my local food service wages. the school is over-rated. this damn COUNTY is REALLY over-rated (if only in its own socially engorged mind). everything about all of this is so pathetically putrid it's almost unreal. schuylkill's practically the only county in the whole state, it seems, that has completely gone to ****. hear ye; hear ye!! make your home in schuylkill county!! be our cheap labor slaves for the NEXT hundred years so my kids can go to the Ivies and yours can buff our shoes! -- and bring a bagged lunch. forget revitalization. forget economic progress. forget the boosters and the holy holies. the hell with "hometown" sentiment and the hell with you. this county is as good as dead, and in fifty years there'll be nothing left but a few more energy plants and a whole lot of cancer for the survivors. this school is a joke. this county's an even bigger joke. and all you people are walking punchlines.
for the YOUNG PEOPLE:
move away while you still can! don't mind the b*llsh*t rhetoric on fliers and banners waving high. don't get ensnared by the beauty of the land and their empty, EMPTY promises. get the hell out and come back for holidays and holy days ONLY. you ARE the future, just not here. schuylkill county has let you down, and you deserve so much better.
I hope you people don't think Fr. Sedar is a wonderful person. He told Dr Jackie she is not allowed to make a speech or hand the seniors their diploma at graduation this year. What a jerk.
are you serious?? what the hell is that about? it's like that other guy said. they're all walking jokes. they're not satisfied screwing themselves so they gotta screw each other, too.
because he's a jerk. i hope the parents call the school and raise hell about this. he stands on the alter preaching about being a good Catholic.... he should practice what he preaches.
I simply do not understand the use of anonymity in this matter. Why would Father Sedar be concerned about a criticism issued namelessly?
I find him to be a man of little character and I consider his superior, Bishop Edward Cullen, unfit to wear that title.
What's more, I identify myself.
It seems you’ve forgotten, Mr. Conners, that this is America, where everyone’s opinion counts, even yours, unfortunately. What does it matter if it’s given anonymously or includes a name, number, home address, medical history and number of birthmarks? That’s pure nonsense. In opinion polls, is every single individual’s private info gathered for the sake of knowing who said what and why? When you vote, do you leave the curtains open and invite everyone in the room in with you to share the experience? You’re here arguing semantics that have nothing to do with anything when it’s the opinion, the idea that really matters. Are you so blind that you can’t accept the truth for what it is and quit blaming ‘wayward priests’ and the diocese and God know what or who else? Then you complain that the school shouldn’t even have a farewell party. I mean, what’s your beef? So you put your name up. Big deal. Would you like a medal? Maybe an honorary place-mat at their party. Anyone who thinks the honest emotions expressed here will just roll like water off a duck’s back is not only wrong but in blatant denial. And you’re comments aren’t even all that interesting, sir. You sound like an older, more mature gentleman – so act like it.
Joe Devitt.
Well Mr. Connors, nobody consulted with you about the appointment of Msgr. Cullen as auxilary of Philadelphia or about his appointment to Allentown. It doesn't matter that they didn't ask me, or for that matter any number of others, because all that seems to matter is YOUR say. There's something about Aesop's fables and the Fox who got hold of sour grapes that seems right on the money here.
I'm NOT a resident of Schuykill Co any more and I am embarrased at the whining. That's all this is, whining and sour grapes. There's tough work to be done all over the Diocese of Allentown. The Diocese of Scranton and of Harrisburg have to work things out on their own.
We have serious work to do and serious efforts are in place. So pouting isn't helpful at all.
By the way, schuykill County isn't the only region facing significant changes. It does seem to have a lock-hold on whining. Lets get to work.
BISHOP EDWARD CULLEN
Until February,2002, he let four priests work despite decades-old allegations, which were detailed in their personnel files, that they had sexually abused children. He dismissed the men as the Boston clergy scandal brought pressure on dioceses nationwide to reassess their handling of molestation cases. Bishop Cullen initially refused to tell a prosecutor the priests' names or the parishes they served because, he said, the statute of limitations had expired. He relented in May, when four other prosecutors joined the call for disclosure.
then why the hell didn't you speak up then? what does any of that have to do with the closing of a bankrupt, over-extended, over-rated catholic high school in a worthless region of a worthless State? jesus h already. and your little illustrations and exhibits do nothing to qualify what a "splendid instititution" you think your blessed alma mater is. they do nothing but help you cut your own metaphorical throat. if any of those misfits were at CB, which i hear tell they were, that's all the more reason to close it the hell down. get a clue and get a life.
J. Devitt
Now here's a legal question (maybe a moral one too).
Mr. O'Connors, you make some clear statements, none of which really apply to the situation at CBHS but all of which attack the person of Edward P. Cullen.
Do you have DIRECT knowledge of this information or is it hearsay. Is it documentary evidence or "word of mouth" from a second party or parties further removed from a direct knowledge of the allegations.
Even in a blog, you skate the line between slander or defamation by inference. You hope for specific "conclusions" to be drawn from these statements, not about the situation at CBHS but the moral state of Bishop Cullen. That's called an "ad hominem" argument and evades the issue by putting the character of a person in the spotlight.
