CLEVELAND (OH)
National Catholic Reporter
Mar. 12, 2012
Brian Roewe
Joyful in their victory, parishioners of 13 Cleveland parishes who successfully appealed to the Vatican a diocesan decision to disband their communities and shutter their church doors now await the response of their bishop, the Most Rev. Richard G. Lennon.
As they wait, it’s unclear what sticking power Rome’s decision to reopen their parishes will have. Those close to the parishes view the decrees from the Vatican’s Congregation of the Clergy as a landmark decision, while others see it as a still murky scene where a possible appeal by Lennon could succeed.
“This decision was made on procedural, not substantive or pastoral, grounds,” said Jesuit Fr. Tom Reese, a senior fellow at Georgetown University’s Woodstock Theological Center, adding that if Lennon redoes the process under proper procedure, the closings will likely stand.
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