St. Stan's Vigil to Mark Two Years

 ADAMS, Mass. — The altar at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church is once again covered with a bevy of cheery red poinsettias. It's been a tradition over the years to turn the front of the sanctuary into an overflowing garden at Christmastime.

But as the Friends of St. Stan's enter their third year of protest over the historic church's closure, the setting out of the poinsettias has become a benchmark in a lengthening vigil.

Sunday will mark two years that vigilkeepers have been staying in the church in hopes of convincing the Vatican that the house of worship their grandparents and great-grandparents built a century ago will be around for their grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There is no sign of an end to the vigil as the cold creeps back into the pews.

"It's still going strong and we're entering our third winter now," said Eugene Michalenko, one of the spokesman for the vigil effort, on Thursday. "We have heard nothing yet."

St. Stan's was ordered closed as part of a consolidation in the Springfield Diocese; the parish and that of Notre Dame and St. Thomas were to be joined up the street at Notre Dame, newly renamed as Pope John Paul the Great. The use of the first Polish pope's name didn't appease  some in the congregation, who immediately set up the vigil.

So for two years now, at least one person has been in the Polish church to keep the diocese from locking the doors. The vigilers will hold a small celebration and sing Christmas carols at 1 p.m. on the anniversary.

Volunteers are there round the clock, taking turns and even sleeping in the cold church. This year, a space heater warms a small room behind the altar to give the faithful some respite.

The group is waiting on a decision from the Vatican that could take years. Parishioners joined eight other churches in the state in appealing their closures to the Apostolic Signatory but that decision has been delayed multiple times. The Signatory is the last step in the appeals process.

Cold weather will not stop the St. Stan's vigil as it enters its third year. The church was closed by the Springfield Diocese on Dec. 30 two years ago.

The building is no longer a church in the eyes of the Springfield Diocese and Mass is not held there, but parishioners do still pray there.

If St. Stan's is empty, church officials will lock the doors and strip the interior of religious relics before it sells the building.

Vigilers fear their Polish heritage will be stripped along with icons and stained glass.

In Boston, vigils continue in a handful of churches; in other parts of the country, vigil attempts have been cut short by police action. The Friends of St. Stan's were concerned about that at first but an uneasy truce with the diocese has left both playing a waiting game.

The massive chandeliers, the painted ceiling and all the decorations and architecture has created one of the most beautiful churches in the county. Vigilkeepers say it's priceless and by staying in the building, the church will remain intact.

And so the annual tradition of decorating the altar still continues, but change is inevitable. Zepka J & Sons Florists used to bring thousands of flowers into the church every winter but this year it had to be scaled back, Michalenko said.

The 100-year-old florist closed this fall; owner Matthew Zepka, a longtime usher and Eucharistic minister at St. Stan's, died last December at the age of 89.

Thomas Zepka, his son, used his connections with wholesalers to bring in about 60 red poinsettias this year.

"Now people are buying them individually and bringing them in," Michalenko said. "It's not as big as it used to be. The alter used to be full."

Boston Setback Doesn't Shake Vigilers' Faith

Visitors from across the country and even from overseas have stopped in to look at St. Stan's treasures. Below, the bust of Pope John Paul II is in storage after vandals tried to pull him from his pedestal last week and should be back after some minor fixes.

Vigilkeepers at St. Stan's were upbeat on Monday despite the bad news for 10 Boston churches. According to reports, the Vatican's highest court, the Apostolic Signatura, rejected appeals from parishioners to rescind the archdiocese's closure order for the churches, three of which have been occupied by vigils for more than five years.

"It's not going to change how we proceed," said Laurie Haas, one of the leaders in appealing the Adams church's closure last year. Vigilers at St. Stanislaus Kostka have been closely following the fates of the Boston churches and have aligned themselves with the Council of Parishes, a lay group fighting to keep them open. The group's leader, Peter Borre, has been counseling St. Stan's as it, too, wends its way through the Holy See's legal maze.

It was Borre who alerted press Monday to the Collegium's decision, which was actually been handed down on May 7. Within a half-hour, chuckled Haas, Msgr. John Bonzagni had e-mailed it to her inbox.