That's a cute trick but only a trick. Can you advance any alternatives to the CBHS situation that have not been already raised. Keep in mind the utterly extravagant, incredibly prosperous and wealthy Catholics of the Lehigh and Schuykill Valleys are really eager to pour vast amounts of money into Fountain Springs simply because we can. (yeah, right)
The needs of the Church are clear and severe here in the "south" too.
serentis
i agree with everything said here in opposition to the school. the forces of quantified logic and just plain common sense won't allow me to do otherwise. the school is done; the county is done; and the ignorant masses are just proving what thoughtless, unreasonable, mean-spirited imbeciles they are. and that's doubly true for those filthy rich local catholics who would rather sue Rome than pitch in to help save a school they claim to love and cherish.
having said that, while i believe that the closing is the fault of most parties involved, it is not the fault of all. i believe there are some parties - albeit a tiny, tiny minority - who are actually sincere in their own opposition to the closing, and with these persons - all three or four of them - i really do sympathize.
but there is one man, in particular, who was the director of development when i was at the school and who was not only great at his job but one of sincerest, nicest, most optimisitc persons i have ever met in my life. he performed his duties at the school with an uncommon zeal the likes of which i have yet to witness in most people i've met to date. he always had a kind word and a friendly smile for anyone who ever crossed paths with him. even when i was there he had already devoted much of his career and adult life to that school with all the genuine care of loving guardian. when that man spoke to an audience the chalkboards would rattle, and you'd walk away not just believing every word he'd said but actually FEELING it and feeling privileged for having been in the presence of such a kindred spirit. i'm a natural-born skeptic, and even i couldn't help but feel that way after one of his pep talks or announcements or whatever it was he'd just delivered. i believe he did as much for that school, within his power, as anybody possibly humanly could. sir, you know who you are, as i'm sure most people of the CB community know as well. you were a blessing to the school and an inspiration to a hell of a lot of people. if you actually come on here once in a while to check on the opinions of alleged pundits on both sides of the issue, i just want you to know that no matter what happens to the school's legacy, i believe your own good legacy is intact and will always be in the minds of the people whose lives you've touched over the years. you're a good man, and a lot of people know it. that's all that matters.
a friend
PS. oh and the nuns were pretty cool too :)
ok, to whoever posts a comment about how the school should shut down, get a life. The process was unfair and unjust. It's like your trying to turn everyone,including the students, against the school. you obviously know nothing about what went on, so why don't you do us all a favor and mind your own business. People who just like to complain abuot other people's problems need to get a life, then maybe they'll have problems of their own, and won't need to worry about the problems of others. As for the "whining" that most of you talk about, are you serious?? if it was your school shutting down, i honestly don't think you would just let it happen.
The situation in every diocesan high school has changed since the founding of the diocese in 1961. The need for changes -- like fair wages and healthcare -- brought financially smart folks to insist on real planning and "giving" as part of that plan. The directors of development in the high schools had and still have an important job. They help pave the way for the future and help meet the present need through fundraising, grant writing and alumni/ae contacts. They "sell" the school. In many cases they did a remarkable job. Where there are no "takers" even the best salesman can't succeed. Those "buying into" Catholic education in Schuykill County are fewer and fewer, partly because there are fewer and fewer children in the region and partly because of disinterest. Tuition costs do play an important role; maybe even the deciding factor. The era of free, parish subsidized parochial education is over. The foundation for such an enterprise is gone. Things need to be done differently, and so here we are, looking to what can be done to provide for the diocesan schools, the parishes and the "faithful" of five counties. It is a tough job to rework familiar structures into new and effective ones. It is a necessary job and I don't know anybody who "signed up" for turmoil. Frankly, I think "the faithful" need to appreciate the parish priests they have because that ARE parish priests. That's another matter.
serentis
The development office at brennan did an excellent job. more students were coming to the school. however, we were not aloud to advertise the school or do fundraising because it would take publicity away from another diocesan high school and the bishop's annual appeal. how is that fair??
to the party who blathered on incoherently for a paragraph before Serentis' latest comment: are you, are you SMACKED out of your head?? what the hell do you call that, right there, what you just did? isn't that whining? what the hell IS it, then, if not whining? i see people come on here and thoroughly explain the social demographics which have contributed to this mess. i see people offer statisitics and personal experiences and other intelligent morsels attesting to the flawed nature and infrastructure of catholic education in our times, and what the hell do you all do? you resort to childish name-calling and hearsay and whatever other useless if absurd jactitations you have at your disposal. i really tried my best not to lower myself to your kind of standards, to blatantly call people "dumb" or "losers" or "pedaphiles" or any other such damn thing, but you idiots make it awfully difficult for anyone with half a mind to restain themselves as such. for three months you cried to anyone who'd listen and comfortingly pat your arrogant little heads while you offered no clear evidence for your own damn cause other than, "it's OUR school," and "we're a family," and "the bishop has three condos." how in perdition do you expect to be taken seriously by anyone, ANYONE when you tear down the precepts of the very institution you hope to save? you call them perverts and ingrates and liars and thieves - practically - and then you argue -- shamelessly and hollowly -- that the very institution which harbours these "outcasts" should be saved so as to continue instilling the "catholic values" that apparently none of them possess. no wonder you people like nascar so much -- endless circles are all you seem to know and appreciate. you openly display your bigotry, your seeming stupidity, and your pea-brains in the papers and this blog and when people react you tell them to mind their own. is this how business is conducted at the school as well? you make complete fools of yourselves with no decent rebuttals in your own behalves and then effectively say "leave us alone." i mean, what is that? where the hell have you all been for the past 50 years? do you know that the Academy, before it became CB, had been a supPOSedly "world-class" institution who accepted the children of wealthy foreign magnates while treating like dirt all the local catholic kids? did you know that? and now they NEED us? if we don't know what we're talking about then educate us! prove us wrong! don't cry and tell everyone to shut up and go away. you ask for it you get it. you people don't know the first damn thing about "unfairness" or even "life," many of you. unfairness! injustice! oOoOoOoO. call the national guard! impeach the bishop! if you wanna save your legacy so badly - cuz that's really all this is and you know it - go run for public office. selfish, slanderous, condescending half-wits. yea, i think most of you would fit the mould quite nicely.
i wouldn't much worry about your legacy, though. i think over the past few months you've done more than enough to ensure it's perpetual embarrassment for next 80 or so years.
