St. Lawrence Parishioners Form Committee to Bring Back Ousted Priest

By Matt Camara
The Southcoast Today
November 20, 2013

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131120/NEWS/311200339/-1/NEWS24

NEW BEDFORD — About a dozen parishioners have formed a committee to reinstate the Rev. Marek Chmurski as the pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr Church and the parish remains divided over Bishop George W. Coleman's decision to remove him.

"We strongly believe that there was no consensus by the congregation on the issues raised against Father Chmurski. We believe that documentations presented were not objectively written," the group called Parishioners Seeking Justice for Father Chmurski wrote in a letter to The Standard-Times.

The group objects to an attempt by other parishioners who last year wrote the bishop concerned about Chmurski's ministry.

The Fall River Diocese conducted a year-long inquiry into Chmurski's ministry of St. Lawrence — New Bedford's oldest parish — and removed him in a Sept. 30 decree. The decree came after the bishop had asked for Chmurski's resignation the previous June.

Chmurski refused to leave and has appealed Coleman's decision to the Vatican. The appeal remains pending, diocese spokesman John Kearns confirmed Tuesday.

Kearns said the diocese gave Chmurski several opportunities to explain himself and the events leading to his removal were "not matters of opinion."

The bishop has temporarily reassigned Chmurski as an assistant at Holy Trinity Church in West Harwich until the diocese can find him a permanent position, although not as a pastor.

Chmurski did not return three calls for comment Tuesday.

Suzanne Saulniers, the committee's spokeswoman, said Chmurski's removal has hurt parish revitalization efforts.

Chmurski — assigned to St. Lawrence in 2009 — had planned to build a Mother Teresa center in the old Holy Name High School and had said he wanted to repair the church's historic belltower.

The committee plans to "lay low" while Chmurski's appeal is settled, Saulniers said. Members also will look for ways to bring their concerns to higher church authorities should the appeal fail, she said.

The committee wrote in its letter that its members agreed that Coleman's decision followed church law, but also wrote that they believe parishioners should have been consulted.

"(We) truly believe that it is impossible to have a fair hearing ... When accusations against a parish priest are made by few persons and without inclusion of parishioners who can provide new information," according to the letter.

"The intent of this canon law is precisely to prevent situations like this removal of Father Chmurski when a small group presents its views as those of the entire congregation," the committee further wrote.

Kearns dismissed those accusations and said the committee was "making things worse" for Chmurski by drawing attention to his reassignment.

"The issues here were across the board of pastoral administration," Kearns said. "It's not a matter of judgement ... (Chmurski) showed poor judgment and defied the bishop."

Kearns declined to make public the letters that triggered Coleman's investigation.

The diocese initially provided little information about the reasons leading to Chmurski's removal, but internal church documents obtained from a parish source show Coleman had many concerns about Chmurski's ministry. Those include that the pastor allowed unknown laymen to wear clerical garments, hired contractors without diocesan permission and was not properly preparing for Mass.

"I think some mistakes were made on his part," said Rob Bombard, the only parishioner who spoke out of 14 approached by a reporter on a recent Sunday. "I think a few 'mea culpas' are in order, but it's time to forgive and move on."

Contact: mcamara@s-t.com