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Pontiff Rejects Boston Parish Appeals
BOSTON — The pope has rejected the pleas of parishes in the Boston Archdiocese to remain open.
According to several media sources, a Dec. 15 letter addressed to Peter Borre, chairman of the Council of Parishes, stated, "The Holy Father [Pope Benedict XVI] was apprised of the question, which was also clearly studied by this office. ... I regret to inform you, however, that His Holiness has decided not to accept your appeal."
Borre has been the leader in the effort to keep open Boston area churches closed in 2003 as part of a consolidation sparked by financial and demographic declines. The Council of Parishes, a collaboration of 16 parishes, has been supporting vigilers trying to keep open the churches. At present, five churches are still being occupied around the clock to prevent their closure.
The decision doesn't bode well for the vigilers at St. Stanislaus Kostka in Adams, who are entering their third year in trying to keep the historic Polish church from closing.
Borre, and the Council of Parishes, have been advising the St. Stan's vigilers — as well as trailblazing the twisted path through the Vatican appeals process. The Boston group was dealt a blow last spring when the Apostolic Signatura rejected its appeals.
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At the time, Friends of St. Stan's spokeswoman Laurie Haas, noted that the Adams parish was years behind the Boston group in the appeals process.
"We're firm and we're resolute and we set the course ...," she said then.
"Things could be very different; their outcome is not our outcome."
Borre told the Boston Herald that he received the letter from undersecretary of state Archbishop Fernando Filoni on Monday and described the final appeal directly to the pontiff as a "Hail Mary."
But while the archdiocese indicated to the Herald that the matter is closed, Borre said his group is now working on a way to keep the churches open as a place of Catholic worship.
Boston Setback Doesn't Shake Vigilers' Faith
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 Joins With 30 Parishes in Appeal to Rome
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.
St. Stan's Closes with Tears and Defiance
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ADAMS, Mass. — St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish came to a close on Sunday afternoon with sadness, resignation — and defiance.
Even as Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell entreated the congregation to come together as a family, a group of parishioners stood in the rain across the street signifying their displeasure with the Diocese of Springfield's decision to close the 105-year-old church.
"The world is crying for us," said Henry "Hank" Tomkowicz, as a light rain fell from the gloomy skies. Tomkowicz, 78, a lifelong member of the church and who sang in its choir for 25 years, is praying the diocese and the Vatican will see the light and reverse the decision to close a church filled with the Polish community's history, heritage and memories.
But those prayers were not to come true on Sunday. McDonnell eschewed the pulpit to speak directly to the 500 or more children and adults. Pacing before the altar he said he knew the church was beautiful and he respected the Polish heritage contained with in it, but the church would close.
"I'm sorry I don't have the news you were hoping to hear, but I hope you will find that God never closes a door without opening another," he said.
Berkshire County parishes been grappling with the same issues that have plagued larger dioceses nationwide — declining attendance, aging parishioners and a lack of priests. A wave of closures has spread through Massachusetts, spurred in part by the sex-abuse scandal and resulting settlements.
The bottom line, however, is the numbers. There just aren't enough Catholics here to continue operating multiple parishes in each community. It started years ago as parishes became yoked so fewer priests were needed. But a wave of clerical retirements in North County and mounting financial troubles revealed the cracks in the church's foundation here.
McDonnell pointed out how Adams has changed since the huge Berkshire Hathaway mills moved out 50 years. The county has lost a third of its Catholics population, 140,000, in the past 28 years. Parishes built around immigrants have to merge along new lines to be reinvigorated. "There has never been a question that one church is needed," said McDonnell. "The question has been, which church?"
That question has pitted the two surviving parishes in Adams against each other, as St. Stan's members have argued passionately that Notre Dame should be the church to close. (St. Thomas, which had been yoked with Notre Dame, closed quietly last week.) The diocese says Notre Dame's location and size tipped the balance in its favor; St. Stan's members say their church is well located, financially viable and has both architectural and historic importance.
The low point was a rancorous Christmas Eve Mass during which the pastor reportedly chastised the parish for its intransigence and was responded to in kind. A notice was passed out Sunday asking the attendees to show dignity and respect during the closing Mass.
The Rev. Daniel J. Boyle, pastor of the Catholic Community of Adams, spoke only briefly. Also in attendance was Monsignor John J. Bonzagni, diocesan director of pastoral planning, the Rev. C.J. Waitekus of St. Anne's Church in Lenox and Adams native the Rev. Alexei Michalenko, who was ordained at St. Stan's.
"Why are you taking this church away from my son?" asked Neil Kupiec, pointing to 15-month-old Timothy in the arms of his wife, Anne, herself in tears at the loss of the church in which she was baptized and married. Kupiec was going to stand in the doorway and force the procession to go around ("to force them to change their plan") but his mother-in-law, Irene Cwalinski, pulled him away.
There were a lot of tears on Sunday, and soft sobs as McDonnell declared the closing of St. Stan's and the opening of the Parish of Pope John Paul the Great before exiting the church.
Tomkowicz and some 50 people stood in the rain with signs denouncing the decision to close St. Stan's, chanting "Save our Church" as McDonnell walked to the rectory shortly before the final Mass at 3 p.m.
The group, Friends of St. Stan's, have mounted a round-the-clock vigil to prevent the doors from closing while the parish presses its appeal in Rome.
McDonnell is trying to seal the rift by reminding his flock that it's their faith — not their buildings or their ethnic heritage — that's important.
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Parishes Close Across WMass. Boston Archdiocese Shutters Churches Vatican Backs Archbishop Four Years and Counting |
Mary, he reminded them, went through many travails and heartbreaks before becoming mother of the church through the risen Christ. "We are one family of Christ through Mary our mother.
"That doesn't mean there won't be pain. That doesn't mean there won't be misunderstandings and that doesn't mean there won't be disagreements," said McDonnell. "... because that is part and parcel of every family and of our church life as well and we've seen it here ... in Adams."
St. Stan's members fear the loss of their heritage if their church gloriously painted with Polish saints, the stained-glass windows their ancestors saved nickels and dimes to buy and the historic organ are carted away. Rumors are already flying that the organ's on eBay. (Not true.)
The Poles who came to Adams in the late 19th century left their churches to create new ones here based on their heritage, said McDonnell. "If those traditions could be carried 6,000 miles across the ocean why cannot they be carried two blocks away?"The diocese is hoping to revitalize the parishes by combining them, part of a five-year process of reorganizing and restructuring. St. Stan's contents will be evaluated by a curator and removed for use at Notre Dame or other churches, as the large murals from the closed Holy Family in Pittsfield were installed at St. Joseph's. St. Stanislaus School is owned by the diocese but all other property, including St. Stanislaus Cemetery, will be owned by the new Parish of Pope John Paul the Great.
McDonnell said he didn't know what the response will be to the parishioners holding vigil.
"The new parish will start and we'll leave it to the will of God," he said. "It's like a death in the family and we react in different ways" though with the new parish "so there's life as well as death. I hope that will help."
Many lingered in the sanctuary afterward, reluctant to pass through the doors for the last time. Some wandered about taking pictures and video of the church, still bedecked in Christmas decorations, its altar space a profusion of poinsettias.
Two women hesitated before the altar, unsure of the propriety of entering that sacred space.
"I guess we can," said one. "It's not a church anymore."
Editor's Note: This article also appear on iBerkshires here.
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10 days of a decree of suppres-
appeal to the Apostolic Signatory, the Vatican's "supreme court." It is headed by St. Louis' former Archbishop Raymond Burke, who leans conservative.