a friend, again
in all fairness to the cause, i don't think more publicity would have helped. any publicity not gotten in the past thirty years would not have helped the numbers. class sizes have fluxed between the same two extremes for years now. this class 50, that class 35. things have been bad for a while. it's not a new phenomenon
all i have to say is that you really need to get a clue. Act like a harvard graduate if you think it fools anyone, but honestly, you are just an ignorant, arrogant little thing that has nothing better to do than complain about things that you aren't even involved in. i would like to know why you are even here other than to complain. I'm sure the purpoe of this blog was to inform people and update them about current situations, not to be used for your rants about how you know so much about what's going on. i realize that school closings are nothing new, but unless you are a heartless person, you would show some respect to those who have to deal with all of this, especially the students that are being forced out of the school. they/their parents chose to go to CARDINAL BRENNAN, not any other school. i should know how difficult the situation is, seeing as i am a student at the school.
boo hoo.
Not involved.
We call that "parochialism." I AM a Catholic who belongs to the Diocese of allentown and no parish, no institution of the diocese is separable from the entire whole. You have the Church confused with a representative democracy. THE point of the statutes is to assist the DIOCESE and by that fact local parishes and institutions in meeting the current and future needs of the faithful across FIVE counties. The vision is larger than any one parish or institution.
BTW SOME of us ARE Harvard Graduates. I am not. Georgetown is no slovenly place of learning and degrees from there take work. Not everybody from the "coal region" is under-educated. There IS a larger picture and the process the diocese set up for the synod took the WHOLE diocese into account. The statutes reflect that disposition and the implementation requires that Catholics do that as well.
Nothing new about that.
serentis (Ed.D., M.S.)
(If the degrees were REALLY impressive, I'd have my own parking spot at Boscov's)
i know what yous mean about injustice, tho. i mean, i voted for Sanjaya the WHOLE TIME with a lot of other people and we all know how THAT turned out. life is so unfair. it was probably rigged. it's all the pedaphiles' fault, i'm sure.
serentis, my friend, they're wasted pearls. all these goose-nipping morons know is cheap shots that don't even hit home or make sense. varied generalizations on how others should behave while they all but impale their own bishop and pastors. mob mentalities, so-called righteous anger and so on. they can't even rightfully defend themselves. these idiots, particularly the older ones who should know better, don't want to debate anything or be enlightened by anyone. maybe that's why they're at CB.
how many of you have actually been at the cardinal brennan campus??
anyone who has ever been there knows that there are 95 beautiful acres. Some of this land could have been sold to bring cb out of debt, and a permanent plan could have been brought up from that point on. the diocese knew that the school was losing students and money, they could have made a long term plan for the school a few years ago, giving parents, stdents, and teachers the advantage of having more time to prepare.
As a student at the school, i agree with a previous comment. There is no reason to celebrate the closing of this school. For 81 years the building has been there. Only one member of the very first graduating class is still alive. That building and everything that it stands for is going to come to an abrupt end on june 8th, and there really is NO reason to have a celebration.
Question for the student at CB... What happened to Dr Jackie when the boys came up from ALlentown? Did the allow her to finish out the school year or did they fire her?
more time to prepare? you've had 80 long years and you need more time to prepare? the school still legally belonged to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart until literally just a few years ago. why didn't you or the parents or the administrators or whoever the hell go speak with them about selling some off when you had the chance? why did you let yourselves get into debt in the first place? as students, as potential scholars, you don't think to ask these and other important questions crucial to the very basic defense of your own cause? it frightens me to ponder the future of learning in this country if everyone had the driving curiosity displayed by the students who have commented here.
only one individual from the very first graduating class is still alive. ok. so what does that have to do with the fiscal irresponsibility that has led to this unfortunate conclusion? it's not his/her fault that the present and past administrations have let his/her legacy go to waste. i would consider it a profound blessing just to have lived that long -- and, i think, so would anyone else, especially in these perilous times.
youth can be so pure. you're strung along by those around you to believe that everything they say or write or do is sacrosanct, and that anyone who opposes it from the outside must be wrong or evil or ignorant or just plain dumb. i don't blame any of you kids, i really don't. and if these so-called rants have offended you, please keep in mind that it is only because you have let yourself be offended. maybe you'll understand better once you're out on your own and are forced to think more clearly for yourselves. maybe not. all the same, i wish you nothing but the best, because you ARE the future, misguided though you are, and i'm sure many of you will develop into very fine, upstanding, clear-thinking individuals.
on a separate note, i, too, have been on the CB campus. i myself attended the school semi-religiously for four long, long years -- not counting the several days i skipped during my final two -- and before that i attended the former Immaculate Heart, in G-ville. i assume you know that other catholic schools have closed before Immaculate Heart and now CB? you don't remember them, but I'm sure you're parents do. I was shifted from the school in Ashland to the one in Girardville when i was just little, hardly able to make any decisions for myself. you are all young adults, most of you capable of making wise decisions, and yet you rally against something you claim to understand but obviously don't and can hardly even defend, save for name-calling and slanderous accusations against your own bishop and others. meanwhile, the adults in your camp behave like children about the age i was when the Ashland school closed. it's all so surreal. but you know, whatever. it's like i've said. maybe later you'll understand.
