HOW TO FIGHT THE VATICAN - YOU STILL WON'T WIN, EXPERTS TELL DISSENTERS IN JAMESVILLE
Post-Standard, The (Syracuse, NY) - Monday, March 10, 2008
Author: Renee K. Gadoua Staff writer

Three groups of local Catholics hope to convince the Vatican to reverse the Syracuse Diocese's decision to close or merge their parishes.

Their chances of winning are almost none.

The St . Joseph Foundation, based in San Antonio, has provided canon lawyers, who are experts in church law, to assist with 121 parish closure appeals in the United States since 1988.

"None have been successful, sorry to say," said Charles Wilson, the foundation's executive director.

The prospects of success seem even less likely in light of two recent rulings from the Vatican.

The highest court of the Roman Catholic Church, the Apostolic Signatura, late last month rejected an appeal asking that the closure of St . Jeanne d'Arc Church in Lowell, Mass., be reversed.

The Vatican court last month also upheld a decision by the Buffalo Diocese to close St . Adalbert Church. That parish is merging with another in the city of Buffalo.

"That's no surprise," said Jim Reilly, of Manlius, who remains hopeful the Vatican will reopen his church, St . Stephen in Syracuse.

Also filing appeals with the Vatican are a group from St . Mary in Jamesville , which closed July 1, and St . Andrew and St . Lucy in Syracuse, which merged last year and must present to Syracuse Bishop James Moynihan this month a recommendation on which building should close.

The Syracuse Diocese last year announced a major restructuring that will eventually lead to the closing of 40 parishes in its jurisdiction.

Reilly said the Apostolic Signatura indicated it would rule on the St . Stephen case by next month.

St . Stephen, on North Geddes Street, held its final Mass Aug. 16. Reilly and at least 40 others oppose the closure because St . Stephen had long hosted the only traditional Latin Mass in Syracuse. The Latin Mass, and records and other ministries of St . Stephen, have been moved to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on Park Avenue.

Colleen LaTray, who opposes the closure of St . Mary in Jamesville , greeted the news of two recent Vatican rejections of appeals with caution.

"In church law each case stands alone and is decided on its own," she said. "It would be unwise to compare appeals."

As the St . Mary group awaits word on its appeal, it continues to hold Sunday prayer services outside the church.

Opponents of the closure had been occupying the church 24 hours a day starting June 28, days before the final Mass was celebrated there.

On Jan. 30, diocesan officials, accompanied by members of the Onondaga County Sheriff's Office, asked the one person inside the church at that time to leave. Opponents have been warned not to trespass on church property.

The group plans to hold Holy Week and Easter services outside St . Mary .

Neil Driscoll, president of the St . Andrew parish council, is part of a group that hopes to keep both St . Andrew and St . Lucy open. The parishes serve diverse communities - St . Andrew is in the Outer Comstock neighborhood and St . Lucy is on the Near West Side - and they provide needed ministries, he said.

Although the diocese has not made a decision on which church to close, the group has sent to the Vatican paperwork appealing the merger.

Driscoll said opponents to the merger are discussing their potential reactions to a decision to close one of the churches. Those include holding vigil, as people did at St . Mary , and trying to buy the closed church.

"It's like a divorce proceeding," he said. "Hopefully we'll be able to work this out peacefully."

Driscoll remains hopeful, but he said the group knows it's unlikely the Vatican will side with it.

"We knew going in it was an uphill battle," he said. "From the consensus of the community it was an overwhelming sentiment to try every option possible despite the odds."

Sister Christine Schenk, executive director of FutureChurch, an organization that supports the role of the laity, said she knows of 18 Vatican appeals about closures in the country, including the three local cases.

Even if they're unsuccessful, the actions show that laity are exercising their rights provided by changes outlined when the Roman Catholic Church revised its canon law in 1983.

"Canon law seems to favor keeping parishes open," she said. "Ideally a parish should have no activity for 100 years before it is closed."

A major factor in the closures announced by the Syracuse Diocese is that the diocese does not have enough priests to minister in all of its parishes.

Sister Schenk said canon law says that's the wrong reason to close churches.

"We're not saying that parishes on their last legs should appeal at any cost," she said. "Our concern is with parishes where the only energy driving this is the priest shortage."

While Sister Schenk agrees with other experts who say it's rare for Rome to overturn the decisions of local bishops, she says it's important for some groups to appeal.

"There is a principle at stake," she said. "This is a struggle for Catholic laity having voice."

Diocesan officials have acknowledged that groups are justified under canon law to pursue appeals to the Vatican. They also say they have followed church law in making decisions about mergers and closures.

Mike Dunnigan, a canon and civil lawyer who works with the Joseph Foundation, is sympathetic to the frustration, anger and sadness that accompany a church closure.

He said he knows of some cases in which an appeal to the bishop led to a compromise, such as keeping two churches open with one priest ministering to both.

"You can understand both sides," he said. "The bishop may need as many parishes, but not in the place where they were built. But to the parishioners, this is their tradition. They're going to Mass and seeing a pulpit or an altar rail their grandparents donated."

Experts point to only one case in which the Vatican overturned a closure. In 1992, the Vatican ruled that procedural errors had taken place when the Chicago Archdiocese closed a parish in 1990.

The bishop had not consulted with the diocese's council of bishops before the closing, the Vatican found. After the bishop did consult with the council of bishops, the church was closed again.

Given the poor track record of success, why bother with appeals?

"It gives the people some glimmer of hope," said Wilson, the St . Joseph Foundation director. "If they don't appeal, it's over."

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

Three appeals

These are the three Syracuse Diocese decisions that have been appealed to the Vatican:

The closing of St . Mary , 6437 E. Seneca Turnpike, Jamesville , on July 1.

The closing of St . Stephen, 305 N. Geddes St ., Syracuse, on Aug. 16.

The merger of St . Andrew, 124 Alden St ., Syracuse, and St . Lucy, 432 Gifford St ., Syracuse. Those congregations have until next month to recommend to the bishop which of the two will remain open.