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May 25, 2004
Today's the day
That the Archdiocese of Boston announces parish closings. Go to Dom's place for links and discussion. He's got it all.
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I suppose it's a cheap shot, but I can't help remarking on this glorious witness to the vibrant spirit of the new evangelization that was the inestimable gift of the the Second Vatican Council -- some 70 churches in one of the most historically Catholic areas of the U.S. are closing as the Archdiocese tries to avoid bankruptcy paying damages for the crimes of its sexual predator priests.
'Gaudium et Spes' indeed.
Posted by: David Kubiak at May 25, 2004 5:35:06 PM
Yep, Dave, it's a cheap shot.
NOTHING in Gaudium et Spes, properly read and applied, gives aid to the sort of crime and mismangement that went on in Boston or elsewhere.
Posted by: David at May 25, 2004 6:09:16 PM
Sorry for the italics ad infinitum and for misspelling "mismanagement".
Posted by: David at May 25, 2004 6:10:02 PM
This is a tragic event. Was it Louis XVI who neither forgot anything nor learned anything? I hope that is not the case in Boston. I fear that it is. The Archdiocese of Boston sold $45M worth of property in 2003. I do not know the numbers for this year, other than the $108M sale of Chancery and Seminary grounds to Boston College ostensibly to pay the settlements. We can expect various properties owned by the suppressed parishes to be sold promptly, and one hopes for the fair market value. But why? Secretary of State Bill Galvin, a devout man, pro-faith, pro-life, pro-family, and a fellow-parishioner, has called this a "going out of business sale". Credibility on the part of the leadership was never recovered after the scandal, and the manner in which the "reconfiguration" was conducted has ensured that credibility will not be recovered in my lifetime. If our leaders do not understand this, then we are in for a long lent, indeed.
Posted by: Henry C. Luthin at May 25, 2004 8:36:30 PM
This is a tragic event. Was it Louis XVI who neither forgot anything nor learned anything? I hope that is not the case in Boston. I fear that it is. The Archdiocese of Boston sold $45M worth of property in 2003. I do not know the numbers for this year, other than the $108M sale of Chancery and Seminary grounds to Boston College ostensibly to pay the settlements. We can expect various properties owned by the suppressed parishes to be sold promptly, and one hopes for the fair market value. But why? Secretary of State Bill Galvin, a devout man, pro-faith, pro-life, pro-family, and a fellow-parishioner, has called this a "going out of business sale". Credibility on the part of the leadership was never recovered after the scandal, and the manner in which the "reconfiguration" was conducted has ensured that credibility will not be recovered in my lifetime. If our leaders do not understand this, then we are in for a long lent, indeed.
Posted by: Henry C. Luthin at May 25, 2004 8:36:52 PM
Henry, how should reconfiguration have been conducted? Clusters of 4 or so parishes were called upon to decide which of them should close, if needed, and to submit that decision to the Archdiocese. Some clusters couldn't or wouldn't decide.
A lot of churches are nearly empty on Sundays - w/no baptisms at all. People put nothing or $1.00 into the collection basket! How much does it cost to keep these building open, heated, in a reasonable state of repair???
Catholics in the Boston area need to grow up and stop looking to the hierarchy as parents who are supposed to do everything for us. We have to bear withness to Christ too! We have to bring our neighbors and friends back to church!
All this carping about the wealth of the Archdiocese is sickening. I happen to know that Bishop Sean O' Malley lives in a small apartment in mice-infested building next to Holy Cross Cathedral. My cousin teaches at the school as has been in the buildig and can't believe ANYONE can live in it. Mice are everywhere.
Cardinal Law is gone. It is time to get on with the work of renewal. The first thing to do is to stop crying about all the changes.