i was taught many things at CB, but the only thing that has ever helped me was my own sense of self-reliance, fostered through the quaint yet insular lectures and teachings of my professors and catholic doctrine in general. i was taught, for example, that adam and eve were my great-great-great-infinity- grandparents, and that the reason we now live in such sin and squalor is because they ate an apple of knowledge. do you, as students, truly believe any of that? i promise you, that unless you attend a fundamentalist college or decide to live in a totally ass-backwards region of the country - like schuylkill county - you will be laughed off any stage, out of any classroom, and out of any respectable congregation of people with better than a second grade education. the bible is a good book, but it's not the only book. Catholic values have their place - in the home, in church, in specified CCD classes and so on - but where the forces of real knowledge, of true enlightenment, and of practical reality are concerned, faith must be put aside momentarily and the human mind - a mind that YOUR God has created and blessed YOU with - must be allowed to flex and ruminate and defy the standard, if only to eventually prove it right OR wrong. stay good, caring people, if that's what you are already. love your neighbor as yourselves. do good to those who hurt you. but don't take everything at face value because someone else says you should, and learn to think for yourselves. your own future, as well as that of the civilized world as a whole, depends on it. Good luck, and keep an open mind.
for those leading these kids astray with your hazy rhetoric and dangerous, self-effacing lies:
you know damn well the truth of the matter, and you ought to be physically disgusted with yourselves. right now, you're doing more to turn these kids away from their faith in THE Faith and in you than the bishop or any of the wayward priests you love to mention on here. you keep these kids ignorant of the truth and encourage their provincial, retaliatory mind-sets, not even giving them the proper tools with which to defend themselves in a public forum such as this. 40, 50, 60-year-olds preaching that their bishop and wayward priests and everyone but yourselves are to blame for this mishap in the lives of your children when you know damn WELL what's really up. you set a beautiful example for the next generation of world leaders, and i hope you pay dearly for it in the long run. there's a special place in hell for morons like you.
"For the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light."
Luke 16: 8
"It were better for him that a millstone be hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should lead one of these children astray."
Luke 17: 2
that last one doesn't only apply to wayward priests. you think about that, if you have any unholy brains left with which to think.
This pathedic example of cardinal brennan alumni above me should honestly think before he voices his unimportant, unwelcomed, farfetched comments.
I would like to begin as proudly stating i am a current student at the school and first of all let him be well aware that the morals, teachings, and family we aquire while attending cardinal brennan are much more rich of an experience then the one you obviously had in the world that cardinal brennan once brought forth. We now at cardinal brennan as a community and as a family unite every morning to go to that place we all love, knowing shortly we will not be able to ever again. Your negative attitude towards our families, our selfs, and our beliefs are not welcomed what so ever to our suffering school family. You experience at brennan was most likely a agonizing 4 years because you made it that way. Now the students have no choice but to enjoy the days we have left and to let every single memory last a life time. Just because your "long, long" years sucked does not mean that the new brennan generation which has more of a bond then i believe any other prior to us was as horrid as you make us out to be. You are the worse excuse of a cardinal brennan alumni, you sit there at your computer that cardinal brennans education helped you aquire and yet you sit there like an annoying ass who has no clue what the hell he is talking about. You think you know what our curriculum consist of when you complain about the bible, first of all we are taught at brennan that science wise the start of the bible may be a bit farfetched but the values, and morals that they teach us about our lord and savior remain in our hearts, and if we are looked down upon because of our beliefs in any higher education that it is our jobs as followers of the lord to continue on with our mission and teach those by our teachings that the lords mission is that of a good one and if you were not so busy being a lazy sack of crap all highschool then maybe you would of realised that as the " christian student" you claimed to be, whitch might i add obviously you are a poor example for one and as a current student of Brennan the home of the broken hearts i would ask of you to never call your self a brennan graduate. You are obviously not worthy in your non show of support and constant dammings to hell.
As a current student of the school i would also like to thank all of those who do support the students and teachers unlinke this un informed sorry example of a "graduate". I would like to thank all of you on behalf on the brennan family for showing support and just understanding what pain and suffering we are going through. Theese are the hardest times in our lives and all the positive responses possible are greatly appreciated.
God bless you all even the man who thinks he knows God above me.
Thank you
CB'09.
i totally agree with everything said above me. you obviously were a waste of cardinal brennan money while you were in school, and you obviously are one of those people that don't ever appreciate the things that their high school had to offer. could it possibly be that, because you obviously don't/DIDN'T appreciate your high school life, that is the reason you are on this website posting negative comments about your alma mater. Perhaps you have nothing better to do?? maybe you should have payed closer attention to those teachings of catholic values. It might have instilled a better understanding in you. actually, all i can do is laugh at your pathetic attempt to [from the looks of things] turn students against their school. please do everyone a favor and find something else to rant about, and stop disgracing the name o your alma mater. it's people like you that are the reason CB is shutting down. all of your statements about how schools closing all the time is [although true] not very convincing in this situation. i cannot believe that someone who acts so intelligent can honestly say that they agree with shutting down the institution that gave them the part of the knowledge that they now have.
CARDINAL BRENNAN '09
i don't agree with everything that guy said before, and one point i don't agree with is that you'll grow into "fine, upstanding, clear-thinking individuals." I think he was too generous in saying that, and that you're already too brainwashed and self-important to ever become that kind of people. but i do agree that you need luck, all the luck you can get before heading out into the real world with that narrow-minded scope of reality. your parents and pastors must be so proud.
Joe Devitt
You talk about family and community. How many CB alumni that still live in this area send their children there? If the alumni didn't support the school then why should anyone else? Maybe that’s why the other catholic high schools in Schuylkill County are still open.
maybe they don't have to face the world. maybe they can live in their parents' basement apartment forever and ever and retire from jobs their daddies and mommies got them.
lmfao you are all pathetic excuses for human beings and don't understand a single thing about this school so please go the hell away and by all means keep spreading your slanderious lies about schuylkill county.
not everyone in schuylkill county acts as if they are unintelligent.
by all means keep supporting your precious little thoughts about us. your ways of thinking are the exact reason CB is shutting down, and the reason people think we are all the slums of PA. maybe if people like you would stop wasting your time and do something about the area, it would change, but until you all realize how unimportant your thoughts and views are, that won't happen. all of your opinions don't mean a single thing to the rest of the world. mine probobly doesn't mean a thing either, most of all to you, but at least my opinion has some knowledge about the damn situation, unlike your pathetic little comments. why don't you all stop tryig to turn everyone against their school?!?
to everyone who supports the school: thank you
to those of you who need to get a clue: get your head out of your ass and get your facts straight.