Bonzagni, director of pastoral planning for the Springfield Diocese, had a hand in the decisions that would close numerous churches and consolidate parishes across Western Mass two years ago. Of the six churches shuttered in North Berkshire, only the Polish church has refused to close and join Notre Dame at the former St. Thomas' Church, now known as Pope John Paul the Great.

It was day 508 as some 50-odd supporters, about a quarter of the total number of vigilers taking turns standing post, attended the regular Monday meeting — and to hear if what the news out of Boston would mean.

"So this is very sad for Boston and, of course, we can't help but parallel their plight to our plight, here now," said Haas, after reading both an AP article and a statement from the Council of Parishes. "We're firm and we're resolute and we set the course ... things could be very different: their outcome is not our outcome."

But there's undercurrent of anger below the sunny smiles that their beloved St. Stan's and other parishes are paying the price for church leaders' failings and for sex-abuse scandals that have cost tens of millions.

One sentence in particular in the Council of Parishes statement struck a chord. "American Catholics will not let up in their efforts to bring the American bishops to account, and to compel bishops to stop using parishes as ATMs to pay the pay the piper for clergy sex abuse" was met with loud murmurs of agreement.

In the meantime, the vigilers will continue to raise funds to maintain the beautifully decorated church, including a Polish dinner and dancing at PNA this Saturday with Eddie Forman's polka band. Admission $5; a Polish plate is available from 5 to 6 with dancing until 11.

They're also doing their best to keep the occupation in the diocese's eye. Last week, the local papers did a story on the 500th day of the vigil, the television stations show up now and again, and hats, T-shirts and, soon, buttons promoting St. Stan's are available. "We have to keep ourselves in the news so the bishop knows what's going on," said Fran Hajda.

They're in it for the long haul. It could be years before their case reaches the Signatura.

"Five years from now, when we are at that level, it could be a completely different climate over at the Apostolic Signatura," said Haas. "We always have to have hope, we have to pray ... we're a people of faith, a family brought so much closer together."

The full statement of the Council of Parishes is below:

"Today in Rome the canon law advocate for nine parishioner appeal groups in the Archdiocese of Boston (RCAB) was notified by an official of the Holy See’s Apostolic Signatura (the Vatican’s supreme-court equivalent) that all nine appeals, plus a tenth appeal from another Boston parishioner group, were denied by the Signatura’s Collegium at its session of May 7.

The Collegium is the highest level of the Vatican’s canon law system for appeals against the suppression of parishes. A list of the ten RCAB parishioner groups is attached.

The Boston appeals are the result of the “Reconfiguration” program of parish closings announced in early 2004 in the RCAB, in the immediate aftermath of the clergy sex abuse scandal which was settled in late 2003 - with $85 million paid by the archdiocese for 541 claims. To fund this, in May of 2004 the RCAB identified 83 Boston-area parishes to be closed, almost one-fourth of all RCAB parishes then open. When announced, this was the most massive parish closing program in the history of Catholic America.

Although the archdiocese has claimed vociferously over the years that the parish closings of 2004-2005 had nothing to do with its clergy sex abuse settlement, in 2008 the RCAB’s own canon advocate in Rome filed a sworn brief with the Signatura, which includes the following remarkable passage (translated from the Latin):

“…maximum discretion was given to His Excellency the Archbishop of Boston so that he might save the entire archdiocese from monetary ruin, provoked by the ‘sexual abuse crisis’ [emphasis in original]. It is in this context that all actions of this process of reconfiguration and ‘closing of parishes’ are to be understood, not excluding the suppression of wealthy parishes, not excluding the suppression of parishes of maximum vitality…”

This is the revealed truth about the massive parish destruction program: parishes were closed, to liquidated as real estate to fund the sex abuse settlement. The contorted statements inflicted by the RCAB upon its parishioners over the past several years about the reasons for closing parishes (shortage of clergy, changing demographics, insolvent parishes) has turned out to be at variance with the truth – intentionally misleading.