Posted by: Anastasia at May 26, 2004 7:13:34 AM
Anastasia,
I can understand the sadness that Henry feels. I believe his parish is Our Lady of Presentation in Brighton (that's Secretary of State Galvin's church). It is a pretty little church in the English Gothic style--nicely restored about five years ago. It is a hundred times more attractive than some of the white boxes built twenty years ago in the suburbs, which are staying open. It is also the church where I was baptized and both my grandparents and parents were married. My grandparents gave money to complete the construction of the church back in the twenties. Now the church will be demolished and the land sold for condos, and all the work, hopes and prayers of my grandparents' generation will be reduced to nothing.
It is hard to believe that if the Archdicocese had not been forced to pay out over $100 million in settlements that it would have found a way to keep these churches open.
Posted by: John P Sheridan at May 26, 2004 10:50:31 AM
Mr. Sheridan,
I do understand that there is profound sorrow over the closing of parishes and I regret if my post seemed to trivialize that pain.
However, it is important to recognize that the hopes and prayers of our grandparents would NOT have "come to nothing" if their grandchildren were as devout, and as generous and committed to their Church as they were. The churches would not need to be destroyed if they were filled; if people gave as much money to the collection basket as they do to the lottery every week.
Our challenges are different than our grandparents, but we have to work as hard as they did to build our new church!! We can't wring our hands and feel despondent. We can't let the criminally stupid and prideful actions of a few take away the Catholic faith from us or OUR grandchildren's lives. We all need each other right now!
Posted by: Anastasia at May 26, 2004 3:44:32 PM
Anastasia,
Thank you for your question. You yourself answer it, in part. Clusters of three, four or more parishes were asked to choose one or two to be closed. This choice was to be made in a two month period. Rather than taking a two or three year period to integrate parish communities into one another, allowing a new parish culture to develop, the Archdiocese arbitrarily decided on a "scorpions in the bottle" approach.
Why did the decision have to be made so quickly? My assumption is that many parishes are in tremendous debt, whether to the Archdiocese or to third parties and the Archdiocese has to raise ready cash quickly. Only an assumption. It would help if the leadership leveled with the laity, but that is not the practice here.
You write that "Catholics in the Boston area need to grow up and stop looking to the hierarchy as parents who do everything for us." Very true. I wonder whether something I wrote provoked this. Not my intent, quite the opposite. Archbishop O'Malley is a hero of the faith, and it strikes me that he is mistaken on the reconfiguration issue. The wealth generated is certainly not for him, rather for the Church. Why the Church needs such ready cash at this time is a mystery.
A final note. Presentation Grammar School is to be closed at the end of this school year. I can only imagine the agony of parents trying to place their children for September after finding out about the closing yesterday. No, there is not a guaranteed seat for every child, regardless of what the line from the Chancery is.
I agree, Anastasia, that reconfiguration is needed, but the process used was clumsy and oafish.
Posted by: Henry C. Luthin at May 26, 2004 6:02:10 PM
Henry
The urgency has come in no small part because of two fiscal items that have not been touched on here:
1. The ongoing dramatic inflation in health insurance benefits for diocesan employees.
2. The revival of inflation in the price of oil, which is used to heat so many property plants in New England (and many of our churches are big, old and energy inefficient).
These two factors have dramatically increased the overhead/operation costs for the Archdiocese, and waiting two or three years would only make things much worse. If anything, this process was begun late in the day.
Btw, this same process is afflicting municipal governments. It just that the Scandal means the Archdiocese can no longer expect to see a resurgence of revenue as the economy picks up locally.
Frankly, I am surprised more churches were not closed. There are still plenty of churches around here that will be fairly empty most of the time.
Posted by: Liam at May 26, 2004 8:13:36 PM
Liam,
I agree that the health insurance issue is key, and one that many parishes never addressed. The rise in the price of oil I am more sceptical of as a reason for the rapid closures. My point is that the Archdiocese has not addressed these issues. And I suspect that parish debt is an even bigger issue. But the Archbishop and his Assistant Bishops and his Chancellor have to candidly explain their actions to the laity. Otherwise we continue to speculate, as you and I are doing now.
Posted by: Henry C. Luthin at May 27, 2004 5:39:12 PM