*sniffle sniffle*
Looks like Mr.Connors is the only one who makes any sense on this matter when he states there is no reason to celebrate the closing of Cardinal Brennan.
I understand that Mr. Kempsey, an icon when it comes to things involving Cardinal Brennan High School, feels the same way.
"...this is America, where everyone’s opinion counts, even yours, unfortunately. " posted
may 13th, 2007.
unfortunatley this statement seems to be slightly inaccurate.
to most people here the opinion of CB students doesn't seem to matter much.
however, to the CB students, most of your opinions do not matter either. keep attempting to turn everyone against the school [that is what it looks like, anyway]
honestly, i do not feel any need to be told why the school is shutting down. it is. we don't need anyone to badger us anymore or make us feel like it was totally our fault,we don't need constant reminders of the fact that as of june 8th, Cardinal Brennan high school will be no more,and we definitley do not need all of these online arguments about why we should agree with the CB dissapprovers. Stop getting hardcore with the keyboard, because none of us are going to buy into your points of view about the school that WE go to.
then why do you keep responding. doofus
wow. you make it sound like the clouds open up and cast sunshine over the whole valley when he walks outside. mr. kempsey, as i understand it, is an ex-teacher with his name on a scoreboard because he helped the school a million and one years ago. maybe that's why he feels that way. i know if i had my name on a scoreboard i wouldn't want it to be taken down or to rot into disrepair either. i can think of half a dozen others from the school - myself not included - who deserve to have their names up somewhere too, but don't.
mr conners just looks to be a mean and prejudiced person. he's a great example of coal region catholicism though, so i guess CB must've done something right
I’m actually all for brennan not closing. I’d hate to have my tax dollars paying to educate people like that
ok you don't even know us so why don't you all keep your little mouths shut, and let us deal with the school closing in peace. your remarks aren't helping.
i keep responding because not only are your comments offensive and rude, but they are also very inaccurate
" "...this is America, where everyone’s opinion counts, even yours, unfortunately. " posted
may 13th, 2007.
unfortunatley this statement seems to be slightly inaccurate.
to most people here the opinion of CB students doesn't seem to matter much."
posted May 17, 2007
i've been reading this thing the whole while and it gets more an more like must see tv every time. nobody ever told you to shut up, the way you're doing. you can say whatever you want and should. but you shouldnt falsely accuse yr own bishop of crimes against humanity with no proof. the minute you did that your freedom of speech was severely limited. any first year law student can tell you that. if you were good people you wouldnt even do it at all. you crave good publicity and then cant take a backlash caused by your own stupidity. you owe yr bishop an apology
There's plenty of ire and annoyance, even some outrage. The closing is a "done deal." Nobody seems to be addressing the future, and there always is a future. What you make of the situation you are in matters. I would like to "hear" what can be done to continue the legacy of Catholic education in the region. The project is not over. Even when parishes merge and schools combine, the project isn't over. It begins anew. The abilities of the "coal region" folks to overcome adversity and bring good things from a tough situation aren't gone. Change is part of life, often unwelcome, but always there. There has to be a sizable group of people who have the desire and stamina to bring good things from a tough situation.
I'd like to hear plans for the future; plans that are practical and possible.
serentis
they should still apologize to the bishop. they're making catholics everywhere look like boobs. we're not all that way.
See Father Bender about Bishop Welsh and Bishop Cullen.
Oops, I forget. He's in jail for molesting little boys.
Oh, and how about Father Guiliani, the former principal of Cardinal Brennan?
Sorry, it seems he ran off and married one of the students there.
But wait, there's still Father Leo Lenick, right?
Nope. he married one of the nuns.
But surely you must remember Father Leo Heineman, the former pastor of St. Mauritius in Ashland who was affiliated with Cardinal Brennan High School?
Sorry, he was shot to death by an angry husband for sleeping with that fellow's wife.
Where were the bishops then?
sigh!
That doesn't respond to my point at all, now does it.
The last question: When those events happened, Thomas J. Welsh was either rector of the Seminary, or Founding Bishop of Arlington, PA.
Edward P. Cullen was the director of Catholic Social services in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Joseph McShea was the Bishop of Allentown during the events you name.
The point you make about priests being unfaithful and even criminal relates to THEM but not to the CBHS closing.
Bender is in jail, but NOT for molestation. That he molested teenage boys moves beyond the court judgement. Check that out.
About Fr. Heinemann's homicide, it was a homicide. "Skuttlebutt" is not proof and allegations can be made about anybody from Leo Heinamann to Mother Theresa to you.
Allegations need not be true to cause harm (and I realize you are exempt from the 8th commandment); they need only to be made public. Being made public, as in a blogsite, is defamatory or slanderous. In any case, my original point -- How do we progress through this to bring about productive solutions, still stands unanswered.
I really hope it gets answered too.
serentis
though you make perfect sense, I think the naysayers should take the advice and stop commenting. The CB crowd are doing a good job making laughingstocks of themselves without your help.
where were the bishops? where were you when your school went bankrupt, financially and morally? you hate your own priests and bishops so much why do you wanna keep your catholic school going? what is this "if we go down they all go down too" attitude." the more you speak the more idiotic you sound. i'm starting to believe the things i hear on the street about you guys.
I heard Adam Sedar is going to turn the 90 acres into private hunting grounds, totally equipped with Nautilus weight equipment, Shooting range & M80's for all the kids to shoot off!!!!
i'm not a supporter of the school, but that comment just creeps me out. in the age in which we live you shouldn't go around making weird comments like that. you oughta think before spewing stuff like that. definitely not good form.