The parishioner groups whose appeals have been denied, the RCAB Catholics who have been in vigil in five RCAB churches occupied round the clock for over five years, and 70 parishioner groups in 16 other dioceses who have followed closely the course of the Boston appeals, will now have to consider what steps to take next.

One thing is clear: American Catholics will not let up in their efforts to bring the American bishops to account, and to compel bishops to stop using parishes as ATMs to pay the piper for clergy sex abuse.

Since the scandal exploded in Boston more than eight years ago, at least $2.5 billion has been paid out by American bishops. And the process is not over: just last week, Vermont’s diocese of Montpelier settled 26 claims for almost $18 million.

St Augustine wrote, “Roma locuta est, causa finita est,” Rome has spoken, case closed. The good saint got this wrong: while one chapter has closed, another chapter is opening.

As allegations of clergy sex abuse work their way through many other countries with large Catholic populations, we will see a pattern very familiar to Boston’s Catholics:

First, blame the media, the victims, and perhaps a predecessor pope;

Next, toss a few bishops over the side;

Then, acknowledge the inevitable, grudgingly;

Avoid courts, depositions and document discovery;

After dragging out litigation, pay out enormous settlements;

After an interval, close local parishes but deny any link to settlements; and

Above all, deceive the parishioners about truth regarding the parish closings.

We are seven years away from the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 theses in 1517; what will the Roman Catholic Church look like in 2017?"

St. Stan's Vigilkeepers Keep Spirit of Parish Going

The St. Stanislaus Kostka vigilkeepers meet regularly to share news. The group of 60 or more regulars have been keeping a round-the-clock vigil in the historic church for nearly a year.

ADAMS, Mass. — The chill's starting to creep back into the church, and the dozens of parishioners were buttoned up in coats as they slid into the pews of the darkened nave.

It was the waning of Day 326 and the regular Monday night meeting of the vigilkeepers at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church. The goal of their vigil is simple: Keep the historic and fabulously decorated Polish church open as a place of worship.

The church isn't really a church anymore; the parishioners no longer members of a St. Stan's parish. At least that's what the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield says. The 200-odd faithful who've been sitting, dozing and praying night and day under its painted ceiling and massive chandeliers say don't believe it.

"We're here indefinitely," said Laurin Zepka, before leading a prayer to remember souls caught in purgatory.

St. Stan's was ordered closed at the end of last year, part of a consolidation in the Springfield Diocese and a trend in Catholic communities across the nation. St. Stan's members immediately protested the decision, establishing an around-the-clock vigil days before the final Mass.

The vigilkeepers are pinning their hopes on the Vatican and praying for a rare reversal of a diocesan decision.

St. Stan's has joined with eight other parishes, including in the Boston area, to appeal their closures.

In August, they received a letter from the Congregation of Clergy delaying a decision on their appeal for a second time. Msgr. J. Anthony McDaid wrote that the appeal's time limit had been extended to Nov. 25, 2009, "in order to reach a studied decision in this matter."

That date has again been extended and meeting attendees were somewhat relieved to learn that the Boston churches also appealing had not been placed on the Apostolic Signatory's agenda for its next meeting on Dec. 1. The Signatory is the last step in the appeals process.

No one's quite sure what the postponements mean.

Francis Hajda, the group's spokesman, said Peter Borre, an activist trying to save churches in the Boston area, was in Rome to "rattle some cages and find out what's going on."

The group's not certain what the coming weeks will hold but they haven't given up hope or their spiritual kinship. If anything that adversity has made them stronger than ever, said Dola Lipinski.

"We've always had a close group at St. Stanislaus Kostka," she said. "The bishop doesn't know what he's done ... now we're so close and so bonded, we call each other up, we go out together ... We're a great big, bonded family.

Pictures from the group's Appalachia project. They've been collecting and sending warm clothes and supplies to an impoverished Kentucky town.

"You have no idea how many people support us: spiritually, vocally and monetarily."

