It was announced at Mass yesterday that Bishop Clark had accepted the reccomendations of the Presbyteral Council that the parishes of Our Lady of the Angels, Our Lady of the Americas, and Light of Christ be consolidated into a single parish. Cleansing Fire previously reported on this situation here. Furthermore, His Excellency has decided to name the parish, “Roman Catholic Parish of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini.” His decree can be seen below:
Canon 515 states:
§1. A parish is a definite community of the Christian faithful established on a stable basis within a particular Church; the pastoral care of the parish is entrusted to a pastor as its own shepherd under the authority of the diocesan bishop.
§2. The diocesan bishop alone is competent to erect, suppress or alter parishes; he is not to erect, suppress or notably alter them without hearing the presbyteral council.
§3. A legitimately erected parish has juridic personality by the law itself.
Once again, folks, clustering and consolidating has been proven to fail time and time again. Cluster administrator Deb Housel stated, “this is happening due to a lack of clergy.” Perhaps the knowledge that, as priests, they could be working under a laywoman is deterring young men from seeking a vocation locally. Perhaps it is the Bishop’s consistent preference of the laity over the ordained, or his conspicuous absence from such events as vocations rosaries in favor of “dialogue.” Perhaps, instead, they fear being persecuted for humbly serving Holy Mother Church. Perhaps they do not think the Liturgy is a plaything. Or, perhaps many of the young men who were called to the priesthood have left the Church when their parish was closed.
This is Bishop Clark’s legacy–closed parishes, lost souls, and destruction. Mother Cabrini, pray for us.
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So, who from here will officially request emend or revocation?
What a waste of precious bits.
Lack of clergy? I thought it was because these churches combined are 1 million in debt.
Expect the closing masses to start soon.
RE: Dr. K
You need to solidify your arguments on paper and in an official way. It’s great to write about what an atrocity it is to close these parishes, et cetera ad nauseum, but it would be very helpful to the cause if it was on paper in a concise and cogent manner, to be distributed far and wide.
Once that is done, then you can complain that your grievances were not answered. And I am aware that in the past no one but the masses listen, but that doesn’t mean you completely ditch official channels.
The people of St. Thomas have been going through the official channels.
Re: Dr. K
I believe it.
Lack of priests? Peace of Christ has 3 priests and only needs two. St. Charles Borromeo has two and only needs one;there’s two available priests right there. There will be a glut of unassigned priests come next year because of the consolidation (aka destruction) process. There will be more priests available than openings!
I was informed last Wednesday that the Bishop had accepted the proposal to close St. Andrew’s Church. I also learned that two of our staff members who had served the parish faithfully for years,(Amy Dorscheid-Youth Minister and Theresa Gelo-secretary, then business manager), were simply told their services were not needed anymore at the Tuesday staff meeting at St. Michael’s Church, on the Feast of St. Andrew.Yet no mention of either one of them was made at the 9:30 A.M. Sunday mass when Deb Housel was present as well as Fr. Paul Gitau.I also was told last Wednesday, that Deacon Dan Hurley,pastoral administrator of Our Lady of the Angels Church -St. Michael’s,was being removed from St. Michael’s Church. Deacon Dan Hurley came to St. Andrew’s Church on occasion, at various masses. He was very engaging with parishioners and very supportive of our efforts. The people at St. Andrew’s Church came to know and like him. No mention of him leaving the Northeast Cluster was mentioned either. It was if these people didn’t matter or had never existed.It was if the Diocese and their appointed administrator acted like a large Corporation who didn’t need or want certain employees or positions anymore and simply had people pack up their office walked out to the parking lot.Very cold and very disrepectful of staff and parishioners.The Diocese has gone too far with their business approach.
Christian1954 – Sorry to hear about the situation. The diocese doesn’t even have a good “business approach”. If they did, the model that they would use is Our Lady of Victory. There is a church that “works”. Not only is the diocese bad pastorally; but in other areas too, such as handling personnel issues, finances, etc. At least in the business world, they have what’s called “piercing the corporate veil”. It is very rarely used; but it can be. Our diocese is in absolute shambles. Pray for the bishop and all involved.
All of the parishioners of Saint Andrew’s are welcome to attend the Tridentine Mass at St. Stanislaus on Hudson Ave., just around the corner from St. Andrew’s. Monsignor Eckl must be “spinning” in his grave.
Christian1954–do you have any more info about Deacon Hurley?
Wow, Christian1954. It looks like the diocese is going to blow up the staff in N.E. Rochester and start over. No Deacon Hurley (per your report) and no Fr. Mayer (definitely is not going to be a part of this new parish). That’s two of the three leaders gone. Fr. Panepinto, from what I have heard, has moved and is living in Brighton. Why he doesn’t live in a rectory, I do not know, but his moving could signal that all three leaders may depart. It’s far less likely that Fr. Panepinto will not be a part of this parish, since this is a predominantly Hispanic area, and he is one of our few bi-lingual priests in the diocese.
It is anticipated that this cluster will be served by two bilingual priests. So, who are the likely candidates for priest #2 if Fr. Paneptino stays?
Christian1954, has there been any word on what kind of leadership structure there will be in the parish? Is it going to be lay-led, or have a pastor + parochial vicar?
One more item on Fr. Panepinto – He is not a young priest, and will reach retirement age in a few years. This could contribute to him not being named pastor.
Again,is the supposed canonical requirement that the church building of the oldest merging parish be,without being renamed,the “head” of the merged parish being followed?
Louis–
If you wish to take this up with the Bishop, instructions are given in the decree. Let us know how you fare!
Dear Dr. K,
I have no news to share at this time regarding how the leadership structure will be handled in the new parish of St. Francis Xavier Cabrini.Parishioners in general, do not think there is true leadership now at Light of Christ since the departure of Fr. Michael Mayer. True leadership is someone who is there consistently and directs the everyday workings of the parish from a spiritual perspective, invested in the parish and the people they serve.
I just want to state that St. Andrew Church will remain open for a considerable amount of time while attempts are being made to make Annunciation handicapped accessible, up to building code, and up to fire code. How they will ever be able to accomplish that, I do not know.