Vatican: No reason to close thriving NY church

[markomalley]

From the AP (via the WSJ):

JAMESVILLE, N.Y. — Parishioners of a shuttered Catholic church in suburban Syracuse are urging the local bishop to reopen it in time for Christmas after receiving a second decree from the Vatican that says there was no valid reason to close it.

Advocates for parishioners of St. Mary’s Church in Jamesville filed an emergency motion on Monday with the Vatican demanding that Bishop Robert J. Cunningham take prompt action to reopen it.

“The opening of the Church of St. Mary, I think, is the most important development under canon law in the whole Catholic church in 2011,” said Peter Borre of the Council of Parishes. “The bishop has received two categorical orders from the highest tribunal in the Vatican. It is up to the bishop to obey the law of the Catholic church.”
tIt’s a shame when the faithful have to take their own bishop to court, even ecclesiastical court.

 

[Dale_M]

It’s a shame when the faithful have to take their own bishop to court, even ecclesiastical court.

That statement could be turned around to say that its a shame that the faithful decide to take their bishop to court. The faithful are not always on the right side of things.

I am not familiar with the situation in Syracuse, so I don’t know who is right. But the Vatican didn’t say that the parish should reopen. It said that the church building itself needed to remain a worship space.

Faced with similar ruling, the bishop of Allentown earlier this year decided to allow funerals to take place in the church and for Mass to be celebrated on the saint’s feast day. But the parish otherwise remained closed.
freep.com/article/20111210/NEWS02/112100386/In-recent-cases-Vatican-s-rulings-change-outcomes

 

[Aelred_Minor]

The Church has rules about closing or merging parishes, and separately closing church buildings as places of worship, that the bishops do need to follow. That’s why the parishioners can make an appeal to the Vatican and make their case that the situation does not meet the Church’s requirements. Most of the time the bishop’s decision is upheld, but once in a great while it is overturned at least partially. When those exceptional cases happen I generally assume the parishioners had an extremely solid case, since I would assume the Vatican would defer to the judgment of the diocesan bishop if there was any serious ambiguity about the case.

Speaking in Bishop Cunningham’s partial defense, he was fairly recently installed as Syracuse’s new bishop, right in the middle of a major wave of parish closings and mergers set underway by his ailing predecessor. That’s not exactly an enviable position to be in. I have no idea which bishop the decision to close this specific parish was made under but neither bishop was in an ideal situation at the time and I would have compassion on them for any failure in judgment, while simultaneously rejoicing for the parishioners for having been saved from an injustice.

Edit: I see the decision to close the parish was made in April 2007. That would have been under the late Bishop Moynihan, not Bishop Cunningham.

 

[unafraid]

Personally, in these times of trial, tribulation, and outright confusion, the move should be toward consolodation of parishes into larger, more robust enclaves of praise and worship. If we must retract, then so be it, but what remains will be all the more lively and engaged , because, when a thing which has been taken for granted is suddenly removed, the apathetic suddenly re-engage…and that is what our Church now needs. We need a restoration.

Take the parish with the quarter-full congregation, and merge it with three other similarly contracted parishes, and maybe, just maybe, we begin to muster new vigor. The status quo seems defeatist, as we all must numbly endure dwindling mass attendance, media victimization and the near-resignation of imminent decay and decline. We are all undergoing the painful throes of tumultuous transition. Our times, as Catholics, are particular to us, and how we respond will mark us, positively, negatively.

Let’s fill up the pews!!! No matter whether we must comingle with parishioners strange to us, it is time to invigorate the House of God. If there are two half full churches, then combine them to make one strong, vibrant entity. The empty pews are deflating; they symbolize capitulation. Let us worship, en masse, and find anew the strength which the Enemy so despises.

Many accept the decline of the Roman Catholic Church as if it were a fait accompli. That is not the case. We, the faithful, have more say in what will transpire than we realize. We need to create vibrant places where we can worship in ample numbers; enclaves which give confidence, rather than pessimism.

I never quite understood the call from Christ for us to turn the other cheek, but now I am beginning to grasp its meaning. We Catholics need to show the world that we can endure hardship, and remain faithful servants of Christ. Our other cheek might indeed represent humility, whether might encompass embracing the new realities of combining parishes, or the acceptance that we need purification, in toto, as a single family of faith.

We need something. Times such as these demand positive change. May the Holy Spirit guide us forward.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

Personally, in these times of trial, tribulation, and outright confusion, the move should be toward consolodation of parishes into larger, more robust enclaves of praise and worship. If we must retract, then so be it, but what remains will be all the more lively and engaged , because, when a thing which has been taken for granted is suddenly removed, the apathetic suddenly re-engage…and that is what our Church now needs. We need a restoration.

Take the parish with the quarter-full congregation, and merge it with three other similarly contracted parishes, and maybe, just maybe, we begin to muster new vigor. The status quo seems defeatist, as we all must numbly endure dwindling mass attendance, media victimization and the near-resignation of imminent decay and decline. We are all undergoing the painful throes of tumultuous transition. Our times, as Catholics, are particular to us, and how we respond will mark us, positively, negatively.

Let’s fill up the pews!!! No matter whether we must comingle with parishioners strange to us, it is time to invigorate the House of God. If there are two half full churches, then combine them to make one strong, vibrant entity. The empty pews are deflating; they symbolize capitulation. Let us worship, en masse, and find anew the strength which the Enemy so despises.

Many accept the decline of the Roman Catholic Church as if it were a fait accompli. That is not the case. We, the faithful, have more say in what will transpire than we realize. We need to create vibrant places where we can worship in ample numbers; enclaves which give confidence, rather than pessimism.

I never quite understood the call from Christ for us to turn the other cheek, but now I am beginning to grasp its meaning. We Catholics need to show the world that we can endure hardship, and remain faithful servants of Christ. Our other cheek might indeed represent humility, whether might encompass embracing the new realities of combining parishes, or the acceptance that we need purification, in toto, as a single family of faith.

We need something. Times such as these demand positive change. May the Holy Spirit guide us forward.

Few things have the power to disenchant Catholics from the Church like the bishop forcing their beloved parish to close, especially when it’s a financially healthy parish. Certainly it’s sometimes necessary, but I think it’s a process that often accelerates rather than counteracts the decline of morale in the Church.