The members continue to function as a parish, if without a priest. A corner of the church has turned into an office with card tables covered with papers and snacks. A large board is posted with announcements and the meticulously maintained schedule that ensures at least three people remain in the church at any time — thus preventing the doors from being locked against them.

It's not all sitting around. The members have been more active than ever in taking on projects to help the ailing and the needy. They've been knitting caps and booties for premature infants, sending boxes of warm clothing and other needs to an impoverished Appalachian town, collecting more than 700 pounds of can pull-tabs (over a million tabs) for Shriner's Children's Hospital. There's also Project Polonaise, for sending clothing and supplies to a Polish orphanage.

They're preparing for the holidays as they always have. A small Christmas tree stands near the pulpit, a lone "wish card" from the Berkshire Community Action North left to be plucked. Hajda said the donations are already rolling in for the annual decoration of the alter with dozens — if not hundreds — of poinsettia plants. They'll sing carols and have readings, but go to another church for Mass.

The group is dedicated to preserving the Polish traditions of St. Stanislaus and holding tight to the hope that their pleas will be heard in Rome. Or on high.

Zepka opens and closes each meeting with a prayer to save the church's 100-year-old heritage and maintain it as a temple of God.

"Anyone who can help us, pray for us."

Edited on Dec. 7, 2009, to clarify elements of the appeal process. This article also appeared on the front page prior to the blog being created. 

St. Stan's Pins Prayers on Mediation Request

Irene Cwalinski has been participating in the St. Stan's vigil twice a week for 15 weeks.

ADAMS, Mass. — Irene Cwalinski has been coming twice a week for the past 15 weeks to sit for a few hours in the chilly air of a closed church.

She's been attending St. Stanislaus Kostka for decades. She's not ready to join another parish. She's still hoping the historic church will be saved.

"It's like the bishop tore the hearts out of the people here, the parishioners," she said, tearing up as she spoke of her church. "It's like our second home and he took it away from us." .

For 103 days, some 200 steadfast members of St. Stan's have been mounting a round-the-clock vigil to prevent the dismantlement of the church their forefathers built at the turn of the last century. They've appealed to Rome, and were told this week that their plea would be extended until May 14.

But the "vigilers" are pinning their hopes on a 22-page document submitted to the Vatican along with 30 other parish groups in eight dioceses across the country fighting to keep their churches open.

The "request for mediation" petition was hand-delivered in Rome to the Vatican's undersecretary for relations for state by Peter Borre, founder of the grassroots Council on Parishes, on Tuesday. Borre, of Charlestown, emerged as a leader in the battle to prevent the Archdiocese of Boston from closing parishes in the wake of the sex-abuse scandal.

The petition urges the secretariat of state to instruct the Vatican Curia to suspend reviews of parish closings and order the American bishops to suspend parish closing decrees. Instead, a mediator would work with the parishioners and bishops to create a dialogue that, vigilers hope, will keep the affected parishes open.

"This will usher in a creative and constructive solution to this very serous problem that's occuring today in the church," said Laurie Haas, a St. Stan's member who's shepherded the now closed parish through the appeals process. "The framework for mediation could bring about resolution of our current situation here at St. Stan's, so this is very exciting news."

St. Stan's was closed in a sweeping consolidation of parishes throughout the Springfield Diocese. The Polish parish was combined with the previously yoked Notre Dame-St. Thomas to create the Parish of Pope John Paul the Great at a renamed Notre Dame.

St. Stan's Parish was stunned by the announcement, citing its healthy financial situation, historical significance, attached school and active congregation. Vowing not to give up easily, they mounted the vigil days before the church was scheduled to close, joining five parishes entering their fourth year and fifth vigil years in the Boston area.

The number of parishes fighting closure is growing. "It's nationwide, we're a movement," said Eugene Michalenko, not entirely joking.

Hank Tomcowicz talks to CBS3 about the vigil; left, Eugene Michalenko.

The mediation request, said Haas, offers "concrete solutions" along with statistics that should give the Vatican pause, including that more than a third of Boston Catholics stop attending church within a year of closings. More are beginning neo-Catholic communities outside of Rome's influence.

