US Bishop Changes: Cleveland and Juneau

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Bishop Nelson Jesus Perez was named Bishop of Cleveland, Ohio, USA.

The diocese had been vacant since the resignation of Bishop Richard Gerard Lennon in December 2016.

Bishop Perez had been serving as Auxiliary Bishop of Rockville Centre, New York.
Bishop-elect Andrew E. Bellisario, C.M. was named Bishop of Juneau, Alaska, USA.

The diocese had been vacant since Bishop Edward James Burns was named Bishop of Dallas, Texas in December 2016.
 
Congrats to the new bishops. I will be interested to see how Bishop Perez works out. I was not pleased with some of Bishop Lennon’s doings.
 
Piwowar said:
What were you not pleased with in regards to Bishop Lennon?
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Primarily, the church closing mess, which he mishandled and which the Vatican overturned.

cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/bishop_richard_lennon_says_he.html

In some cases, the closings made sense given that the neighborhoods had declined, but one of the churches is an exceptionally beautiful and historically significant one in my hometown that I attended many a time. It is the oldest one in the area and built and decorated similarly to one of the famous churches in Rome. It is also in a densely populated area and has a pretty active and large congregation, although the area is not that wealthy (neither is it poor, however, it’s middle-middle).

I shudder to think what would have gone into that building if the church had closed. Given the dynamics of the area I would not have been surprised to see a brewery or a disco. I note also that if he had needed to close a church in that area, he had three to choose from; the other two aren’t nearly as impressive, but their buildings are not quite as old, and one is located in the rich part of town.

Fortunately, the appeal to the Vatican won, and it was among those churches reopened along with several others that appealed.

Bishop Lennon was focused on the bottom line and he caused a lot of hurt and upset. I hope the new Bishop will be a bit more sensitive.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Primarily, the church closing mess, which he mishandled and which the Vatican overturned.

cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/04/bishop_richard_lennon_says_he.html

In some cases, the closings made sense given that the neighborhoods had declined, but one of the churches is an exceptionally beautiful and historically significant one in my hometown that I attended many a time. It is the oldest one in the area and built and decorated similarly to one of the famous churches in Rome. It is also in a densely populated area and has a pretty active and large congregation, although the area is not that wealthy (neither is it poor, however, it’s middle-middle).

I shudder to think what would have gone into that building if the church had closed. Given the dynamics of the area I would not have been surprised to see a brewery or a disco. I note also that if he had needed to close a church in that area, he had three to choose from; the other two aren’t nearly as impressive, but their buildings are not quite as old, and one is located in the rich part of town.

Fortunately, the appeal to the Vatican won, and it was among those churches reopened along with several others that appealed.

Bishop Lennon was focused on the bottom line and he caused a lot of hurt and upset. I hope the new Bishop will be a bit more sensitive.
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We are all human and as humans we make mistakes. I think Bishop Lennon would have done things a little different in regards to the church closings. The parishioners of St. Casimir, St. Barbara, and St. Patrick (West Park) just to name a few, stood up for their parishes and they won. Wonderful! To the parishioners of St. Casimir and St. Barbara, I say “Niech Polska żyje wiecznie”.

God Bless Bishop Lennon and all of the Cleveland parishes that were reopened.
 
I have forgiven him and I have sympathy for him now that he has been reported as suffering from vascular dementia, which my grandmother had and which is not pleasant.

I just think there are times when authority gets a little carried away with itself. I’m happy for the parishes that reopened and I hope their churches are sustainable over the long term.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Congrats to the new bishops. I will be interested to see how Bishop Perez works out. I was not pleased with some of Bishop Lennon’s doings.
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I met Bishop Perez briefly at the LA Congress. I think you’ll like him. 🙂
 
janeway529 said:
I met Bishop Perez briefly at the LA Congress. I think you’ll like him. 🙂
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That’s good to hear. He looks like a kind and friendly man in his pictures.

I also don’t want to sound like I have a big negative impression of the Diocese of Cleveland. It has been helpful to me more than once. Some years ago we had Bishop Lyke (may he rest in peace) as an auxiliary bishop. He was very kind when my father was hospitalized for a long period of time. He later became Archbishop of Atlanta before he passed away.
 
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