We, the parishioners of St. Charles Borromeo Roman Catholic Church, in Washington Township, NJ, respectfully request the removal of the current pastor Fr. Peter Joyce, and demand transparency from the diocese. 

In 2023, after completing his second term as pastor of St. Charles, our beloved Fr. Michael Matveenko was transferred to a new parish and Monsignor Peter Joyce (Fr. Pete) was assigned to St. Charles by Bishop Dennis Sullivan. On July 1, 2023 when Fr. Pete took over as pastor, St. Charles was a vibrant parish with many young families. It housed the largest CCD program in the diocese. Of the 62 parishes in the diocese, St. Charles is one of the largest.

Fr. Pete was welcomed to St. Charles with open arms. We presented him with a birthday cake after his first mass. We were excited to see what he would bring to our parish. Suffice it to say, the changes we have seen especially in the last few months have not been positive. Eight people in our parish family have been unjustly terminated within the last three months.

June 28th - Joe Foley, Ray O'Connell, and Bob Zbikowski - the entire maintenance staff. Joe Foley has worked for St. Charles for 23 years. None of these men qualify for unemployment because the church is exempt, yet they were never given acknowledgement forms or an employee handbook informing them of this condition.

July 11 - Dick Hogan - After the maintenance firings, Dick was approached by parishioners as St. Charles' bookkeeper/accountant. He said there was plenty of money to pay the bills and he didn't understand the maintenance cuts. He was terminated after working for St. Charles for 9 years. Tom Ryan, head of the finance counsel, was also dismissed as a volunteer.

August 12 - Lisa Maleno, Lori Krol, Pam Magnus, and Mary Ann Exler. The entire religious education department was terminated. They were escorted from the property and not permitted to pack up their personal belongings from their offices.

Camp Joy, was canceled for the first time in 30 years.

Of the eight terminations, seven individuals are over the age of 60. However, out of all these terminations, the religious education department hurts the most. With pastors changing parishes every 6-12 years, it is the families that remain the heart and soul of the church. Mary Ann Exler was the heart and soul of that church for 30 years. If you left the church for a while, if things happened or changed in your life, you could always come back to St. Charles, and Mary Ann and her team would be there. You might not know the new pastor, but you would know Mary Ann. This summer alone, approximately 800 children completed their summer CCD requirements through St. Charles. This year at least another 100 were set to complete CCD over the course of the year. There are over 60 teachers and 70 aides who volunteer their time. That was because of Mary Ann.

There has been zero transparency from Fr. Pete or the diocese regarding these decisions. None of the directly affected parties were offered to stay on at a wage cut or bump down to part time, and yet part time employees have now been given fulltime roles. Mary Ann Exler, as beloved as she is, was replaced within less than 24 hours. 

This is OUR church. This is OUR family. What has been built and thrived for 60 years, long before Mary Ann Exler, has been torn down in the matter of one year. Children are heartbroken, parents are heartbroken, parishioners are heartbroken. We accepted the loss of Fr. Mike. We accepted the installation of a new pastor. We welcomed him. But we will not allow him to tear down our faith family. 

We demand the removal of Monsignor Peter Joyce from St. Charles Borromeo. We demand the reinstatement of Mrs. Mary Ann Exler and her team. We demand fair severance packages for the unjustly terminated maintenance men. We demand to be heard. There is NO church without the PEOPLE. WE are the PEOPLE! A church without people is just a building. And St. Charles will be as empty as our hearts.