Protesting parishioners agree to leave St. John the Baptist Church in Akron
AKRON, Ohio — For the first time since the Cleveland Catholic Diocese began closing churches this year as part of a major restructuring, parishioners and protesters tried Saturday to prevent one from being shuttered.
A small group of people — many from other parishes slated for closing — gathered after the final Mass at St. John the Baptist Church on Saturday and announced they were holding a vigil.
Barbara Piurkowsky, a member of the parish, said the decision to merge St. John with another Akron church was shortsighted and illogical.
About a dozen people sat for nearly two hours before a cadre of Akron police officers told them they would be arrested if they stayed. The group complied. The diocese, after getting wind of the vigil plans, got a temporary restraining order signed by a Summit County magistrate ordering that the church be vacated.
In March, Bishop Richard Lennon unveiled a plan to downsize the eight-county diocese by 50 parishes. So far, about a dozen parishes have closed or merged with others. In his final words to the St. John congregation, Lennon said, “You are greater than any temple, church or cathedral that can be built by human hands.”
Some in the protest group — including Nancy McGrath of Endangered Catholics, a local coalition fighting the closing of churches — said they would find another way to further the fight.
Before they were escorted out, Lennon approached the group sitting in pews and asked them to “kindly leave the church.”
That request instigated a heated exchange as the protesters accused Lennon of trading “souls for cash” and of not including parishioners in the consolidation decision.
“We have the responsibility to the many people who never were heard,” McGrath said.
“The people are the church, and we’re taking the church back.”
Lennon shot back that the group did not represent the people of the church. Hundreds attended the final Mass, but only a few stayed to support the vigil.
“You have claimed this on your own,” he said.
Lennon, who was a bishop in the Boston archdiocese before coming to Cleveland, began closing Boston churches in the summer of 2004. Currently, six churches in Massachusetts are under occupation by parishioners. Five are in Boston and one in Springfield.
Attempts to occupy a church in New York and two churches in New Orleans were quashed as parishioners were arrested and removed from the sanctuaries.
Lennon made it clear in his conversation with the protesters that the situation in Boston would not be repeated.
St. John the Baptist is set to merge with Annunciation a few miles away and form a new parish next week called Visitation of Mary. The etched bronze front doors, made by a parish member, and the communion chalice, used for more than 100 years, will follow the church to the new location.
Monica Fanady was born two blocks away from St. John and attended for 75 years. She was baptized and married in the church, and her children attended the now-closed school.
Fanady, who came early to hang bows on the pews of the 102-year-old church, said that the closing was bittersweet but that she thought the protest was uncalled for.
“We could see that we were slowly slipping away,” she said. “There were more funerals than baptisms.”
She said many of the faithful had migrated away, leaving only 250 families, though the church was financially sound. “It was not about how much money we have. That means nothing without people.”
–Rachel Dissell, The Plain Dealer
The Cleveland Catholic Diocese is currently experiencing what many people see as a crisis. Due to a shortage of both funds and parishioners, many Catholic parishes are being forced to combine or close. This has raised concerns about what will become of the beautiful architecture and valuable artwork that adorns many of the closing churches. In addition, many churchgoers feel sentimental about their parishes and are unwilling to move to a new church. However, Catholics often forget that the beautiful buildings that we must now say goodbye to be only bonuses, and that the Church is about more than the temples it builds.
Beautiful temples are important to almost every major religion. They help set the mood for worship and express the devotion of the congregation. However, it wasn’t always that way. Look at just about any religion, and you will find a time when they were persecuted. The Jews were enslaved in Egypt. Mohammed, the founder of Islam, was driven from his home because of his beliefs. Jesus of Nazareth and many of his early followers were murdered by the Romans. During these troubled times, believers did not dare to build anything more elaborate than a simple chapel or a secret room to worship in. And yet today these are three of the largest religious groups ever. How is this possible? Because the true believers realized that a basement, a tent, or even a stretch of open ground was all they needed to worship. As long as there were believers, there was a church. If modern Catholics could remember the struggles that their forefathers went through, maybe they wouldn’t be so concerned about the fate of the closing churches.
Losing the beautiful artwork in Cleveland’s churches would indeed be tragic, but it would not be the end of the Church. Temples can be rebuilt, and new works of art are made every day. But people can’t be recreated. The solidarity of Catholics around the world is more important than buildings that will eventually crumble anyway.
–Kevin Jones
November 5th, 2009 at 11:14 pm
I agree with you in a strict sense: that is, I agree that “the Church” is more than a building or a set of tax-sheltered assets. However, although I am not Catholic, the crux of the issue seems to be that parishes are, in fact, more than churches: they are centers of community and identity. They are schools and arts programs. They are places of fellowship and communion (not just in the eucharistic sense). These places evoke a sense of belonging that cannot be rebuit or recreated so quickly. It is this belonging that people are torn by: how can we ask people to uproot their identity is such an abrupt fashion? Is the issue here the continuation of the theology of Catholisism or do the purposes of parishes extend beyond the mass? I’m not saying Catholics ought to cling to artwork or buildings for the sake of them themselves, but I do think that those closing parishes are more than red brick and stained glass: they are symbols of where people came from and who they are. That is something that ought to be cherished and fought for.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Good article, Kevin. However, I agree with Nate’s points, in addition to one other aspect. Many people have become accustomed to their parish (e.i. the setting, their pastor, their fellow parishioners, etc.), and, for better or for worse, I bet that many worshippers feel that they are in a “zone” (for lack of a better word) praying-wise when they are in their church. Although, ideally, people should be able to worship well in any setting, many people feel that they are at their optimum worhsipping ability (again, lack of a better phrase) when they are at their church. I think that many people are reluctant to close down their churches not for the physical aspect that their church provided, but rather the psychological aspect.
November 10th, 2009 at 3:49 pm
Rage is not the way to respond. Many parishioners at closing local churches are up in arms against Bishop Lennon. Many have staged nasty protests and even aggressively lashed out against the present diocesan administration. Granted, many clergy members and Sunday regulars have been justifiably unhappy with the Bishop. Many are disapproving of his outside manner. His actions are visibly adverse with what Cleveland Catholics have grown familiar. However, this does not mean that the vehement anger many disgruntled Catholics are feeling needs to be so publicly expressed.
The root of the argument is rarely talked about. Nate brings up a good point: people’s dismay comes from seeing Parochial schools closing, losing the services provided by their church, and having to vacate a beloved worship space. However, the reason for these failures comes from a lack of greater interest in the organized faith. Church attendance is down–especially in Cleveland’s more urban areas where the corporal-need programs are most required. Incoming capital presently coming into the diocese is strained. In turn, officials have had to make measures to balance its budget and offset fiscal constraints. A nasty one of these measures is church closings.
Many blame Bishop Lennon for not doing more to avoid church consolidation and closing. However, we must remember that these changes are not unexpected. After Bishop Pilla left the office of Cleveland Bishop, Richard Lennon was brought in from Boston’s Catholic diocese. He was known to be mindful of the budget and sorely, fiscally concerned. Drastic measures were sure to be taken, for an obviously struggling Cleveland diocese.
Rather than be enraged and militant against losing our worshiping spaces, let us be mindful and considerate. Recognize that if a solution or a compromise is to be made, it must be done via positive action. Productive negotiation must be done in a Christian way. Let us embrace our sacrifice, and let us remember our brothers who are less fortunate. Accordingly, let us work towards better conditions for those who are in need of it. We must find a way to part with our beloved worship space, but continue the positive affects these temples provided for each community.