Why? Adam Sedar president allowed seniors to shoot off m80's during school hrs on school property. Who is the child here. He has done nothing for that school now he comes in the last few weeks and thinks he doesn't have to follow the laws.
Ah yes.
It's Adam Sedar who is to blame, of course,him and the "Boys from Allentown.
It's them; we are all sorry victims, and we are helpless!
Save it for the Roses & Strawberries, folks. That's the only place it will help
for real? man, i leave the state for a few weeks and miss all kinds of news. well you're right then. i apologize. i guess the place really is going to the dogs if all that's true.
i dunno about you all but i miss mr. connors' wild and wacky comments. sure they were mean and mostly unfounded, but it made for a great laugh anyway.
have a blessed memorial day
The teachers and parents should be ashamed of themselves. They're teaching their children that it is all right to backlash the church and go against everything they supposedly learned in religion class. WHAT DID THEY LEARN AT CB? How are these children going to turn out? They're caught in the crossfire, and the most viscous side is influencing them. You say that the church is following apart, you're right and you're partly to blame. Children learned from those around them and these children are headed in the wrong direction. In years to come these children and still going to be bitter and complaining about something "menial" like a school closing. If this is the worst thing that happens to them praise God. If the parents, teachers, and sadly students are acting this emotionally to a school closing how are the going to deal with real life issues such as death, losing jobs, and raising a family. You are too caught up on past, look to the future. Sorry, there is nothing left to do. You all tried and deserve a round of applause. It seems to me that you're children need your attention and help NOW. Don’t wait until it is too late. You say that you’re parents and teachers so ACT LIKE IT!
i keep noticing that most of these posts are stuck in the past. we WERE angry and upset about the school situation, and we will continue to feel this way until we have dealt with it for a while in our own ways. it's not like we are just going to happily accept the decision that was made, but we are at least trying to start over. So before you people post about how we are these horrible people that loathe every aspect of the church, and how the students are going to turn out to be horrible haters of the catholic church, think about our situation, and give us some time to recover and deal with the issue. i understand that schools close all of the time, but you think about things differently when it's your own school. we know that the decision was made against us, and we are trying to take steps foward.
Schuykill County has given two Cardinals about 7 bishops, countless priests and religious to the service of the Church. The cranks say it's because there was job stability & upward mobility. The more pious talk about the "Call." Most of the folks I know (I'm related to a few.) fit within those two boundaries.
Sometimes we thing TOO big, as if the Church begins at ROME and trickles down to places like Frackville, Keylares, Minersville and Tamaqua. It doesn't work like that at all. (That's like saying goverment begins in Washington DC and forgetting about how things work in "the county).
Each diocese stands on its own as a "church" so the bills and liabilities, assets and benefits belong to the "Diocese of "whatever." Here it means that the five counties form ONE particular Church called "The Diocese of Allentown" which is separated into local parishes for the care of souls. (Yes, I did some homework here.)
The "Pastor" of the diocese is the Bishop and he shares that "job" with parish priests. Together the tasks they are given ars "spelled out" in the Code of Canon Law. BUT, all the parish priests and parishes are united as ONE church. Listen to the Mass prayers for "Edward, Our Bishop." Once it was "Thomas and before Thomas it was Joseph, and before that John and before that Dennis, etc.)
One of the priests I know did a harrowing explanation of the "pruning" image from the "Vine and Branches" passage in the Gospel of St. John. Pruning isn't a punishment, it's a vital part of vineyard care. It's a "long term" application that looks nasty. We're not that botanical. Vines can't feel loss. We do. Still, the need for pruning to bring forward the best fruit is needed. That's part of this process and the WHOLE of the diocese needs to work through this.
serentis
i forget now, is it the whole earth that the sun revolves around or just the folks at CB? you still owe your bishop an apology
the ghost of H.L. Mencken
It is ALSO of some interest that a Cardinal Brennan graduate, priest and former principal, as well as a current teacher, have been appointed as President and Principal at Bethlehem Catholic High School. I suspect (and strongly) that quite a bit of "CB" will get planted and flourish at "BC." That is a good thing, you know.
Serentis
oh yes? that's interesting. who is it?
Joe Devitt
eh what's the difference. they're all pretty much the same. just look around you
Fr. Robert T. Finlan has been appointed the first President at Bethlehem Catholic High School and Mr. Michael Reese has ben appointed the Principal. He succeeds Mr. Richard B. Culver who has been principal for the past 34 years.
BTW, the differences ARE notable. Not every CBHS graduate is a refugee from Wyatt & Stosh
Serentis
finlan went to school with one of my siblings and i hear he always used to get caught picking his nose during classes.
be nice to nerds, you'll probably end up working for them.
haha but not THAT one, thank God. gimme a trekkie over a snot-monger any day.
I am amazed!
Instead of appreciating the accomplishments of a Graduate, and former principal, instead of noting that the fruits of the labors of many teachers at CBHS now reach into other places I get to read this drivel.
One should be embarrased, even ashamed but I suspect you will be pleased at such annoying, purile and sad comments.
So this is what the standards of Schuykill County look like. I had hoped for better; I know there's better.
Now, YOU (whomever is behind the repulsive comments), have the decency to talk with adults as adults. This is a blog but the right to expressing your opinion doesn't include the right to be offensive and disgusting and patently dull. YOU ARE an embarrasment to us who were raised in "the county." That fact that you revel in that embarrasment is what amazes me.
That fact that nobody has hammered you for being such a boor amazes me too.
