St. Matthew Parish in Zilwaukee CHURCH STAYS OPEN: Appeal to Vatican Stops Merger in Zilwaukee, Carrollton
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Action by parishioners of St. Matthew Parish in Zilwaukee may have bought them several more years of full operation of the church.
But the rare formal protest to the Vatican puts the parishioners at odds with the Bishop of the Saginaw Diocese, Joseph Cistone.
Rumblings of discontent from members of other parishes unhappy with the proposed mergers and consolidations have not risen to the same public level as at St. Matthew.
Some devout Catholics privately acknowledge the shortage of priests but feel the bishop and Diocesan officials could be doing more to energize the parishes or to appoint more women as pastoral administrators. Nuns are serving in that role in many area parishes, they note.
In an on-line newsletter, five dissenting parishioners are calling for others to join their effort to block Bishop Cistone's move to close the church. The group includes Cynthia L. Bourdow, Barbara E. Kelly, Virginia K. Marx, Noel E. Clark and Maryann Alfano.
The St. Matthew group has appealed to the Vatican the decision by the Diocese of Saginaw to close its church and merge with two parishes in nearby Carrollton. The merger, part of the diocese's controversial "Planning Tomorrow's Parishes" process, was slated to take effect Monday, July 1.
"While Sr. Chris Gretka will become administrator of the combined parish created by the merger of two Carrollton churches, with Fr. James Bessert as sacramental minister, the diocese will seek people to fill those roles at St. Matthew," stated the Catholic Weekly.
The St. Matthew parishioners reportedly hired an attorney to draft their appeal to the church hierarchy in Rome, Italy.
The group's appeal states: "We've been a 'pastor-less' parish wounded many years ago when our priest was removed for scandal and never properly cared for spiritually or other certain ways since then."
The group's hierarchical recourse is filed in the form of a "Remonstratio" against the bishop's decree of Jan. 18, 2013. The formal filing states: "We wish to take issue with many of the points noted in your decree, notably the following: "The statement that it is beneficial to develop unified sacramental, religious education and other programs, that unification has already previously been achieved by clustering, and is redundant;
"The clustering of our St. Matthew Parish with two other nearby parishes was not by our own Parish's choice, but the implementation of a mandate from the Diocese, which mandate would not have been deemed necessary for St. Matthew Parish had Diocese properly appointed another pastor after removing previous pastor for scandal in the first place nearly ten years ago;
"The cluster pastor failed to provide spiritually for the good of souls of our St. Matthew parishioners, and whereby the limited authority of our pastoral administrator precluded her from providing this spiritual deficiency to us herself, and that grave harm came to the souls of St. Matthew Parish from the cluster pastor's spiritual failure."
The St. Matthew group states in the appeal "it appears that clustering parishes is an administrative failure when applied long-term, and results in what can only be described as pure administrative chaos, misleading administrative presumptions and parochial wars, among other harmful things. We wish to note that the 'shortage of priests' is an administrative problem which requires an administrative solution."
The parishioners asserted "the vibrancy of parish life at St. Matthew has continued."
The parish population has increased because of the establishment in 1963 of Saginaw Valley State University, with enrollment of about 10,000, the appeal states. "This increase further substantiates our remaining as a separate parish, not merged nor suppressed nor boundaries altered."
As a result of the appeal, filed with the Congregation for the Clergy, the church will stay open and not merge with neighboring St. John the Baptist and St. Josaphat parishes in Carrollton.
Bishop Cistone announced the delay in a recent issue of The Catholic Weekly: "Beginning in July, St. Josaphat and St. John the Baptist parishes effectively will be linked parishes for the foreseeable future.
"Since St. Matthew Parish will continue as a separate parish, at least until the appeal is resolved, the parish will require administrative leadership and sacramental services."
He added: "In new letters of appointment, I have appointed Sr. Christine Gretka as pastoral administrator and Fr. James Bessert as sacramental minister of St. Josaphat Parish and St. John the Baptist Parish, effective July 1, 2013.
"Since St. Matthew Parish will continue as a separate parish, at least until the appeal is resolved, the parish will require administrative leadership and sacramental services. Considering the responsibilities held by Sr. Chris and Fr. Bessert in the Office of Liturgy, it is not reasonable to assign additional responsibilities to them for a third parish. In due time, therefore, I will appoint an administrator pro tem and sacramental minister for St. Matthew Parish in Zilwaukee.
"In light of the suspension of my decree, distinct finance councils and financial and sacramental records should continue to be maintained for each parish. Closing liturgies for the three parishes are not to be scheduled, nor will a new name for the proposed new parish be granted at this time.
"Nonetheless, please do as much as possible cooperatively and share resources to enhance the quality of ministry in each parish, such as offering joint programs or common committees, with the exception noted above.
"I ask you to share this information with the parish implementation teams, parish councils and your parishioners. The parish implementation teams may need to reconsider their proposals in order to assist the parishes through this period of uncertainty."
The appeals process can take two or more years to resolve, according to the Catholic Weekly. If it is rejected by the Congregation for the Clergy, it can be appealed further to the Apostolic Signatura Tribunal in Rome. That could add another three or more years to the process.
The merger was one of several unveiled earlier this year by the diocese, cutting the number of parishes in almost half, from over 100 to slightly more than 50. It closed no churches, however, instead shifting several to "occasional use" status.
The number of Catholics within the diocese has fallen about one third since 1988, when 160,000 worshipers attended 115 churches in Saginaw, Bay, Midland, Arenac, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Sanilac and Tuscola counties. Today, 108,601 Catholics attend 109 churches in the 11 counties.
Bishop Cistone and diocese leaders last September launched a multi-step downsizing process. Each of the 109 churches has a core team of members surveying fellow parishioners on issues related to their place of worship and the diocese in general. The process in some cases involves questionnaires; in others, town hall-type gatherings.
Coordinating that effort is Sister Mary Judith O'Brien, the Diocese of Saginaw's chancellor, with the help of a Seattle-based consultant group, The Reid Group, which is involved in many projects with churches and other organizations across the country.
Reid Group President John Reid and Maureen Gallagher will begin work on the "Making All Things New" planning project in the Archdiocese of New York on June 6-7 with a presentation and discussion with both Archdiocesan and parish leaders. The 12-member onsite team will be in New York for the first time on September 24-25, 2013.
The Saginaw Diocese's Planning Tomorrow's Parishes process was initiated due to declining membership in parishes and the lack of enough priests to cover all of the existing parishes. The mergers were to be phased in, with some taking effect this July and more in a year.
Through the work of Planning Tomorrow's Parishes, by 2015 there will be 56 parish communities, 24 churches for additional use and 29 churches for occasional use. Currently, there are 105 parish communities, several of which are technically missions, and four additional churches throughout the diocese. The parish restructuring plan is one component of Bishop Cistone's vision for a complete revitalization of the diocese.
The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw was established by Pope Pius XI on February 26, 1938. Today, it includes 6,955 square miles across Arenac, Bay, Clare, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Isabella, Midland, Sanilac, Saginaw and Tuscola counties.
The diocesan 75th anniversary year of prayer and celebration for blessings past and yet to come began on September 8, 2012, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and will conclude on August 15, 2013, the Solemnity of the Assumption, the patronal feast of the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. ###
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