SPEAKER_03 0:07

Welcome to Beyond the Beacon with Bishop Kevin Sweeney, a podcast of the Diocese of Patterson, New Jersey. Join us for weekly conversations about our Catholic faith and submit questions for the Bishop today. I'm Jay Agnish. With me is Bishop Kevin Sweeney. Bishop Kevin, how you doing?

SPEAKER_01 0:22

I'm good, Jay. Happy New Year.

SPEAKER_03 0:23

Happy New Year to you.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Tell our viewers, the listeners again where do they submit questions? To beyond at uh pattersondioces.org. Beyond at pattersondiocese.org. Yes. Keep those questions coming or uh and uh if you read the column or read the column in the beacon this week, you can make comments on the top ten list.

SPEAKER_03 0:46

Uh yeah, you had a fun top ten what was it top ten historical moments.

SPEAKER_01 0:53

Significant historical moments in the Catholic Church in the last hundred years. Yeah. But uh that was fun. Yeah. Uh as we uh Father Alex was on last time, right? And we talked about the Eucharistic Congress um and registration is open, and hopefully we'll have a good group going from the diocese and uh to Indianapolis in July, God willing, and it'll be historic because it's the first national Eucharistic Congress in I think about 83 years or so.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

So uh so Bishop, I have to ask you, do you do you have any New Year's resolutions this year? Good question. Or do you do that sort of thing or not? Or not really into that?

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Well, hopefully all of our daily resolution is to try to follow the Lord more closely day by day, right? So uh uh I'm I'm uh for whatever reason I was never too big on on New Year's resolutions. But uh uh Bishop Burbich, uh who I follow his podcast, uh um he he had a couple of New Year's resolutions. They they talked about New Year's resolutions. So but um hopefully we're trying to get holier day by day. Follow the Lord, look uh look to know the Lord's will and do the Lord's will. That's that's the goal.

SPEAKER_03 1:59

Amen. John, John, uh John DeCando, our guest. Uh do you uh you have a New Year's resolution or you're not you're in the same camp where you're not don't really do that sort of thing. I my resolution is I Christmas should be every year.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

I mean, every day. Every day of the year, making people happy, helping people. That's that's what uh my philosophy uh is. Yeah. Being an instrument of peace and joy. Peace, peace and joy, yes, yes. Awesome. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 2:25

So uh let me introduce you. So John DeCando is the animal control chief for the city of Patterson, where he's worked for 50 years. He's uh something of a local legend, known for heroic stories of saving not just cats and dogs, but even sheep and a cow that was running around on Route 80 once. He's told these wild tales on countless television news reports, and he even appeared on Late Night with David Letterman. John recently received the honor of a key to the city, and although he spent some time as a police officer and housing inspector over the years, he said that the good lord brought him back doing what he loves to do, working with animals. That's correct. John and the bishop happen to live just a couple blocks away from each other in Patterson and have become good friends. John also is and was friends with the previous two bishops of the diocese. So welcome, John. Thank you. Oh, agree.

SPEAKER_01 3:16

You'll go back to Bishop Casey?

SPEAKER_03 3:18

Um I met him once through Tom Wreck. Yes. So yeah, I'm looking forward to this one. And uh why don't we uh start with prayer and then we'll so get into it.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

I thought since uh St. Francis uh is whether officially the patron saint of animals, uh we bless animals on his feast day because uh he had that love for the beauty of um God's creation, as we see in our four-legged uh friends. And so as John has that wonderful ministry uh of um not only caring for those um pets that become members of our families, uh uh beloved um companions, uh, but also uh uh the the people who who care for them and uh and who who um, as John say, help help out in many different ways, which we'll hear about. So we'll uh we'll pray the prayer of St. Francis. We'll place ourselves in God's presence, name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Giving thanks to God for the gift of this day and praying for many blessings in this new year, especially here in our diocese of Patterson. Uh we pray for all those in law enforcement and first responders like John, and we uh pray now through the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi as we pray his prayer as we say, Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me so love. Where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. We pray these in all our prayers, asking the intercession of St. Francis of Assisi, of Mary, our Blessed Mother, and we ask these prayers in the name of Jesus, who is Lord, forever and ever. Amen. Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Amen. Amen. Um it is in giving that we receive uh John's gonna receive a lot of blessings for being generous in many ways, but also in uh often dropping off bagels on the Sunday morning at uh at my door. Uh yeah. Thank you. Every Sunday. Wow. That's right. Yes, yes, yes. Uh wonderful uh uh fresh, warm bagels. Uh that's a great way to start a Sunday morning. Thank you for that. But you're very welcome. But John, thank you for um taking the time to be here with us. And um I was thinking uh um my experience in Brooklyn and Queens and New York City, uh um a city like Patterson, uh, it has a lot of history and the church in the city, um and that history is happens through people. And some of those people are very well known uh in maybe certain positions of leadership, but um, but there's also um people who are there, maybe not maybe doing their work behind the scenes, but that's important work. And to think that, John, over 50 years, right, in serving the city of Patterson um in the police department and um especially in animal control, uh um you are one of the ones who make this city tick. And uh, and and so thank you for that and uh and and and for your service. And we're looking forward to hearing about um uh some of your experience. And maybe there's uh you grew up in the city as well, right? All my life, yes. Right. So uh maybe just tell us a little bit about growing up in the city and then what led you to the police department.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

