Saturday – July 2: About nine members of the Committee to Save the Immaculate Conception Parish were given a police escort out of the building and locked out of the church this afternoon. Following the Saturday afternoon Mass the Committee members were hoping to have a prayer vigil to keep the church open as a worship site in the merged parish. Committee spokesman Tom Brophey commented that by Canon Law they have every right to do this and they can not be forced out of the building. Canon Law are the rules of the Catholic religion.
Apparently the Church Administrator disagrees. Although not there in person he advised members of the church staff to contact the police. He supposedly said the Committee members were trespassing and he wanted them removed from the church. Members of the Committee voluntarily ended their prayer vigil and exited the church peacefully when told by the police officer they had to leave. The officer advised he was not familiar with Catholic rules and had to adhere to the law of the land in this situation. He compared it to a private home when the owner requests someone to leave.
We were told that Father Peter has returned from Florida but for some reason Bishop George Murry of the Youngstown Diocese had a visiting priest offer the Saturday afternoon Mass and read the Bishop's letter to the Wellsville congregation. That letter was the long awaited Decree of Merger and was dated June 28. In the letter the Bishop wrote “I hope the Lord will lead you to understand the benefits of this merger and that He will grant you His peace”. Members of the Committee contend that under Canon Law the Bishop has to issue a Decree of Suppression and a Decree of Relegation to Profane Use to close a parish church.
Members of the Committee to Save The Immaculate Conception Church earlier have said they accept the merger of the two parishes which will be named the Holy Trinity parish. Their goal is to keep the Wellsville church open as a worship site for one day a week in the new parish to prevent hardships to the more senior members and the handicapped members. It would be especially hard for these members should they be forced to travel to East Liverpool to practice their faith. Travel for some is a hardship and the lack of parking in East Liverpool for everyone is a hardship. Spokesman Brophey stated that an appeal to the Congregation for the Clergy had arrived at the Apostalic Nuncio's Office in Washington, DC, this past Friday. The appeal was made to reverse the Bishop's decision to close the Wellsville church.
Pictured above are some of the members of the Committee peacefully leaving the church after being told they could not have a prayer vigil in there, even though they believe it is permissible under Canon Law. The second picture is the doors being locked behind them.
What a sad state of affair it is when the leaders of your faith lock you out of a place of worship. We wonder if the Youngstown Bishop and his Administrator can find peace themselves.
ole nib
10 comments:
So my prediction is right, Fr. Peter would be AWOL, that's just terrible. Bringing in a visiting priest, Dear Lord....
It also saddens me to see our friends on the inside locking the doors. Is Mary just doing what she has to do, and really doesn't feel like it's right to lock the people out? Politics and Religion don't mix well.
We believe the Wellsville staff are really between a rock & a hard place. We actually feel sorry for them. Both are good ladies & devout Catholics. It's a shame that the Church officials are using them to enforce their decisions. They are hiding behind "skirts" and it shouldn't be that way. We hope they confess to their Creator what they have wrought on these ladies, namely the loss of life long friends and scorn from others. You have to wonder..."what would Jesus do?"
nib
I'm very disappointed in these photos being posted on your blog! There was no request for a prayer vigil made to the parish before mass, during mass or after mass. The Church was being closed after Saturday Mass and the group refused to leave the premises. After an hour of trying to get them to go home so the building could be locked as it normally is, the police were called to escort them out. Father Peter has not been in Florida either and it is not our business where he goes on his days or weeks off!!! The disruptions at Church these last three weeks are only going to hasten the closure of Immaculate Conception and because of the irreverence, we may find the doors locked sooner than we expected. You need to check both sides of a story before posting, especially in such a volatile situation!!!!
Mary is doing what she is told to do, however she does have a choice in the matter. She could have let the parishioners stay for awhile then locked the doors.
Father Peter, what can I say. Once again he has let his parish down. No people skills !
"May find the doors locked sooner than expected"??? Pardon me but weren't the locks recently changed and only a select few advised that they were? Who was responsible for that?
nib
Speaking as one of the people remaining in the church to hold the vigil...
The abuse continued as we peacefully sat while the euchuristic minister who locks the church turned off the lights and preceded to lock us in the church. I exclaimed to her that she could not lock us in the santuary. It would be against the law, not to mention a hazzard if a fire would occur. At one point she shouted that we were trouble making hypocrites.
I was told that Fr. Peter called the police saying the church had merged today and we were trespassing. It was HIS church.
Excuse me but the people own this church by investing their time, labor and money into over generations of time. The Diocese owns the church in name only. On this patriotic 4th of July weekend..I feel blessed to live in the USA. However the recent dealings with the Catholic Diocese make one feel as though we live in a Communistic country.
The Diocese keeps using as one of their excuses for closing ICC that there is a priest shortage. When and if we do close, Fr.Peter will be the only priest in the County that does not have two parishes and he is the youngest. So much for that excuse........
"what would Jesus do" Jesus didn't have a church.
After seeing, hearing and reading about the passion of Wellsville parishioners, why do you need a Catholic church run by priests and the bishop of Youngstown? All donations go out of our town and into the pockets of Father Pete and the bishop, with a little left going to Rome. How about the passionate parishioners gathering together and forming their own worship center in another church or building? Your donated funds could stay in the community where you live and not go into priests and bishops pockets so they can live the life of luxury.The priests and bishops can take what money they want for themselves, no questions asked.I found a lot of info on the internet.
That's thoughtful, but I suspect their commitment to the Catholic faith is strong, and as important as keeping the church is I can't imagine this group becoming nondenominational. A priest has to be assigned if I understand correctly.
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