Panel looks at ‘Catholic mosaic’ that makes up Archdiocese of Newark
The Newark area was not always welcome to outsiders, especially Catholics, as Monsignor Robert Wister explained during a panel discussion on Sept. 26 at the Msgr. Parks Center in Palisades Park, NJ.
“Newark Abbey was ransacked in 1854. If you go there, you can still see a remnant of a stature of the Blessed Virgin that was destroyed at the time. Saint Patrick’s Pro-Cathedral was also attacked,” Msgr. Wister explained. “The nuns brought all of the little orphans they were caring for inside the cathedral and barred the doors.”
As Msgr. Wister explained, the attackers were associated with the “Know-Nothings,” a nativist, anti-Catholic political party active at the time. It was a reaction to the waves of immigrants arriving from Europe during the period and was one of the “periodic anti-immigration fits of anger” that the United States has experienced throughout its history.
Msgr. Wister, Professor Emeritus of Church History at Immaculate Conception Seminary, delivered the keynote address at the start of the panel discussion, which was titled “The Catholic Mosaic of the Archdiocese of Newark: Lessons from an Immigrant Church.” It was organized by the Korean Catholic Historical Archive of North America and Mee-Joo Catholics, Inc.
Looking to present and future
The panel was comprised of a roundtable of eight participants alongside Msgr. Wister and Fr. Minhyun Cho, pastor at St. Michael’s Parish in Palisades Park. The keynote provided a concise history of Catholic immigration in northern New Jersey. Then the panelists, representing various immigrant Catholic communities around the Archdiocese of Newark, were presented by Fr. Cho with five questions regarding the origins of their communities in the archdiocese — their contributions, struggles, opportunities for growth, and wisdom to be left for future generations.
The panelists included Fr. Renato Bautista (Filipino community), Fr. Konrad Kosiek (Polish community), and Fr. Luke Tran (Vietnamese community). Deacon Asterio Velasco, the archdiocese’s Director of Hispanic Ministry, and Deacon Jesus Aristy represented the Hispanic community. Panelists from the Korean Community included Dr. Hansol Goo, JungMin Kim, and David Park.
Among the lasting contributions highlighted were the various styles of devotion and community building brought to this country by groups of immigrants, including many acts of open, public devotion, including festivals and processions cherished by different Hispanic and Filipino communities and the preservation of old traditions carried on by the Polish community. The Korean and Vietnamese communities have also been a fruitful source of vocations, according to participants.
Most participants cited passing the faith onto younger generations as the main challenge going forward. They also pointed to the unfamiliarity of young people with the diversity of the Catholic Church, which they attributed to the relative isolation many parish communities have experienced over the last few decades.
You can watch a video for the presentation below:
Featured image: On Sept. 26, the Korean Catholic Historical Archive of North America and Mee-Joo Catholics, Inc. sponsored the panel discussion “The Catholic Mosaic of the Archdiocese of Newark: Lessons from an Immigrant Church.” (Screenshot from YouTube video)