Yes, I'm annoyed and insulted and if that satisfies you, It saddens me. You are clueless!
serentis
i think there's a star wars marathon on that you can catch if you hurry...
yo serentis maybe WE'RE sick of YOUR lamme ass comments. you have a lousy opinion about everything and your'e not even involved. you said you're not even from our part of the mountain. what you think youre so much better than us? if your precious little eyes cant take it then dont read. and by all means take your harvard graduate ba or bs or whatever baloney and go amuse yourself somewhere else. nobody cares what you think dude so get off your high horse.
*Immacualte heart academy *Immaculate heart high school
*Cardinal Brennan High School
*Cardinal Brennan Jr./Sr. High School
it seems as if this was not supposed to happen this way..in such an abrupt manner. i do not know for the life of me how this educational facility could be so unimportant that it is simply tossed away like an unwanted childhood toy.
of all the awards received at the final cb graduation, most of them were excellence in religion, which i always believed was the point of catholic education. the allentown diocese has taught me otherwise. the point of catholic education is to teach the youth how to make more money.
compare this: bishop of the harrisburg diocese: visits every school a few times a year, teaching student's religion classes/eating lunch with students, etc.
allentown diocese: bishop has visited CB one time in 9 years, sends retired priests to perform confirmation in his place, rejected plan for k-12 [a plan that saved our lady of lourdes in shamokin], and rejected most other plans to save CB. allentown diocese is one of the lowest ranked diocese in the COUNTRY.
i realize this is very random, but i felt the need to rant, because after attending the graduation, and seeing the sense of loss on everyone's faces, while still retaining the communal and family atmosphere of the school, i realized just how unfair of a process it was.
and remember, CB wasn't the only loss this year, do not forget the other losses that have occured this year, maybe then you will realize that, in comparison to most other school closings, this may be one of the most unhappy. the CB community not only lost their school, but they also lost one of their classmates and friends.
Cardinal Brennan
1927-2007
that last comment was a cheap shot and you know it. how dare you speak for the entire school and it's 80 year history. of course the loss of their classmate was a great tragedy that everyone should sympathize with, and i'm sure most people do. it was a terrible thing. but this started way before that happened. it worsens the sadness and gives the community the right to grieve alone if they want to, but it shouldn't be used as a rider on your comment about how and why the school was closed. the school was closed for economic reasons, and you have to wonder why those reasons got to that point in the first place. if the administration had done a good job, or at least a satisfactory job, i doubt the bishop would have closed it. you talk about heart, and yea that's good and important, but the bishop didn't close the school. it was poor management and the idea that the diocese would always bail the school out of its financial problems without any real consequences. if allentown is one of the lowest ranked in the country it's not the bishop's fault. that's a reflection of the teachers and parents, not him. he can't run every school individually. of course it's a sad thing, but it does come down to dollars. there are many things the school couldve done to save itself before being closed.
i agree with serentis. star trek IS offensive and patently dull.
You want adversity. You'll have adversity. You want to wallow in self-pity; I (nobody) can stop you. You will drown in self-pity and blame it on everybody else.
"Nobody" gives "you" a break because you feel entitled to a free ride into whatever you choose. It won't happen.
Holding a degree from Harvard (which I don't) is less a sign of success than owning your own car. What one does with one's reaources, there's the measure.
It's really NOT about CBHS, it's about the whole composition of "the county" and how it can come to collapse or to flourish.
(and arguing whether Yuengling is better than Kaier's or Bavarian beer isn't very fruitful.)
I have kin in "the county" but my family has a home in the Lehigh Valley. That is where I found a job, a place to live, a wife and the rest followed. My kids know the roots and the culture of "the county." They're not afraid of new things or changes because life is filled with both.
New things and changes are headed into YOUR lives, ready or not, they'll be there. They will land on your lap and complaining won't change anything at all. It won't even make you "feel" better.
You know that already.
serentis
did you know, that as early as september, the other two high school's students and faculty [nativity/marian] were told to expect an influx of CB students. we didn't find out about the school closing until april.
another time that the diocese feels the need to keep things hush hush, instead of trying to come up with a solution.
and you prolly got that bit of info from an administrator at CB no doubt, who'd have every reason to perpetuate the rumor for their own defense. but even if it's true, so what? you haven't been in debt since just march or april. all that's hearsay. you still shouldnt treat your bishop that way. it's like you kiss his ass before he makes his decision then all but burn him in effigy after he closes you. what hypocrites. the bishop hafey fiasco was a MUCH bigger indiscretion and you cry even louder than them. now THAT school really got the shaft. but i do think i've had enough of serentis too. so we have that in common
yes most of us have had enough of serentis. and actually that information came straight from the other high schools. it just might have been nice to know about our fate before others knew. they could have at least told the people that would be most affected by the situation above anyone else. And i'm not saying that we weren't in debt, most just didn't know that we were. as a student at the school, i remember thinking that we were a school that was running smoothly except for a declining enrollment. i never found any indication that the school was suffering from money problems. if we would have known about our situation we might have been able to help it. also, maybe if we were aloud to advertise and have fundraisers, it would have helped too, but the fact remains that even the slightest attempt to advertise or increase funds was not allowed by the diocese. any attempt to get the feeder school [trinity academy] to become more active in the high school, an attempt that could have gotten more people interested in CB, was shot down by the diocese. this implies to me that they knew exactly what was going to be done long before the announcement, but that's only an idea, and it will never be determined whether or not it is correct.
i do agree with serentis, however, on one thing. He talks about moving forward, which is exactly what we are trying to do. the only thing stopping us are the negative comments about our school, that we feel so strongly about, that we need to stop and say whatever we can in defense of our school.
now THAT was a great comment from what seems to be a level-headed student. you admit the school had shortcomings yet defend it using what info you do have in your possession, and intelligently. and it wasn't the students' fault at all. it was the so-called "adults," both cb administrators and the diocese. allentown wasn't totally wise in their handling of the situation just as cb higher-ups could have taken other steps long before it got that bad. local population is a huge factor too and has always been. young people are leaving in droves, which they SHOULD, but it greatly damages the communities they leave behind. bravo on that last comment.
