Parishioners Urge Bishop Richard Lennon to Quickly Reopen Closed Catholic Churches in Greater Cleveland

By Pat Galbincea
Plain Dealer
March 16, 2012

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/03/parishioners_urge_bishop_richa.html

Five-year-old Sophia Simon holds an altered "Save St. James" sign during a news conference Thursday. Such signs, in their original version, stood in yards, windows and other spots around Lakewood and nearby areas for more than a year.

A day after Bishop Richard Lennon officially received orders from Rome to reopen 13 area Catholic churches, members from a trio of the closed parishes urged him Thursday night to comply with the Vatican decree.

Representatives from St. Patrick Church in Cleveland's West Park neighborhood, St. James Church in Lakewood and St. Casimir Church in Cleveland each read their letters to the bishop of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese during a news conference at Brennan's Party Center in Cleveland.

About 100 people politely clapped as high points from each of the letters, which were basically worded the same, were read.

The three parishes urged Bishop Lennon to:

-- Restore all property and use of all assets to the churches.

-- Name new pastors.

-- Restore the pastoral council with all its functions.

-- Reopen the churches for ordinary worship.

-- Restore the churches to the positions they had before March 2009, when they were closed.

Lennon closed 50 parishes in the eight-county diocese between 2009 and 2010, citing a shortage of cash, parishioners and priests. Thirteen churches appealed the closings to the Vatican with the aid of Boston activist Pete Borre, who worked with canon lawyers in Rome.

The bishop has 60 days to appeal the reversals to the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's supreme court.

St. Patrick spokeswoman Patricia Schulte-Singleton said she spoke with Borre on Thursday. He told her that if the bishop appeals the Vatican's decision, he must do so individually for each of the 13 churches, plus get a certified advocate in Rome -- of which there are only 12.

"They don't come cheap," she said. "It will be another costly expense to the Cleveland diocese."

Schulte-Singleton said she wasn't sure how Lennon would react to the parish letters, which were mailed Wednesday.

"From my interactions with him through meetings, and what he's done in the past, it's hard to say if he truly received the message," she said. "And I don't mean the official message from Rome."

St. Casimir spokeswoman Antoinette Girod was more optimistic. She said she hoped the bishop would follow the Vatican decree without appealing.

"We expect him to comply," she said.

St. James spokeswoman Christine La Salvia echoed Girod's optimistic view.

Bob Tayek, a spokesman for the diocese contacted after the news conference, said Lennon was out of the office much of the day and likely did not see the parish letters.

"He has seen the Vatican letters and they are under careful study with his advisers. . . . that's all I can say for now," Tayek said.

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: pgalbincea@plaind.com or 216-999-5159