Monday – July 18: The Committee to Save Immaculate Conception Church met last night at the Wellsville SOI Lodge. Co-Chairman Nunzio Lombardozzi presided. In his report Lombardozzi cautioned that now is the time for being patient, adding that “we planted the field and now we will start reaping the harvest”.
Co-Chairman Ken Biacco announced that new signs are available at $10 each. If 18 more are sold the committee will be eligible for free banners. The bright yellow signs are beginning to pop up all over town. Biacco reported that the signs can be “adopted” and members of the Committee will find a location for them. Biacco also has additional pre-addressed envelopes available for anyone that wants to write to either Youngstown Diocese Bishop George Murry or Arch Bishop Pietro Sambi, the Apostolic Nuncio, in Washington, D.C.
Beverly Hentzell, pictured above, announced her resignation as a Co-Chair of the Committee stating it was due to “personal reasons”. Hentzell has been very actively involved in the efforts to keep the Immaculate Conception Church open as a worship site for the newly merged parish from the beginning. She pledged her continued support for the Committee. Committee member Tom Brophey was selected to replace Hentzell as one of the three Co-Chairmen.
In her final report as a Co-Chair, Hentzell noted a second appeal to the Congregation of Clergy to keep the Wellsville church open at least one hour a week was sent out on July 11. The first appeal was filed before Bishop Murry issued his Decree of Merger. The Congregation of Clergy is located in Vatican City and has the authority to reverse or modify any decisions made by the Diocese officials. Hentzell also noted that the paid adviser sent word that now is the time to keep maximum exposure with letters to the editors of newspapers, etc. No one likes bad press such as the Bishop in Cleveland is getting for being responsible in closing over 50 parishes in the Cleveland diocese and over 60 in the Boston area before that. He is now being investigated by Vatican officials.
Reporting for the Fund Raising Committee, Roxanne Hall announced that tee-shirts are available at $13 each. They need to sell an additonal 25 to place a new order. A $100 gas card will be raffled with the winner to be drawn on August 29, at the meeting. Tickets are $1 each. Meatball hoagies on homemade rolls along with chips and refreshments will be sold for $6.50 Wednesday, August 3 at the Alumni Center. There will be a pancake & sausage breakfast on Saturday, July 30, from 9 to 11 AM, at the SOI Lodge. Finally, Hall reported that a Tag Day will be held later in August. Volunteers are needed for that fund raiser.
Lombardozzi reported that generous donations was received from Bonny & Brassy Beresford, former Wellsville resident Gladys Kazora and a lady from Rhode Island. That lady's father was a former member of the Immaculate Conception Parish.
Happy Birthday wishes were given to a 90 year young Josephine Sgro and cake was shared with all. The next meeting will be held either Monday, July 25 or Tuesday, July 26 at the SOI Lodge at 7 PM. Watch the newspapers.
ole nib
14 comments:
If I read correctly the Bishop in Cleveland requested his work & decisions be reviewed due to an abundance of letters being sent to the Vatican. It's seemingly all about money & pushing as much of it as possible to the top. 50 churches closed equals a lot of money not being pd out in general expenses, more money for someone else to work with further uphill. It has been said that Father Peter told a few select people when he arrived here that he was sent for the specific purpose of closing 2 churches. that was a couple of hrs ago. More noble to tell the people, yes, but perhaps he knew about the hornets nest.
Who holds the purse strings at ICC - stop paying him. Save your church and after that is accomplished become a welcoming church. Have Friendship Sundays if you haven't already, if a priest can't then have a member take a more active part in the ministerial association. Make your presence known inside and out of the church all of the time. After all, you are Wellsville.
By Anonymous on Wellsville Shows Support for Immaculate Conception... at 1:43 PM
Although that church was built by the sacrifices and generous donations of many Wellsville parishioners over the years it is not their decision on what is ultimately done with it. Unfortunately that is not the way it is done in the Catholic religion. In the Catholic chain of command how things are done and ownership eventually goes back to the Holy See in Vatican City.
The Catholics in Wellsville upset the apple cart by not blindly accepting the Bishop's decision to close this parish. We honestly believe they thought the good folks of Wellsville were a bunch of country bumkins that would accept whatever was decided for them. It's all about money. East Liverpool has more people which means they contribute more to the pot. They get to keep St. Als. Simple as that. Money talks whether you wear the collar hiding behind pseudo pious proclamations or not. Father Peter is just their hatchet man. It's been said whenever this is settled he'll be gone. He's just taking care of the business that he was hired to tend to. When he's done here he'll probably be sent somewhere else to do it all over again.
Maybe it's time to do things differently in the Catholic religion. Jesus was a Christian. Catholicism came after he was gone from the face of the earth.
nib
Everyone received a letter today from Father Peter telling us that this Sat. will be our last mass.According to the Bishop it was going to be at the end of summer. Well, I guess summer is over but not our fight to re-open ICC.
It was a short summer...
nib
With a legal matter pending & so much press coverage it seems logical that this would happen. Until the end of summer was seemingly a conditional statement. I hope they don't take the beautiful statue facing Main St..
he didn't say the end of summer. he said when the parking issues at St. Al's were resolved (yeah right...anyone ever tried to find a parking space there?)...and that he expected it would be BY the end of summer.
The "parking problem" at St. Als must be resolved. Surely the Bishop would not lie to his minions. With this heat he wouldn't put his elder &/or handicapped parishioners in peril having to walk to the church from blocks away. Even if he is from New Jersey we just can't believe he would be so cold hearted!!! Lord have mercy...
nib
I don't know when the Catholic religion was formed, but Jesus was Jewish & Christianity came about as a result of his death & resurrection.
My heart aches for ICC but surely there was a better way to deal with this then ruining a good man's reputation...For every ICC member that dislikes Fr. Peter...25 people from St. Als love him and it has hurt many of us to see this week after week in print...
WOW anonymous...that is amazing. 25 to 1. One hundred Wellsville parishioners don't care for Father Peter. That means that there are 2,500 parishioners at St. Al's????Amazing...I didn't think St. Al's church was that big!
Every week St. Als school students and their parents say a Rosary before Mass for peace and unity in our two communities...how I wish we could all see each other and greet one another in peace again. I love my Wellsville friends and miss them...
In the midst of all the turmoil has anyone thought of petitioning the Steubenville Diocese or Franciscan University to make IC part of their diocese...or the Church to be a satellite parish for the university....Cant stand to see it closed....
Haven't heard anything about any attempts to switch diocese. It was checked to see if we could get a priest from down that way at least once a week and the Committtee was told it had to be approved by the Bishop.
nib
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