Well, it started in 19, I was born in 1953, um born and raised in Riverside of Patterson. Uh very religious family. I got two brothers, Danny and Dominic, and uh always went to Blessed Sacrament Church on a Sunday, and sometime was a Saturday night. And after that, we used to go to the diner in Hawthorne, and we used to have um breakfast there with my mom and dad. Uh my mother uh was a um lady that worked at uh Mayflower Coke Company. She was um doing piecework, whatever it was, peanuts an hour, whatever you want to call it. And my father worked in Allied Textile, it's one of the largest silk mills in this country.

SPEAKER_01 7:37

Silk the Silk City, health. Silk City of the world, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:40

And he worked at Allied Textile, and he whatever he made, then he became uh boss at Allied. And that goes along with my brother uh Dominic, he worked in um in Allied, and my brother Danny, who was uh worked for ADP, automatic data processing, uh Mr. Lottenberg's place, and then he became his own uh payroll uh owner at media data, and now he still is today.

unknown 8:02

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 8:02

God bless him. God bless them. So um all all of working in Patterson, living in Patterson.

SPEAKER_02 8:10

Yes, yes. Patterson's a great town.

SPEAKER_03 8:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 8:13

I mean, I love Patterson. I wouldn't, I mean, uh I could have moved anywhere, gone anywhere. And I with my wife and I just decided to stay here.

SPEAKER_01 8:22

And uh um hi grammar school and high school?

SPEAKER_02 8:27

Grammar school was school number 18. High school, 1973, uh Patterson Catholic High School. Oh, beautiful. We were the second year, I was the second uh time there because it it opened up in 1972.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

And how far between finishing high school and entering the police department?

SPEAKER_02 8:43

Right after.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Really? Right after that.

SPEAKER_02 8:44

Right after that, I was a uh housing inspector. And shortly after housing inspector, I became a uh police officer. Oh, I'm housing well, I was a housing inspector, animal control, then police officer, and then I went back to uh animal control because that's where the good lord decided to put me.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Yeah, and that's where I just And as a as a kid, did you have a love for animals?

SPEAKER_02 9:05

Oh, absolutely, yes. We had a dog named Prince, and uh we took care of that dog right to the very end. Then we had a cat. Uh I got pictures of me growing up with a dog and my and uh and jumping on me. It's uh I came from a very good family.

SPEAKER_01 9:21

I can only think of the numbers of people that you've come to the rescue. You did it twice for me. Uh um I brought a cat with me from uh Brooklyn that I had for over 10 years. Oh, okay. Goodbye was her name. Goodbye. Um and uh goodbye was getting old and uh uh wasn't doing too well. And I I called John actually to see if uh we could get a vet or somebody to look at her. And um two days later, uh she I came in and couldn't find her. And um the next morning I looked downstairs and she had lied down and uh and gone to Catheaven, I guess. And uh but John came over took care of her uh yes, her remains. And uh and then uh just I think it was last May, um, so Bishop Sarah Tully and um Father Kevin Corcoran, who had been his MC and uh and and secretary, and then Father Stephen Prisk, um uh um living in the house on Durham Avenue where all the bishops of the diocese have lived since the diocese was founded in 1937. Okay. The Scola family was kind enough to donate that house to the diocese, and it's now I'm the eighth bishop living there. And I well, John is taking care of uh Bishop Saratelli before me and Bishop Rodimer before that, and uh he can share a little bit about that. Um so uh last May uh Bishop Saratelli had I think about three cats that um had he took care of uh along with Father Stephen and Father Kevin outside in the backyard uh feeding them. And um uh I think a few came and went, and I think Father Kevin uh uh took one of the kittens, and one of them had kittens at one point, but um a new cat had arrived uh in at the house, and um I noticed she was there, and um I didn't notice that she was putting on weight, but uh uh I was away at something for two days and I came back and I'm walking in the door. There's a little house that Father Kevin and um uh Bishop Saratelli had for the cats, and uh I look down and I see these eyes looking up at me from the house, and I said, Oh, uh, and I I look down closer and I see a bunch of little eyes. Uh was it five kittens, I think, right? And you know, so I called John, thank God, and he came over with one of his staff and uh uh uh found them homes, I'm sure.

