Priests Lose Villa St Joe, Aw

Aw, they could be heard singing like frat boys, around the dinner table. Ma' sho'... Retired priests just got the word. The Archidocese of Philadelphia is selling its vacation house* down the shore. The singing is about to stop. Aw...

Two rows of wicker chairs stand
outside Villa St. Joseph by the Sea.

For the last forty plus years the clerics would schedule vacations, reserving a room at the beachside villa on Princeton Avenue in Ventnor NJ. Assessed at a shade over $6 million, local barracudas say the property will sell in the range of $5 million. It will likely be developed into single family plots. The clergini have been told that their present in-place reservations will be cancelled.

Aw, the sight of worn faith meisters has become part of the local lore and culture. White teed, kahki shorted and sandaled or velcro sneakered, the seasoned men could be seen on the boardwalk, the side streets and sitting on the balconies reposed in the peace and solitude gained only by flocking. A pity, truly, the havoc heaped on the Catholic Church as a result of its randy homophilic hearkeners. It is reported that the Archdiocese is some $17 million in the red, $11 million attributable directly to debauchery. Aw.

They called it, Villa St. Joseph by the Sea. What a name, sounds like an impressionistic painting by Rambo, Arthur Rambo? "Hey Aloysius, what week did you get?", is no longer going to be refrained in the Philly parish rectories and rest homes. No-no! Where are the Papa Pablums going get their doses of salt air in the future? Motel room rentals seem so cheap, so tawdry, so moldy... Aw.

What if collections could be jacked up? Yeah, if the faithful would dig in, all would be saved. You gotta wonder why some Francis X does not come forward and write a check. Would such a donation be tax deductible? Perhaps it is too late. Big Bishop Cholly J. Chaput (pronounced herein as Kaput) has already made the decision. The Villa is history. Aw. It is closing and will soon be on the block! Up in smoke...

19 rooms and 21,000 plus square feet of living space might seem excessive... but this is the Church. Opulence has never been an issue as long as those felt lined baskets would re-swell weekly. But the crimes of little boy abuses and their consequent covers have taken their toll. Aw. Just as molesters sit at the bottom rung of prisoner hierarchy, theses priest crimes and their putrid cover-ups have cellared the esteem the sheep feel for their Church. Revenues have fallen...

Things like this are always gut wrenching. Change is difficult, yet it is life's only constant. Perhaps the concept of the celibate priest is too unworkable? Or has the priesthood become a repository for men prone to society shaking desires? Is their an underlying homosexual anxiety fueling herein? Is it true 3.6% of priests are Chesters? Aw... Who knows?

Headed out now, gonna round trip the boards by Trek. About ten miles to the Revel and back to the wooden-way's termination at the Ventnor-Margate border. Gonna leave a space for some soon to be added snaps... gonna pass by the Villa twice. Bet you wanna see those ascetics at rest. Darn, they are prolly already reclining in their new digs on the Black Horse Pike in West Atlantic City.

Non piu belli...

*The property...was acquired by then-Archbishop John Krol in 1963 from Hannah G. Hogan, a real estate investor and owner of a plumbing supply company. Hogan wanted the home used for elderly and ill priests in memory of her brother, the Rev. Edward Hogan.


Though the property - which Hogan bought for $55,000 in 1961 - was said to have been donated to the archdiocese, its June 2, 1963, deed shows tax stamps indicating a sale price of $100,000, according to the Atlantic County Clerk's Office. It is now one of the highest-assessed homes in Ventnor. http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-27/news/32442035_1_archdiocese-property-tax-priests