Petitioners say failure of the Catholic Church to treat equitably with them will only result in increased alienation, protests, schismatics and lawsuits. "Docility in the pews," vigilers said in a statement, "is a thing of the past."

The groups are saying "the Vatican should step in and prevent bishops from basically wrecking the Catholic Church in America by shutting down viable parishes," Borre told The Associated Press from Rome.

At St. Stan's, people lined up to be interviewed by local television stations, in hopes that their frustration and sorrow will be understood. A local petition formulated by a non-member of St. Stan's addressing its historic and artistic significance is beginning to make the rounds in Berkshire County.

"This request is a last resort because of the likelihood of across-the-board denials by the Vatican's highest court of nine pending appeals from Boston parishes," Michalenko read from a statement at a press conference in the church on Tuesday. "And a possible future decision by the cardinal-archbishop of Boston to resort to police to clear five churches currently in vigil."

The possibility of being forcibly removed from St. Stan's has been on parishioners' minds despite assurances by the diocese that no action would be taken. Two New Orleans churches were cleared in early January after 10-week vigils.

Haas and Michalenko don't know how fast the response will be to the request, but they're hoping it will leapfrog years of appeals that may well go nowhere.

"We're trying to be proactive and keep the lines of communication open," said Michalenko.

In addition to Adams and Boston, the other groups are in Allentown and Scranton Pa., Buffalo, N.Y, Cleveland, New Orleans and New York City. This article also appeared on the front page.

St. Stan's Joins With 30 Parishes in Appeal to Rome

St. Stanislaus leader Laurie Haas talks to vigil members on Monday night.

ADAMS, Mass. — As the faithful at St. Stanislaus Kostka Church pass the 100-day mark of keeping vigil, they're hoping a Holy Week that ends with Resurrection will be repeated in the revival of their beloved church.

St. Stanislaus' Church was closed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield two days after Christmas as part of a consolidation across the Berkshires and Springfield region. But the descendants of the Polish immigrants who built the church with their sweat and money are fighting the decision on several fronts — and finding friends in other communities. 

Tuesday, members of the former parish will join 30 other groups in eight parishes, including Boston, in requesting the Vatican bypass the appeals and start a process to overturn the closures. A gathering will be held at St. Stan's at noon today to show support and to explain the details of the request.

While the diocese has said it will not interfere with the vigil, the parishioners who have been keeping watch over the century-old church have worried they may be forcefully removed, as happened in New Orleans.

"I think that because this is a very critical time in the history of St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish," Laurie Hass, who spearheaded the appeals to Rome after the first notice of the closure, said from the church's pulpit on Monday night. "That we make a novena to the Divine Mercy. The Divine Mercy chaplet is a powerful intercessory prayer."

Despite the wet, cold weather, the church's pews were more than a quarter filled at Monday night's regular meeting, at which vigil members were updated on appeals and informed of schedules and events.

As it has for decades, the church will be filled with Easter lilies, 200 or more, and the call of "Christ Has Risen" will be declared at 6 a.m. on Easter morning. The Polish traditions will be kept but there will be no Mass, no priest.

Rachel Branch of North Adams knows the pain of losing a church. She was the organist at St. Teresa's in Pittsfield, which was shuttered last year in the first round of closures.

She visited St. Stan's for the first time last week and was so struck by its beauty she felt she had to help

"It's absolutely awesome," she told vigil members. "I've been to cathedrals in Europe like this. I was nearly brought to tears."

Branch offered them a petition she had written and offered to help spread it throughout the Berkshires. Afterward, Branch said both St. Stan's beauty and importance as historical element of Berkshire County had prompted her offer. "But it's up to them to do it if they want to."

It seems likely they will; Branch's offer and request to be an "honorary vigil member" was greeted with loud applause.
 
Branch's petition:

We the residents of Berkshire County petition the Roman Catholic Diocese to keep St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish in Adams, Mass., open. We believe it must be preserved because of its historic value, its artistic treasures, its cultural identity and its extraordinary beauty and the unquestioned contribution of the Polish community in building this magnificent cathedral in the Berkshires.