SPEAKER_02 12:14

Yeah, but the best part was when we scooped them up and put them inside one of the carriers, uh Bishop Sweeney kneeled down by me and gave them a special blessing.

SPEAKER_01 12:23

That's true. That's right.

SPEAKER_02 12:24

And whoever took these cats knew that the blessing was from the bishop. That's right. That's right. They come they come, special cats come out of the big blessing from the bishop.

SPEAKER_01 12:32

Yes, yes. Um so maybe uh how getting to know uh bishops uh uh Bishop Rodimer and then Bishop Saratelli, huh?

SPEAKER_02 12:39

Yeah, I knew uh Bishop Rodimer uh forever, and every time he had an issue, he always called me. Uh and uh the one day his dog got away, his dog was named Schlitz.

SPEAKER_01 12:52

Monsignor Hart was Monsignor Hart there at the time? I believe so, yes.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

I believe so. So Schlitz got away, and and uh sure enough, short time later, we happened to find Schlitz. And I asked Tom, I said, Where did they find? You know, we found Schlitz, but Tom said to me, John, I don't want to tell you this, but Bishop Rodimer was asking for a $1,000 reward. And Tom says, when he brings it up to $5,000, I bring the dog back. Well, it never worked out that way. Tom, you know, Tom Tom was a joker.

SPEAKER_01 13:23

Tom Rek was a long time um driver for I think Bishop Casey. Casey too? Yes, yes. And uh he uh passed away just um I say a little over a year ago. Uh Monsignor Hart had brought me to to meet him. He's really was living history. I remember him talking about before road Route 80, driving out on Route 46, uh having to learn where the parishes were in the western part of the diocese. And uh so then um after Bishop uh Rodimer, you got to know Bishop Servatelli as well. Yes, I did. Same thing.

SPEAKER_02 13:52

He had issues with uh he had issues with uh bats in his house. Yeah, I had to go up there and take care of the bats. And he had uh those uh he calls me up, John, we got to do something with this raccoon in my backyard. I said, Bishop, what's the what's the problem? He says, They're eating my tomato plants. That's right. And you know how hard it is to make tomato plants. He got a beautiful garden in the backyard, and we set up a couple of traps and we did catch a couple of raccoons and we relocated them, as we do with all the wildlife. Uh nothing as euthanized, of course. And he was so happy about that. And before you know it, he calls me up one Sunday. He said, John, come over, I got some tomatoes for you. Nice, but Bishop uh Bishop Ceratelli is uh he's a gentleman, right? Absolutely a gentleman. And uh getting back to Tom Wreck, you knew where Tom Wreck lived, didn't you?

SPEAKER_01 14:38

Uh at the cemetery. At the cemetery, on Route 20. Yes, that's where Monsignor Hart brought me to visit him.

SPEAKER_02 14:44

He says, These people here will never bother you. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:49

Uh um so I've been talking with Jay and knew it would be wonderful to have you on. But um it reminded me that um when I had seen some media coverage of uh your Christmas project, uh, can you tell us a little bit about uh the project? How many years now have you been doing the your Christmas uh uh toy uh or gift giveaway for uh people's pets? Is that right?

SPEAKER_02 15:14

It's correct, Bishop. It's uh six years we're doing this. And uh with the help of uh all kinds of people, like little people. They come down, they go food shop, and they bring a couple things down to the animal shelter. Every little bit helps, especially during the holidays. Um Second Chance, uh uh St. Hubert's from Madison, New Jersey gives me a lot of donations. Harch products from uh Sea Caucus. Yeah, they must have gave us some over 25,000.

SPEAKER_03 15:43

There was quite a line in this video that you shared with us of people getting.

SPEAKER_01 15:49

We might be able to get that video up, right? Just so um yeah, I think we'll get some b-roll, yeah, of that.

SPEAKER_02 15:54

The harch product in uh St. Hubert's and uh even Levine Industry gave me three or four hundred and four hundred and fifty boxes for everything was for free. Yeah. And uh yes, we what kind of toys?

SPEAKER_03 16:07

Sorry. What was that? What kind of toys are these?

SPEAKER_02 16:10

Well, they gave us all kinds of with cats with rattle toys, okay, okay and dogs with uh dog bones and plus food, and you can only imagine what they gave us.

SPEAKER_01 16:18

But yourself, I think, and a few volunteers hand wrap each individual. How many for dogs and how many 300 for dogs or 200 for cats?

SPEAKER_02 16:25

I would use the word I because it was I. I did 325 dog boxes and 125 cat boxes.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

And they're all stored in the walls along the line.

SPEAKER_02 16:36

And I stuffed everyone, I stuffed every one, and I even used, like my old-fashioned mother used to say, always use tissue paper to cover everything up so when they open it up, you could see the nice tissue paper. And with the blessing of my mother, she taught me how to wrap. I wrapped each and every one of them. But I couldn't have done it without my personnel going up to St. Hubert's or going here, going to pick up the boxes and bringing everything that I need to make.

SPEAKER_01 17:02

And was it the Monday before Christmas that you had the distribution? I'm sure a lot of smiles, right? People coming to receive those gift boxes for their pets, is that right?

SPEAKER_02 17:10

I remember calling Bishop um uh my friend Bishop uh Sweeney up, and he says he's gonna do a special blessing. And so the sun came out. Well, the sun came out for a little bit. The sun did come out and it poured. And the way I looked at it, the line was from the animal shelter all the way down to the street. Even the mayor had a hard time coming up. Oh, right. And we also give um we gave out uh 30, 40, 80 boxes to males on wheels. These are people that are homebound, they can't come out. The truck came up, we gave them boxes, and even even during the rain did not stop these people from coming up. And the smiles on their face makes all of us feel.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

And I know that you came through for um Monsignor Gino and the uh the priests who live at the cathedral rectory, uh, when they had some uh maybe critters, the unwelcome visitors, and you you were able to get them a cat, right?

SPEAKER_02 18:04

Well, I told him I look, I said to him, look, uh, just because you have critters, I'm not gonna give you the cat. But if you're gonna promise you're gonna take care of this cat, and uh now he's part of the family. Oh, this cat is on phenomenal. I went to visit the cat last week, uh, and uh it uh I gave we got the cat already spayed or neuter shots for him for free. Yeah, this is what we do for our people of Patterson. Uh and uh when I went to visit the cat, the cat was big. Oh, yeah, well. He came up to the animal shelter along with father, and they picked out their the cat that they wanted, and they and they picked the cat out.

SPEAKER_01 18:38

And they're very happy.

SPEAKER_02 18:39

Oh, they're very, very happy. I mean, even uh even Bishop, even Monsignor Gino's mother is very happy. That's right. So she takes care of the cat. And I decided to name him Cathedral. He lives in a cathedral, so I think the best thing would be Cathedral, and he loved the name. Beautiful.

SPEAKER_01 18:56

Yes. Uh so you've had uh a few capers over the years. What what are some of the more exciting or unusual uh calls that you've received to uh I I listened to the one on uh and saw the David Letterman interview with the huge dog called Pecano, I think, right?

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Uh that means small and small. I didn't even know that. Yeah. But uh we we end up bringing that dog onto TV that same day we found that dog, and the dog was inside of a junkyard. Wow. And some kid was apparently trying to rob something in the junkyard, and he got trapped between uh the tires and the dog. So when we got there, I got the dog, put him in the police car, brought it to the animal shelter, and the kid was brought down to juvenile detention. Uh, but this happened to be one of the largest dogs in the world. It weighed 280 pounds.

SPEAKER_01 19:42

I think you said you needed some backup to get him into the police.

SPEAKER_02 19:45

We had, I mean, uh, I we pushed him in and the police officers got the rear end and pushed the dog in. Then on the way to the pound, he sneezed. One time he fogged up my whole back one. That's how big that dog was. And sure enough, Letterman called me. Uh, Mr. Morton called me from the he was one of the producers of the Letterman show. Yeah. And uh David called me and he said, uh, John, this is David Letterman from Yeah, okay, hi Dave, how are you? Okay, have a nice day. I hung up the phone. And then two minutes later, the phone rings again. Uh John, this is David Letterman. Third time it was the producer, uh Morton. And he said, Mr. DeCandle, don't hang him up. Just take my phone number down and call me because Mr. Letterman wants you on the show tonight. I said, Okay. Sure enough, I called the number and it was late night with David Letterman. I felt, oh my God.

SPEAKER_01 20:34

It was big time. It was big time, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 20:36

And sure enough, we went on the show and it was it was unbelievable. Yeah. Unbelievable.

SPEAKER_01 20:41

And I know you've been on local TV and uh some of the big stations, and I think you were saying that um some of that media coverage has been helpful in terms of the response of people, right?

SPEAKER_02 20:50

Without the media, I probably wouldn't be very successful right now. Now the media really showed everyone what we do as an animal control officer, and it shows a good part because every time we show a dog or a cat that something happens to and our phones blast off the wall. Not only in my shelter, but other shelters like people are looking to adopt. There should be a lot more media coverage regarding animals. Absolutely. I mean, they're part one of our our our main resource. And that goes for the Herald News and the Record. Absolutely. Without them, I mean, uh they they spread the word. I mean, they could sometimes Channel 7 will be in town, they'll come to the animal shelter. John, anything going on? Anything brewing that we should know about?

SPEAKER_03 21:35

Yeah, clearly you become you become the guy for the the great animal features.

SPEAKER_02 21:40

I have the greatest job in the world and working with fine people like we do. The my my staff is fantastic. Uh, like I said, St. Huberts from Madison.

SPEAKER_01 21:49

Yeah, talk a little bit about St. Hubert's. I know that's been around for a while, right? And they've I've been dealing with St.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

Hubert's since 1982. Wow. That's when uh it was underneath the Geraldine Dodge Foundation. Matter of fact, always on Channel 12 or whatever those stations are, you always heard Geraldine Dodge Foundation. But they've been really a big backbone of our our uh our our people at Patterson. They spade, neuter shots free for the people of our town. You're talking, save three, four hundred dollars for each animal. They'll come down to the dog park in Patterson at six o'clock in the morning, they'll meet everyone there and they'll take all their animals, take them, get them shots, spade, neutered. And the following day, I mean the following afternoon, nighttime, they'll come back with all the animals. This is free of charge.

SPEAKER_01 22:35

You mentioned the dog park. What's the name of that dog park?

SPEAKER_02 22:37

Happens to be uh uh John D. When did that happen? A few years ago. That happened, yeah. That happened under Mayor Torres's uh administration, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

And the the the park is named in your honor for you, sir. Yes, that's great. That's great.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

And what's this about you you have a key to the city now or something? Well, let's get back to the dog park if you don't mind for one minute. Yeah, please. If you don't mind, you know, it's it's usually you don't get a street name in after you or a dog park, any kind of park or anything until you're dead. Until the guy takes you. So actually, like I told Mayor Kramer when they were getting uh when he was getting the award for the uh the falls when they were putting his name up the falls there, Pat Kramer um uh way, and I looked at Pat and I said, Pat, you and I have something to look forward to. You have a the park here, the Great Falls, I have the dog park. What does that mean? We're alive to see it. That's right. That's right. Pat Kramer was uh one of the I've been through 14 mayors and 14 mayors and eight police directors. Wow. Yeah, I loved every one of them. I got along with every single one of them. Yes.

unknown 23:41

That's great.

SPEAKER_03 23:41

So now it wasn't just your typical, you know, cats or dogs that you were out there rescuing. You had a couple other pretty, pretty wild tales. I mean, there was like the cow that was running loose on Route 80. Can you tell us about that?

SPEAKER_02 23:54

That's that that's making history of the cow. Yeah. That was five years ago, two weeks ago. It was a December. Yeah, it was a cold winter day, and I got a call saying that there's a cow on Route 80.

SPEAKER_03 24:06

Okay. Like, how does a cow got on Route 80?

SPEAKER_02 24:09

911 calls were coming in. The guy was saying uh uh a cow just flew over my car. Yeah, how much have you been drinking? You know, but it turned out to be we got there, and sure enough, there was a cow on Route 80, going up and down Route 80. Yeah. Uh with the help of the finest New Jersey State Police troopers and uh Patterson Police Department, uh, we were able to corral the cow, and I ended up getting the tow truck. The reason why we had to get the tow truck there is because we had to tow the cow off of Route 80. Is that right? Yeah, we put the uh the rope around the cow's neck and we pushed him onto Route 19 to get him off the danger highway there. And uh sure enough, uh the guy was the guy that had the cow, the cow was on the second decker of the truck coming down Route 80. The guy was making a turn onto Route 19, going to the slaughterhouse. Oh boy. So we all know where that cow was going. So I, along with me and Officer McCullum from the Patterson Police Department, were able to persuade the guy, gave me a hard time, gave us a hard time, and we end up contacting the owner of the slaughterhouse and he says, uh, what do you want? What's what's going on? He said to him, a lot of state troopers here, dangerous condition, whole bunch of tickets gonna be written out. I mean, uh, there's a serious problem here because what what can we do to just give us the cow and we'll be happy. Okay. And he said, the cow is yours. The cow is yours. Okay. The guy leaves. We called Mike Skerner up from Skyland Sanctuary. He was uh he was up in um Wanaku. Um he's up in Sussex County. Sussex County. Oh, okay. And uh we contacted him and he says it's gonna take us a half, it's gonna take me 45 minutes to an hour, a little longer to get down here, but we are on our way. I got my people. Called them back 20 minutes later. Trooper says, John, where are the where is this guy coming from? Sussex. And the trooper says, Look, we need him here right away before he this cow gets loose. Put the metal, how do you say it to it? Put the metal. Just get Florida. Florida. So sure enough, Mike came down and he ended up, we end up putting the cow into the truck. And um make a long story short. Two days later, Mike calls me up. He says, John, I just want to let you know this. Congratulations. For what? You're a godfather. Oh no. The cow gave birth. Wow. And if that cow did not make it to Mike, it would have been it jumped off the top of the truck.

SPEAKER_01 26:42

Is that when he was making the turn?

SPEAKER_02 26:43

Is that he jumped or he kicked the top off?

SPEAKER_01 26:45

Or she?

SPEAKER_02 26:46

She knew, she knew where she was going. And you gotta see when I called the trooper over, I called the troopers over. I said, Look, I don't want you people to think I'm crazy. But what do you see? That cow look at that cow's face. He goes, either it's cold out here or the cow's crying. The cow's crying because the cow is happy knowing that he's safe, and we're gonna take care of that cow. Beautiful. And that cow uh gave a beautiful um calf. Calf. Yeah. And that calf is bigger than uh the mom.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

And so Skyland Sanctuary, that's another group that uh takes care of it.

SPEAKER_02 27:17

They take care of all my cows, my sheep, my goats, my bulls. I caught a bull running down River Street one day. We end up tranquilizing it. Mike came down and scooped that up, and he's on the farm too. That's great.

SPEAKER_03 27:28

And also the six goats end up in Patterson.

SPEAKER_02 27:31

They well, we have a slaughterhouse in Patterson, and a bull probably uh came out of the truck instead of making a left, he made a right. He made a run for it. He made a run for it. Yeah. So uh it's a really happy ending, especially with the uh the six uh uh uh cow uh sheep so we just caught uh right not too long ago. That's right.

SPEAKER_01 27:49

Yeah, that got some great uh media coverage. What's the yeah?

SPEAKER_02 27:52

That was uh I mean my my personnel did a fantastic job. Yeah, we rounded up all these sheep, we put them back six sheep. We end up bringing them to the uh back of the police cars because there was really no room. We only could put one at a time, back and forth to the uh in the animal shelter, and we end up putting them there, and then Mike came down along with channel seven and channel 12 and a few other stations. Tony Yates from channel seven was phenomenal. Yeah, she was wearing a uh uh a jacket that looks like a sheep. Oh boy, so I I Tony says, Boy, of all the days I have to wear this jacket that looks like a sheep. And sure enough, she was out there pushing his things in, and Mike came down and took them all, and they will live the rest of their life.

SPEAKER_01 28:36

Um in comfort. In comfort, yeah, no worries.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

Yeah, that's a good feeling that we get, but like I say, I'm only one person. I can't do it with the help of everyone.

SPEAKER_01 28:47

You got a good team, T. I have a good team.

SPEAKER_02 28:49

I got good resources. If I need something, if a dog gets hit at two o'clock in the morning, we make a phone call, the dog is being rushed to Ordelly Animal Hospital or going to this hospital or doing this. This is the way it works.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

That's great.

SPEAKER_02 29:04

Our job is to protect and serve our four-legged friends. That's great. And that's what we do.

SPEAKER_03 29:08

That's great. So Bishop, are you so do you have an animal now? Do you have a do you have a pet?

SPEAKER_01 29:12

Uh there's there's uh there were three cats when I arrived. Unfortunately, uh two have gone to other places, uh, but one is uh hanging in there. There was the the mom that came to visit for a few months that now that had her kittens and has moved on. So uh, but um I think Father Stephen called her Fluffy, uh, this cat that's been around for a long time. And uh so I take care of her uh giving her some food in the morning and the evening, and she's always there waiting for me. So you're uh you're a cat person. I am a cat fan, yes. Um fine with dogs, but uh uh we had a cat finally growing up. We always wanted uh an animal when we were kids. We had fish, and my mother said no, no, no. And then uh uh she saw a mouse, and I had a paper out at the time, and uh family on my paper out, uh the cat had kittens, and uh just the timing was right, and my mother relented, and uh and she and my dad ended up taking care of the cat. But uh uh yeah, I've uh been a fan of cats. And then um when I was serving as vocation director in Brooklyn, there was a discernment house that we opened, and this cat showed up, and um the retired priest we said the cat is gonna stay in the house, we let it in, and uh there was some guys there visiting, and I said we're gonna have to come up with a name for the cat. And uh Monsignor Keene said, How about goodbye? I think he was giving a hint that he but that became and she ended up going with me to the parish and then coming with me here to Jersey, and uh so um yeah. Um uh certainly we um we can see God's the beauty of God's creation in many different ways, but uh those those four-legged friends uh for many are and you see um certainly I guess um uh shut-ins, families, uh the the those who might live alone, uh the attachment that's oh my god, yeah, especially during the especially during the holidays when people don't have anything.

SPEAKER_02 30:59

I mean, I mean, housing at one time refused to have um animals inside the housing. We end up drafting a law up, I believe it was to director Ed Cotton. He was in charge of uh housing at that time. And sure enough, it became law that people are allowed to have animals inside the apartment, which is a great thing. Yeah, it keeps their blood pressure low, especially if you're an older person during the holidays. People get depressed. But if you have your four-legged friends there, you know, it brings up their morale, it makes them it makes them it makes them want to live. So uh we uh passed a lot of laws, especially with Brianna, Brianna law that there won't be any uh animals uh going to the slaughterhouse while being pregnant. That's in the hopper now with uh Benji Wimberly, our assemblyman, uh Nelly uh Poe, our senator, and Shavon DeSumter. Even Tom Kane, uh he's a congressman now, he was a senator at the time, he's also on board with all these things. These are the people, these are the right people to know to pass laws for to better our animals. And that's what we do. I mean, uh, like I said before, I'm only the general, but I can't do anything unless my my soldiers help me out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 32:06

And we see more and more uh people that have service animals for different reasons, right? And and they do a lot of um blessing from people.

SPEAKER_02 32:14

Absolutely. We just uh I I got received a letter last year of a um uh um uh a child that's autistic, very autistic, and he needed uh companionship. I got a letter from the doctor and the landlord of the house and says the best therapy would be a dog. And we end up getting a dog.

SPEAKER_01 32:32

Wonderful.

SPEAKER_02 32:32

And this dog, this kid is doing phenomenal. But it's not the first time we do this on different occasions.

SPEAKER_01 32:37

And if uh someone might be interested in adopting a pet, all they gotta do is call.

SPEAKER_02 32:43

We we do like Macy does gimbal's. If we don't have it, we'll give you somebody else that may have it. Right. So that's that's way that's my philosophy. Macy and all they gotta do is call the animal shelter. And if we have to do it, Patterson Animal Shelter. Yeah, 973-881-3640. And if there's no answer, leave a message and somebody will get back to you. Uh, but it's what we do. We I mean, I we must have saved thousands and thousands of animals. Yes, unfortunately, sometimes some animals have to be humanely euthanized because of illness or no such thing as there's no such thing as bad animals in the world, bad dogs in the world, bad people in the world for allowing these animals to get so nasty. Right, right. And there's no reason. And junkyard dogs, there's no dogs should not be outside, chained up for what reason is that? To keep people away? Use an alarm system. Right. So I I'm you know, so it's it's it's it's and Patterson Animal Shelter went a long way. That's it. Compared to when I started in the 70s, yes.

SPEAKER_03 33:42

Well, thank you, John, for um for being with us today. Can I can I sneak in a question? Sure. Um being neighbors with the bishop, what how did what's that like? I mean, you so you see him Sunday mornings?

SPEAKER_02 33:53

I see him Sunday mornings, and every time I as a matter of fact, I worry about him because his lights haven't been on. And I called up, he said, you gotta put it on the phone. I was on retreat last week. That was you know with the lights, his lights are out, and it's you know, it's you you gotta put some lights out on all the time. Every time I pass his house, I'm sure he hears me beep, beep, beep, beep. But he's a wonderful neighbor and a loyal friend.

SPEAKER_01 34:13

Yeah, it's a great uh neighborhood there in East Patterson, right? Very nice.

SPEAKER_02 34:16

It uh yeah, Eastside Park is one of the greatest. I mean, I've been in Eastside Park uh since 1977. And before there, I was in uh Riverside all my life. And I got good parents that brought me up the right way.

SPEAKER_01 34:31

And uh Eastside Park, also known as Larry Dobie Field, right? The uh the uh Yes, Larry Dobe Field. I think first African American to play in the American League after Jackie Robinson broke.

SPEAKER_02 34:41

Larry Dobe was a super gentleman, nice. You know, yes, he is my great he's my granddaughter's uh niece. Beautiful. Niece is it? Yes, yeah. Uh and one time I called him uh Mr. Doby says, Don't call me Mr. Doby. He called me Uncle Doby. Yeah, so uh yes, he's a gentleman, yes. That's great. Yeah, but all the people that I have met and and all these animals that we we find homes for, some of these people I'm I'll never even meet. But at least we know that we're making a lot of people happy. Right. That's all that matters. And finding home for the animals, finding homes is it's it's very important. In my heart, I know that animals have souls, and I know they're going up there.

SPEAKER_01 35:21

Well, uh that's the that's Mr. DeCando's theology. So that's uh um we can have our uh okay. Pope Francis said something about um if m animals make people happy and you were happy in heaven, chances are that there could be. So um I don't know if it's been definitively uh declared one way or the other. So I did just today. Well, that John, that's right. You don't know. Right, right. Thank you, John. It's really good. John also introduced me to a wonderful spot in Patterson known as Patsy's, right? Patsy's Tavern. Yeah, Pizzeria, wonderful, great pizza.

SPEAKER_02 35:53

Patsy, good food, excellent food. Yeah, you can't go, you can't walk in like you used to. You got to call for reservations. But oh yeah, they got the best pizza ever. Patsy's very good, yes.

SPEAKER_03 36:02

Very, very good. Awesome. All right, John. Well, yeah, thanks again for for coming on. And uh so, Bishop, uh anything else you want to share with our audience as we near the end of this episode?

SPEAKER_01 36:12

We had a um presbyteral council meeting this past Monday. I was on retreat last week and very grateful for that from uh New Year's Day actually until Friday, the fifth, Monday to Friday. Yeah, how was the retreat? Wonderful in in Tampa, Florida, which was great. And uh Bishop Al Hughes, the retired bishop of New Orleans, uh 91 years young. Great. He gave the retreat and beautiful talks and the bishops of New Jersey and Pennsylvania together. Okay. Um uh on the Thursday of the retreat, um Bishop Elias, one of the auxiliaries in um Newark, shared that um the news that Bishop O'Connell, um, the Bishop of Trenton had been in Rome for a um leader priest pilgrimage and um had a a medical institute, I think a heart attack. Yeah. Um uh I I hear that he's on the mend, so we keep Bishop O'Connell in our prayers. And uh but it was a great opportunity to be with many of the bishops from our state of New Jersey and our neighbors in in Pennsylvania, which is a I think there's seven or eight dioceses in in Pennsylvania. It's such a large state. So um, but then I was returned and um um at the Feast of Three Kings and then Presbyteral Council meeting uh as we um as I shared last week in the beacon um uh some thoughts about the new declaration, fiducia supplicans about blessings. So we had a a good conversation with our priest leaders and also um while I was away on January 3rd, uh Bishop Flores, the Bishop Daniel Flores, the head of the uh committee um uh on doctrine, I think, but is uh he's heading up the US bishop's uh participation in the Synod. Um and um they're asking that diocese would do some listening sessions really during Lent. Uh so uh we're gonna have to scramble a little bit to get that together, but we're working on it. And so stay tuned for more details about the synod on on synodality and uh and our participation. And then um, God willing, this coming uh next week, um be heading to Washington for the March for Life. Um so we pray for that. We pray for good weather uh and and certainly uh we pray having another storm and then a uh um another storm predicted for this coming weekend. We know that those in low-lying areas by the Passaic River or uh Pequanic or Lincoln Park, uh those low-lying areas in Wayne that um we pray that thing and Little Falls certainly sure that um that the rivers will stay within their banks and and that there won't be um uh too much flooding in the city. And Patterson, too. Patterson also, yeah, right, right. So um thank God it seems like this most most recent storm um was not as bad as predicted. Uh they're still waiting, I think, in Little Falls and places about the Passaic when it when it's gonna crush. So um we a lot to pray for all the time, but uh uh certainly we pray for that. So um, yeah, we're starting up a new year and uh a lot to lot to do. So um uh and again, uh if you uh get a chance to see the column in this week's beacon about the um Eucharistic Congress and the top ten historic moments of the Catholic Church in the last hundred years here in the United States. If you have other opinions about the the list, uh please feel free to uh write in or let us know. And uh and again, uh keep those questions coming for um for for the show here for that we can respond to your um thoughts and um comments and questions. Happy to do that if you if you send them in.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

Yes, please send in your questions. Uh what a great thing.

SPEAKER_01 39:40

And lastly, NFL John is also uh uh Buffalo Bills fan, right? So Buffalo Bills, that's where my mom is. They're looking good at the moment. That's for my um on my mother's side. Buffalo Bills are doing good. Football playoffs are gonna be able to do that.

SPEAKER_02 39:50

My son Brian, yeah, loves the Buffalo Bills.

SPEAKER_01 39:53

And this coming Tuesday, um I uh am hoping to attend uh college basketball game as St. John's will be visiting Seton Hall. Um nice uh uh may the best team win uh have as an alumnus of St. John's, but on the board of Seton Hall, uh I'll be rooting for both teams, but uh happy looking forward to being a big deal. Wait a second rooting for both teams.

SPEAKER_03 40:12

Hang on. Okay. Well, thanks, Bishop. Thanks, John. And thank you all for spending time with us. Get to know us a little better by following Beyond the Beacon on Facebook or Instagram. I hope you'll join us for the next episode. Don't forget to subscribe, comment, and leave us a positive rating. If you're watching on Bishop Kevin Smeeney's YouTube channel, be sure to like, subscribe, and ring the bell for notifications. Email questions and podcast topic ideas for the bishop to beyond at patterson diocese.org. Thank you for joining us.

SPEAKER_01 40:45

Thank you very much. God bless you. Thank you, John.

SPEAKER_03 40:47

Thank you, Bishop.

SPEAKER_01 40:48

Always a pleasure.