this one has nothing to do with the folks at CB. i feel sorry for them, but what can you do? it's unfortunate for the community and a travesty for the kids. it's a good example of how not to run a school.
this is probably not the proper outlet for my comment, but since you other people keep mentioning "the county" i figured, why not? i can see how some might be insulted by remarks made against the region. i can also see how some might say, " well if ya do somethin ta make it better 'stead a' complaining all the time..." but it's more complicated than that. demographics alone don't determine a place's present and future. it's the people. it's always the people. and most of the people i know or have known in schuylkill county are the cheapest, most patronizing jerks i've ever met anywhere. i haven't traveled the world or anything, but i've been enough places and know enough people to know good folks from bad ones, and boy, do we have a lot from that last category here. they are the meanest, most bitter, small minded nincompoops i've ever had the displeasure of knowing. "i love schuylkill county 'cause everyone's so NICE!" is a commonly heard if insincere mantra in these parts, and of course it's not true. people here are nice to your face only to stick you when you turn around. and they're nice to outsiders, due mostly to curiosity about them. once they know you, you're done, and they'll do all they can to tear you apart, never bothering to regret any personal damage they might do to a person or how many lives or reputations they might ruin along the way. i've never known people so petty as the wretched busybodies i've known here. small towns are the social slime-sludge from which modern civilization has sprung, and it's especially true in schuylkill county. i think we've come a long way since then, except in "the region."
and what about all the rampant racism and other discrimination? as if all that other crap wasn't enough. aside from the small-town gossiping and ill wishing and overall decadence, you can't even stand other people unless they look and talk like you. there's practically no diversity in this hellhole, and it's because you refuse to accept anybody who's different than you. i'm a white, all american guy, but some of the despicably racial injustices i've seen taken place in "the county," especially north of the mountain, are enough to make me puke. i know not everyone's like that, but the majority surely are. and then when someone wants to put up an airport, you knock it right down. somebody wants to do this or that, and you knock it right down. it's like you can't be happy unless you make other people feel as miserable as you. you want to be king of the hill yet wallow so coyly in your own lowly filth. still, i dont agree with these crappy revitalization programs either. mostly i think they're just write-offs and feel good diversions that never accomplish anything. they appear, put out some signs, have some meetings, then poof, they're gone. sure they can raise money. anybody can raise money. a mime in soho can raise money. what, are you gonna bribe people to come here? then after they see how much drugs and prejudice and pathetic job and school opportunites they're stuck with and they leave again, then what? just bribe someone else i suppose. in the meantime the coal might turn to diamonds and you wont need them anymore. except maybe as slaves. the kids are overdosing in record numbers, but it's still a nice place to "live and work." you don't include THOSE stats in the brochures, i'm fairly certain. it's not enough the average working family kills itself to make ends meet, then parents have to worry about drugs and booze and the rest, as though they were living in any american city. "hey, son, where you takin your date? Oh we're just gonna shoot up and cruise around. Isn't life SWELL, son?" there's nothing to do there but get high and then sweat your ass off in some factory or warehouse or something for dirt wages the rest of your life. if you're lucky you won't get cancer from all the other nonsense that goes on and might enjoy a few years of retirement in atlantic city or the poconos. oh, and there's wednesday night bingo. and stripping pits you can't even go swimming in anymore. and hazing immigrants who come here to clean the toilets that you refuse to because you're too good for that. well, i guess there is some quality extracurriculars after all. just face it. the county's rotten cause the people are rotten. our coal mining ancestors would turn in their graves. you disgrace their memories and all they worked for. an indignant bunch of insignificant shysters. you know who you are.
You talk about Trinity and getting those students more involved? Why?
Cardinal Brennan's own principal did not even have enough confidence in CB to enroll her children in Trinity when the feeder schools consolidated! What type of message did that send to the community? Maybe she already knew what the future held?
as far as i know the principal's children ARE at trinity
Her children are not even in a diocesan school. She had to know and she lied about the closure and claimed that the bishop assured that it was going to be open for the 2007-2008 school year. That lie made her friends in Schuylkill County but proved her incompetent to everyone else. She stopped supporting her employer long before the school closure was announced.
they're all liars it seems. it's a nasty racket and the victims are the kids. it's all about saving face and passing the blame. it's completely repugnant. the whole damn thing
So what's true about any of this then?
There has to be somebody you can trust or something that's true. The school's not closing to become a theme park or golf course is it?
What should we be looking for here?
well the thing is over. the benefit of a dialogue like this or any other is to help ensure as few closings as possible occur in the future. the way to do that is to bring out the truth, whatever that may be. it's probably true the diocese knew well in advance the closing would take place. but if the school was worth keeping open, it most likely wouldn't have been closed. and if it's not worth keeping open then whose fault is that? it's the people who run it on a daily basis, with other local factors like outmigration and costs mixed in. the bottom line is the truth, not all this face saving bullcrap. keeping a school open just because a few people's parents and grandparents went there is no good reason. it shows all you care about is your own arrogant pride, and that's just lame. i'd like to still own the house i grew up in, but it's in a go-nowhere town - Ashland - that i don't want my kids growing up in. so you sell and move. that's life.
you can't trust anybody totally. each side contains truths and half truths they bend to their own satisfaction. the school exploited people's anger and used it against the diocese. the diocese could have worked a little more closely with the school to help it. but hell, maybe it already had. it's the diocese who's been bailing it out all these years. you can only take so much before you cut your losses. that's the stuff the school doesn't openly tell you. it's just easier to blame someone far away rather than deal with the problems so close to home.
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