BishopAccountability.org
	Group Vows to Resist Church Closings Group Vows to Resist Church Closures By Bruce Nolan The Times-Picayune May 8, 2008 http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1210225110270110.xml&coll=1 About two dozen parishioners from five Catholic parishes scheduled to be closed within the year held their first organizational meeting Wednesday and emerged vowing to resist the Archdiocese of New Orleans' closure plans. "We are going forward, to keep our parishes viable and visible," said Alden Hagardorn, an investment banker and member of St. Henry Parish in Uptown New Orleans. St. Henry's and neighboring Our Lady of Good Counsel weeks ago emerged as pockets of resistance to the archdiocese's plans to close, merge or cluster 33 metro area Catholic parishes following the damage of Hurricane Katrina. But Wednesday's meeting disclosed resistance among parishioners at three others as well: Blessed Sacrament, Uptown; St. Raymond, in Gentilly; and St. Francis de Sales, in Central City. Parishioners from those five communities met for the first time in a former convent on the St. Henry's property and adjourned after an hour to announce the formation of a group called N.O. Church Closings. Hagardorn and others described it as an introductory meeting. He said in coming weeks they expect to fashion a strategy that may include civil and canonical lawsuits to resist the closure of their parishes. "Let the archdiocese know, we will not step back; we will not be stilled," said Carol Boudy of St. Raymond. She said parishioners there believe they hold title to their property. She said they would meet there Saturday morning, and perhaps subsequent Saturdays as well, to assert their ownership "and put the archdiocese on notice" that the buildings cannot be sold, she said. Sarah Comiskey, the archdiocese's spokeswoman, said the church was aware of parishioners' claims about their ownership of the land at St. Raymond. However, "the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans owns the property at St. Raymond's, as the Congregation of St. Raymond is part of the archdiocese and under the direction of the archbishop. "We want to reassure parishioners that as parishes merge, net proceeds from the use or any future sale of parish properties will follow them to their newly formed parish," she said. Rhonda Bonds, a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament, voiced similar determination. That predominantly African-American parish near Xavier Prep was founded by St. Katharine Drexel as part of her decades of missionary work among black and Native Americans. "A saint has walked through our church, and we will not let it close," Bonds said. "We are a people; we are a parish family." She said parishioners would meet to pray outside on church grounds if necessary, rather than relinquish their church. She and others were responding to vast restructuring plan the archdiocese released April 9. It announced plans to close 33 parishes by the end of the year, reducing the number of parishes to 108. Most, like St. Raymond, were rendered dormant by Hurricane Katrina. Their neighborhoods were ravaged, and the archdiocese sent parishioners to less damaged nearby parishes until a permanent plan could be fashioned. The closure of those parishes means the archdiocese has no plans to try to revive them or repair their churches. The archdiocese also announced the closure of about half a dozen relatively undamaged parishes, such as St. Henry, Our Lady of Good Counsel, Blessed Sacrament and St. Francis de Sales. Some are closing because they are small, stand relatively close together and cannot be staffed because of a looming shortage of priests. Parishioners said they were offended by the unilateral nature of the archdiocese's decisions, as well as what they said was relative indifference to their pleas, phone calls and petitions following the announcements. "Nobody is looking us in the eye. All we're getting back is form letters," Hagardorn said. But Comiskey said Archbishop Alfred Hughes and Auxiliary Bishop Roger Morin soon will begin a round of visitations at Saturday evening Masses at the open parishes scheduled for closure. Bruce Nolan can be reached at bnolan@timespicayune.com or (504) 826-3344.
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.