| Joseph Anthony Galante | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Camden | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| See | Camden, New Jersey |
| In Office | 2004 – present |
| Predecessor | Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio |
| Successor | incumbent |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | May 16, 1964 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 2, 1938 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Previous post | Bishop of Beaumont Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas Bishop |
| Styles of Joseph Anthony Galante |
|
|---|---|
| Reference style | The Most Reverend |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
| Religious style | Bishop |
| Posthumous style | not applicable |
Joseph Anthony Galante (born July 2, 1938) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He currently serves as the Bishop of Camden, having previously served as Bishop of Beaumont from 1994 to 1999 and Coadjutor Bishop of Dallas from 1999 to 2004.
In a Thursday, September 29, 2011 letter to Catholics in his diocese, he announced that for over a year, he had been suffering from chronic kidney disease, which was now at Stage IV (meaning it is severe, near end-stage) and so would require daily, three-hour-long, home-based dialysis treatments (to be given six days a week). They can be scheduled and done in such a manner that he can, at least for the time being, continue to serve without significant impairment as Bishop of Camden. The worsening renal disease is a result of his struggle with Type 2 diabetes, which he first received treatment for 11 years ago in 2000.[1]
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Born in Philadelphia, Galante attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood (where he received his BA in 1960), and the Pontifical Lateran University (where he received his doctorate in canon law in 1968) in Rome. Galante was ordained to the priesthood on May 16, 1964.
Prior to his installation as Bishop of Camden in 2004, he announced that if then-Governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey, attended the installation Mass, he would deny him communion due to his remarriage without having had his first marriage annulled by the Church.
On April 2, 2008, Galante unilaterally announced large scale mergers and closings of half of the parishes in the Camden diocese. Thus far, the closures have proved to be very controversial. One of the parishes that will be closed recently completed the building of a handicap accessible rectory for its pastor who suffers from multiple sclerosis.[2] The massive number of proposed closings has even prompted protests and letter writing campaigns to Archbishop John J. Myers, the Archbishop of Newark, New Jersey and Archbishop Pietro Sambi the Apostolic Pro-Nuncio in Washington, D.C. Shortly after the announcement, the Council of Parishes of Southern New Jersey was formed to fight the closings.
In January 2011 parishioners of the closed St Mary's Church of Malaga NJ re-entered the church[3] and began an around-the-clock vigil that has attracted regional and national media attention, see MSNBC and [4]
On July 18, 2008 the New York Post reported Galante's involvement in the so-called Vati-Con Scandal involving Italian real estate developer Raffaello Follieri, billionaire investor Ronald Burkle, former President Bill Clinton and Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway.[5] The Post reports that Bishop Galante sold Follieri a private beach house for $400,000 in 2007 and that one of Galante's priests misrepresented himself to potential investors. At the time Follieri was negotiating with the Diocese of Camden and other North American Roman Catholic dioceses to buy churches with Burkle money and sell the properties for later profit. Critics of the bishop have raised questions of the timing of the private house sale and his decision to close and sell dozens of diocesan churches.[6] In October, 2008, Follieri pleaded guilty to charges, and Manhattan Federal Judge John Koeltl imposed a 4 1/2 year prison sentence. The Galante/Follieri beach house was put back on the market in 2008 and sold almost two years later for $310,000.[7] Galante is currently not facing charges in regard to the scandal.
| Catholic Church titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bernard J. Ganter |
Bishop of Beaumont (Texas) 1994–1999 |
Succeeded by Curtis J. Guillory |
| Preceded by Nicholas Anthony DiMarzio |
Bishop of Camden (New Jersey) 2004–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |