Here is an example of a typical editorial statement made by the DR about the Presbyterian Churches comments recently.  What I want to know is the following regarding this debate:

1. Where is the Presbyterian Churches pledge of money to help a town which will be financially distressed by this Monstrosity?  Words are cheap, but a pledge would be a commitment. Their lack of a pledge renders their verbiage completely empty.  Anyone can take a positive position on this if it has no impact on them.

2. Given the DR's editorial position on this and their enjoyment of profiting from Morris County residents, where is their pledge to contribute to their cause of support for CC.  That would certainly include a significant financial commitment to help defray the costs to the good taxpayers of Rockaway Township.  Again, a pledge would be a true commitment to their position.  Otherwise, their position is completely empty rhetoric.

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Here is the Koloff Editorial:

Church members seeking peace in the community

By Abbott Koloff, Daily Record

The letter was an expression of friendship from one church to another. It apparently was written out of concern that some opposition to Christ Church had become too emotional, too personal, and was not based purely on planning issues.

It also was part of a public relations campaign.

The Rev. David Ireland, head of Christ Church, had gone to local church leaders more than a year ago asking for their support. He didn't get a great response. Church leaders said they had nothing against Christ Church moving from Montclair to Rockaway Township. That is not exactly a ringing endorsement.

Then, on Tuesday, the First Presbyterian Church of Rockaway sent out a letter signed by its pastor, Rev. Richard Sanner, and representing the church's governing body. The letter said "we are saddened" by the opposition to Christ Church and added that some of the opposition "reflects poorly on us as neighbors and as a community." It said the church would "enhance the social, spiritual and economic life of the community."

The letter's authors did not appear to be responding to debates about planning issues, the traffic a so-called mega-church might create. There had been some veiled racial comments in the past about Christ Church, which has a large black membership, in letters sent to newspapers. Someone started an Internet diatribe against evangelical Christianity. Most church opponents have distanced themselves from that kind of talk. The letter's authors stayed away from those issues Tuesday.

"I don't judge things like that," said Joe Martinoni, one of two First Presbyterian Church members who met with Ireland earlier this month, leading to Tuesday's letter. "We didn't write the letter to make a judgment."

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They said they wrote the letter to make peace. But if history tells us anything, it's that they might have started another wave of back-and-forth attacks on the Internet and newspaper editorial pages. Leaders of the opposition try to keep the issue focused on environmental impact -- but the debate on an Internet site devoted to the issue of Christ Church sometimes seems hijacked by a small group who make it personal and ugly.

The Internet has a way of bringing out the worst in some people, sometimes allowing a few angry posters to drown out reasonable concerns. The letter sent by First Presbyterian doesn't say anything specific about the tone of the debate.

But make no mistake. That's why it was sent.

"They wanted to take a stand," Sanner said of members of his church's governing body. "They didn't like the way (Christ Church) has been received by the community."

The letter was written after Martinoni and another man asked for a meeting with Ireland, saying they wanted to offer their support. Ireland said he had gone to local churches more than a year ago, asking for support, and seemed a little surprised when no one stepped forward. He made a suggestion to the two men from First Presbyterian. He said he didn't give them any directions. He prodded them. He told them that making their support public would be helpful.

"I was appreciative of them reaching out," Ireland said.

They went back to their church and the governing body voted to send a letter. It will have no impact on the planning board, no impact on Christ Church's application. It doesn't say much about Christ Church's environmental impact, or the traffic it might create on Sundays in an area zoned for office buildings. It does say something about the way some people perceive the debate. There is an argument to be made that traffic is not the biggest issue.

That's not to say Christ Church has not made mistakes during this process. Ireland said in an interview last year that he planned to change his application to comply with the state's new Highlands law. About a week later, it came out that he simply was seeking an exemption. His public relations people said that, technically, he was being accurate.

But he wasn't completely forthcoming.

It is unlikely that Tuesday's letter will create a wave of support for Christ Church among religious leaders. Some have said in the past that they have nothing against Christ Church. A few have come out against a few blatantly bigoted statements made about the church. Most probably don't want to get involved in planning issues that they haven't studied.

"I've met Rev. Ireland and he is a wonderful person," said Rabbi Asher Herson, head of the Chabad Center in Rockaway Township.

He added that he doesn't know enough to comment about the church's environmental impact.

Then again, Tuesday's letter probably would not have been sent had the debate stayed focused on environmental issues and not become so acrimonious. Some people might argue that the letter is an attempt to divide Christ Church's opponents. The people who sent the letter might argue that it was an attempt to reach out across a divide.