WESTWOOD, N.J.—The volunteer director of a Westwood Roman Catholic parish clothes collection ministry—which was taken over by Catholic Charities in June—made a last-ditch appeal July 30 to Newark Archdiocese Archbishop Joseph Tobin for a meeting to attempt to restore the former ministry.
Greg Ryan, Human Concerns Ministry director for a decade, wrote a letter to Tobin urging a meeting to save what he called “a 44-year-old ministry that affects tens of thousands of people and families locally and all over the world.”
Ryan said the ministry, which ran a clothes-collection drive, as well as food pantry and gently used furniture collection drive, annually contributed hundreds of tons of clothes to needy organizations and causes where the clothes reached thousands of needy individuals.
Ryan alleges that St. Andrew’s pastor James Weiner and interim pastor Father Sean Manson conspired to close the local ministry—what Ryan terms an “abuse of power”—once they became aware of the high volume of clothes—and more importantly, high quality professional attire that was donated to the church’s well-known and all-volunteer clothes collection operation.
Despite a protest by more than 50 volunteers at St. Andrew’s in early July after the Newark Archdiocese took control of the four-decade clothes collection ministry, Ryan has not yet been contacted by church officials.
He said the takeover has harmed hundreds of poor and low-income individuals who previously came to pick up high-quality clothes, shoes, or linens.
Those items are no longer available at St. Andrew’s and the archdiocese only offers a website or a round-trip to Newark to access services, Ryan said.
He alleged that Catholic Charities was likely selling high-quality clothes to consignment shops and selling the rest for rags, which he said never occurred previously.
Archdiocese reacts
“Individuals in the northern New Jersey area who are in need of assistance may contact Catholic Charities directly or visit their website at www.ccannj.org to learn more. Also, The Mercy House in Newark—(rcan.org/respect-life/mercy-house)—offers assistance throughout the Archdiocese of Newark and can be contacted at mercyhouseinfo@rcan.org or at (973) 643-8000,” Archdiocesan spokeswoman Maria Margiotta told Pascack Press.
While Ryan alleges the takeover was a surprise, Margiotta said the parish was informed of the clothes collection transition via a church bulletin notice.
‘Improve the process’
“Church officials recognized the real need to improve the process of timely collection, storage, sorting, packing, and distribution of donations. Allowing donations to pile high in the church basement served no one well. St. Andrew’s Church personnel made the decision to continue the clothing donation ministry in partnership with Catholic Charities to resolve the challenges in successfully administering the program. A dedicated Catholic Charities clothing donation bin is available in the church parking lot to accept donations,” Margiotta said.
Ryan said he was not aware of any notice and that the collection operation was inefficient, and given it was an all-volunteer effort, he was surprised to hear such comments from church officials.
He said two issues further aggravated the Catholic Charities transition: an oversize clothes collection bin was taken from them and remains missing and Archdiocese officials appear unwilling to reconsider their decision.
However, Archdiocesan officials don’t take kindly to Ryan’s allegations and charges.
Not a ‘takeover’
“The clothing donation program at St. Andrew’s Church does not belong to a single individual, nor is it a ‘takeover’ as referenced in the subject line of your email. The clothing donation program at St. Andrew’s Church is part of the parish’s many ministries in serving the needs of the Catholic and surrounding communities,” emailed Margiotta to Pascack Press.
Pascack Press reached out to one individual who volunteered at St. Andrew’s and its clothing drive and a retired Catholic priest who worked with Ryan to assess the operation’s transition to Catholic Charities.
A longtime parish volunteer, Rosa, who declined to give her last name, said she had turned to the church’s clothes collection drive since 2007 to provide clothing for her two children due to low-paying jobs and a high cost of living and lodging in North Jersey.
‘Wrong decisions’
“I’m Catholic but this is one of those wrong decisions,” Rosa said of the Catholic Charities transition.
She said Catholic officials “don’t tell us now where clothes are available and don’t tell us anything about where we can go” to get donated clothing.
Rosa said about 60 families, many of Mexican and Hispanic origin, came to St. Andrew’s clothing center to get clothes for kids and adults.
She said most now “don’t know what to do without the church clothing” to supplement one or two low-paying jobs.
“This is really hard for me and so many. I used to get all my clothes and food, and would often bring home items that were needed by family, friends and neighbors,” she said.
Rosa repeated Ryan’s claim that church officials shut down the clothes collection with no notice. She wondered why Ryan was not told in advance that Catholic Charities was planning to take control of the effort.
‘They don’t know’
“Catholic Charities told me that they don’t know where I can go to get some clothes. They just shut this down and told us nothing about where [donated] clothes are available,” she added.
“When you have to decide between getting food and getting clothes, that’s not the choice you want to be faced with for your family,” she said.
“It seems that they really don’t care anymore about the poor minority families trying to live in areas such as Westwood. I call Catholic Charities and no one answers the phone,” she charged.
At St. John the Baptist Church, Fairview, Father Giordano Belanich, a retired Catholic priest who is serving as interim pastor, said he started working with St. Andrew’s Human Concerns Ministry more than 30 years ago when its then-director donated a few hundred bikes which he shipped to Haiti.
He said his parish regularly received a truckload of clothing every two weeks from the ministry, which was shipped to needy organizations in both Haiti and Croatia.
He said about 12 years ago, the parish helped start an orphanage in Haiti and supplied it with clothes and food supplied by the St. Andrew’s ministry.
“All of this was given to the poorest of the poor,” said Belanich, known as “Father Geo.”
He said St. Andrew’s clothes operation “was very faithful to us and helpful to us” but unfortunately the Archdiocese decided to change its operation. He advised Ryan to give up his struggle to retain the clothes collection operation.
He noted Ryan continues to seek return of the ministry’s oversize clothes collection bin to possibly restart a clothes collection operation.
“There will always be needs,” said Belanich, who said other opportunities for clothes collection are being explored to help supplement the needs at St. John’s Fairview, including outreach to parishes who may agree to host a bin for donated clothes.
Belanich seemed resigned to the Catholic Charities controlling the former St. Andrew’s clothes drive.
“Those in charge who have the power over the parish have done what they wanted to do…they will do what they do and to fight, you just get agita on your end,” he added.
Charity helps 70K yearly
“Through its dedicated staff, Catholic Charities shelters the homeless, feeds the hungry, cares for the elderly and the ill, and educates children and adults, serving approximately 70,000 individuals and families each year through various ministry programs throughout the Archdiocese,” emailed Margiotta.
As of press time, Ryan said he had not received a reply from Tobin.
‘Part of the glue’
In his letter to Tobin, Ryan referred to the 44-year-old clothes collection ministry as “a large part of the glue that held the parish together for the last five turbulent years.”
Ryan said he was referring to the Archdiocese’s recent release of findings of credible sexual abuse allegations as well as Weiner’s suspension as pastor for sexual misconduct allegations.
Ryan has alleged that interim pastor Father Manson, under direction from Weiner, ordered the clothes collection operation turned over to Catholic Charities.
Weiner stepped aside temporarily in August 2018 in a voluntary action while the archdiocese reviewed sexual misconduct allegations.
Although he’s no longer with the parish, the church’s website still lists Weiner as pastor.