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CHURCHES RALLY: Plea to Rome Asks Apostolic Visit, Focus on Bishop Cistone

Charges of Financial Mishandling Flying as Church, School Closings Stir Pot

April 11, 2014       1 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

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Consultant Peter Borre speaks to Catholics from United Parishes at the country club Monday night.
 

As the clock is ticking toward closure or consolidation of 53 of 109 parishes in the Saginaw Diocese in July, some parishioners are fighting back.

More than 1,000 Catholics from 13 imperiled churches in 11 counties of the Saginaw Diocese have signed petitions seeking a visit by a representative of Pope Francis that specifically requests review of the management practices of Bishop Joseph Cistone.

Peter Borre, of Boston, a consultant on church appeals to the Vatican, who prepared the plea, spoke to a group organized by the United Parishes organization last Monday at the Bay City Country Club.

Among the attendees was a small, vocal group from St. Joseph Parish, Bay City, the oldest Catholic parish in the diocese, founded in 1850. St. Joseph faithful have for the past 25 years kept continuous round-the-clock vigil in an adoration chapel at the church.

Borre told the group the plea from the Saginaw Diocese has been acknowledged by the Papal Nuncio in the United States and it has been delivered to Rome and reviewed by a high official of the Congregation of Bishops.

Pope Francis is the second or third oldest Pope to be elected and he is dealing with a bureaucracy out of control, said Borre, stating: "Pope Benedict resigned his papacy because he could no longer control the machine and the exposure of sex abuse and financial scandals by the media made it hard for him to continue. The new Pope has referred to the church as a 'house of cards' and the question is will he be able to work fast enough to reach the parishes and the dioceses in trouble?"

A new series of complaints have been launched regarding the closing of schools.

A report issued by United Parishes states: "Someone representing Catholic schools mentioned that the $250,000 a year payment to St. Stephens School, their share of the proceeds from the 'Little Books' which were created by Bishop Untener and are now sold around the world were halted with Bishop Cistone's arrival. Others mentioned millions that were transferred from the schools to the 'general fund' of the Diocese a few years back. Money which seems to have vanished, but may have been useful given the recent announcements of Saginaw and Bay Catholic Schools closing."

A new issue raised is the contention that not all Catholics in the diocese have been assigned to one of the newly-drawn parishes, the report continued, commenting: "If that is the case, and there seems to be some of this happening in Saginaw at the present time, an additional plea for 'injury to the people' could be added in hopes of prompting quick action (before the July 2014 anticipated closure of many of our churches.) This would indicate 'dereliction of duty in the care of the souls,' in other words a major screw up by the Bishop.

"Fallout from Philadelphia where our Bishop worked prior to coming to Saginaw may be closing in on him. According to Borre, the Bishop is accumulating many 'frequent flyer miles' as he travels to and from Philadelphia dealing with a civil law suit in which he is named."

A trial in that case is expected to start in early summer. "Back in Philadelphia," the report states, "they have experienced huge change with churches and Catholic schools being closed and criminal and civil trials of priests and others who engaged in unsavory activities which were covered up for many years. It is estimated that to date Catholics have paid nearly $4 billion in settlements to victims of sexual abuse as well as legal fees defending the abusers. All of the actions being taken by the Bishop are 'about the money' which he needs to compensate victims, pay legal fees, etc.," according to Borre.

"The big question is are we the Catholics of the Saginaw Diocese paying for the Bishop to travel back and forth to Philadelphia to defend himself? The answer is probably, unless the Archdiocese of Philly is. The church is not required to disclose finances."

Borre, who has advocated on behalf of Catholics in 40 of the nation's 200 dioceses, said the tax exempt status of churches may be jeopardized by illegal activities by church personnel.

He summarized: "The eastern quarter of America contains about two-thirds of the country's Roman Catholics with emphasis on the East Coast, St. Louis and St. Paul, Minnesota. This is important because in the last 10 years 1,500 parishes have been closed in this same area.

"There is no logic for the leadership of the Catholic Church to close the parishes turning on the Catholics who support the Church. In other words, as in business it is cheaper to keep a customer you already have than try to get new customers -- especially if you've displaced the people and closed the parishes."

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"The BUZZ" - Read Feedback From Readers!

polishcrusader Says:       On June 13, 2014 at 10:47 AM
Hows does one contact the group that put the petition together. I'd like to know more and possible join up with that organization. Thanks.
Agree? or Disagree?


Dave Rogers

Dave Rogers is a former editorial writer for the Bay City Times and a widely read,
respected journalist/writer in and around Bay City.
(Contact Dave Via Email at carraroe@aol.com)

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