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CATHOLIC UNREST: Vatican Appeal Expert to Speak Here June 17

Sex Abuse Scandals, Bishops' Inaction Said at Root of Closings

June 8, 2013       2 Comments
By: Dave Rogers

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Peter Borre, Boston, expert on Vatican law, to speak here June 17.
 

The lawyer advising dissenters in the Diocese of Cleveland who won a Vatican appeal on church closings will speak here Monday, June 17.

Peter Borre', of Boston, is a lawyer who is being brought in by a group from St. Matthew Parish, Zilwaukee, for a 6 p.m. open meeting at the Bay City Country Club.

The Vatican is ordering the Diocese of Cleveland to open 13 parishes that had been closed. According to observers, the decision might bode well for other parishes across the country that are appealing their closures.

Cindy Bourdow, spokesperson for the Zilwaukee group, along with her aunt, Ginger Marx, said members of other parishes in the Saginaw Diocese who are impacted by the "Planning Tomorrow's Parishes" project are welcome to attend the meeting.

Borre' advises congregations whose churches have been closed on how to appeal to the Vatican, including St. Matthew, for which an appeal has caused the Saginaw bishop, Joseph Cistone, to put a proposed closing on hold.

Borre' told National Public Radio the Cleveland action is the first time that Rome has ordered parishes to be fully reopened. His intentions are to save the church from itself, he says:

"If you destroy the spiritual infrastructure of the Catholic Church in the United States (through closings), that's irreversible damage. You will never get those churches and those faith communities back. I think that's the driver."

Borre's work in the Archdiocese of Boston is tracked in a sensational book by journalist Jason Berry, "Render Unto Rome: The Secret Life of Money in the Catholic Church," by Random House Digital.

"Under canon law, when a parish merges with another, the funds of the closed church follow its members to the new church," states the book. "But a parish that is 'suppressed' by the bishop loses its building, land, bank deposits, all assets to the bishop-as-banker."

Bishopaccountability.org comments: "Among the first journalists to investigate clerical sex abuse during the 1980s, Jason Berry has now written a book alleging fiscal mismanagement and - worse - cynical calculation and practiced deception.

"Money is a mighty force in any religion," Berry observes - as it is in families, businesses, and governments, all of which can become corrupted by greed and bribery. But the details Berry presents as evidence impart the sense that monetary malfeasance is fairly common and that, like their counterparts in business, Church leaders cultivate, or at least allow, a distinctive culture that fosters bad behavior."

The Chicago Tribune reviewed Berry's book with this summary: "According to Berry the church has shut down more than 1300 parishes in the U.S. since 1995. Some of these closings were legitimate due to declining attendance and other factors; however Berry's focus is on those churches with vibrant congregations, strong balance sheets, and, in many cases, parishioners themselves willing to raise the funds to meet any operating deficits.

"Why were so many of these parishes targeted? According to this painstakingly researched book, it was because closing them would allow the church to sell off their real estate, much of which was extremely valuable. Whether the money reaped from such sales should 'follow the parishioners' or go to the archdiocese to use as it pleased has, understandably, been the subject of much contention and even litigation."

Cathlicculture.org states: "In 1992, Berry tore open the story of sexual abuse by Catholic clerics, in his shocking 'Lead Us Not Into Temptation.' Even though sloppy reporters continue to say that the sex-abuse scandal was uncovered in 2002, and the Boston Globe won its Pulitzer Prize for exposing the story that year, Berry had actually covered the subject quite well a decade earlier."



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dmaillette Says:       On June 10, 2013 at 07:36 AM
Wonderful !! Let's hope and pray.
gtmarx Says:       On June 10, 2013 at 07:47 PM
Anyone interested in preserving our Churches should attend this meeting, Peter Borre' will give us valuable information on how to preserve what Churches we have left. This is just the first round of closings, within a few years more will be closed. Lets be prepared!
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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