CNY CONGREGATIONS APPEAL TO VATICAN TO SAVE CHURCHES - EXPERT SAYS IT IS UNLIKELY THE DECISIONS TO MERGE OR CLOSE CHURCHES WILL BE REVERSED.
Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY) - June 25, 2007
Author: Renee K. Gadoua Staff writer

Members of St. Mary in Jamesville are appealing to the Vatican in hopes of preventing their church from closing its doors Saturday.

"We're exercising the rights we have under canon law to try to save our parish," said Colleen LaTray.

Small groups at St. Andrew the Apostle and St. Stephen in Syracuse are also appealing to the Vatican to reverse decisions to merge or close their churches.

The changes are part of a historic reorganization of the seven-county Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse. More than 40 churches will close because the diocese does not have enough priests to minister in all of its parishes. The changes also reflect population shifts from urban and rural areas to the suburbs, the diocese said.

Those appealing the decisions question if Bishop James Moynihan followed church law in the reconfiguration process. Some say they were not consulted, or that the closure or merger will damage a vibrant worshipping community.

"The bottom line is we believe there is an appeals process that was not followed by the diocese," said Neil Driscoll, president of the St. Andrew parish council. "We believe the idea of one priest, one roof, is not a legitimate reason to discontinue the linkage between St. Lucy and St. Andrew."

The Rev. Thomas Reese, an expert on the Catholic Church, said the appeals are unlikely to be successful.

"The Vatican is only concerned about whether proper canonical procedures were followed. They are not interested in arguments like "this is a wonderful parish' or "my grandmother got married here."' he said.

"They're not going to get into second-guessing pastoral decisions of the local bishops," said Reese, former editor of America, a weekly Jesuit publication, and a fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.

Of the few instances in which the Vatican agreed to appeal diocesan decisions, several are still pending, he said. In some cases, the Vatican required a diocese to follow a different procedure, and the closures were eventually approved, he said.

Sister Christine Schenk, executive director of FutureChurch, an organization that supports the role of the laity, agreed with Reese's assessment, but said she's more optimistic.

"It's a whole new world with so many church closures," she said. "People are not asking for anything beyond what they have a right to."

The Rev. James P. Lang, who oversees the reconfiguration process, said the bishop and his staff followed church protocol.

"The code of canon law allows a bishop to reorganize a diocese with approval of the Presbyteral Council," he said, noting the decisions included input from parish representatives.

Lang said people have a right to question the process, but do not have the same rights under church law as they might under civil law.

"We're talking about the vitality of the future of the church," he said. "No one is picking on Jamesville ."

The St. Mary group received a June 1 letter from the papal nuncio, the Vatican representative to the United States, that said their materials have been forwarded to the Vatican.

Lang said that's the only formal notice of appeal the diocese has received.

Nineteen people at St. Mary signed the letter, which claims, among other things, that closure denies parishioners "the center of their faith life and their place of worship in Jamesville ."

In October, the church became a mission of Holy Cross Church in DeWitt. A mission is a community under the administration of another parish.

Monsignor Robert Yeazel, pastor of St. Mary and Holy Cross, said he sympathizes with the grieving over closing a church.

But he said the majority of St. Mary parishioners - which he puts at about 150 families - are resigned to the change, and many have registered at Holy Cross, which built a new church last year.

"They mean well and they want to save a church in the center of their town, but when you take the scope of the whole diocese, you can't keep them all open," he said.

He and Lang said the last Mass at St. Mary will be celebrated at 5:15 p.m. Saturday.

Of the three groups that confirmed they are in the appeal process, St. Mary's has progressed the furthest. Representatives from St. Andrew and St. Stephen said they have sent letters to the bishop and the Vatican representative.

Debbie Grenier, of Pompey, has belonged to St. Stephen since meeting her husband at a Latin Mass there in 1984. Her seven children, whom she homeschools, were baptized there.

"We think we should stay open," she said.

Although Moynihan has said the Latin Mass will continue to be celebrated at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, less than mile away, she fears it will be phased out.

She knows odds are against them, but she's praying an appeal will save St. Stephen.

"Hopefully, we'll win," Grenier said. "We're holding out for a miracle."

Renee K. Gadoua can be reached at rgadoua@syracuse.com or 470-2203.

Three churches appealing

Bishop James Moynihan announced April 28 that:

St. Mary, 6437 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville , will close Saturday.

St. Stephen, 305 N. Geddes St., Syracuse, will close Aug. 16.

St. Andrew, 124 Alden St., Syracuse, is merging with St. Lucy, 432 Gifford St., Syracuse. Those congregations have 12 months to submit a plan to the bishop for which of the two will remain open.