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	Suppression Letters to Be Sent Next Week By Tanya Connor Catholic Free Press June 13, 2008 http://www.catholicfreepress.org/_Pages/_This%20Week/0613Supression.html WORCESTER – Written decrees of suppression and merger will be sent to the pastors of closing and welcoming parishes next week, Msgr. F. Stephen Pedone, diocesan judicial vicar/vicar for canonical affairs, told The Catholic Free Press Wednesday. He explained this process, and the process of petitioning the Vatican, when asked about statements by members of St. Casimir Parish who oppose Bishop McManus' decision to suppress their parish and merge it with St. John Parish. The "Friends of St. Casimir's Lithuanian Parish" committee, which is trying to keep the parish open, is waiting for the bishop to respond to its May 27 letter and is planning to take its plea to the Vatican, Frank P. Statkus, chairman, said Tuesday. He was talking about their next steps after Bishop McManus reiterated his decision Sunday. The letter, sent to the bishop and others and posted on the committee's Web site, www.stcasimirworc.org, asks the bishop to suspend, rescind or amend "any decree that changes the juridical status of our parish" and give timely notice of administrative action affecting the parish. Mr. Statkus said a decree of suppression had not been announced, and "we have not received anything in writing." The decrees will be issued to the pastors, who represent their parishes in administrative and judicial affairs, Msgr. Pedone said. He said they will be published in The Catholic Free Press and likely in parish bulletins. Decrees of suppression and merger will be issued to Father Richard A. Jakubauskas, St. Casimir's pastor, and Father Joseph A. Adamo, pastor of Ascension Parish, which is also merging with St. John's; Father Patrick J. Hawthorne, pastor of St. Margaret Mary, which is merging with St. Anne's in Shrewsbury, and Father James S. Mazzone, administrator of Holy Name of Jesus, he said. Similar decrees will be sent to Father John F. Madden, St. John's pastor, and Father Edward J. Moran, St. Anne's pastor, he said. A decree of suppression will be issued to Father Richard G. Roger, pastor of Notre Dame-St. Joseph Parish, Msgr. Pedone said. Notre Dame-St. Joseph and Holy Name are being suppressed and a new parish called Holy Family is being created from them, with Father Roger as pastor, Msgr. Pedone explained. Notre Dame and Holy Name church buildings are being closed and St. Joseph's remaining open, so the new entity will be Holy Family Parish at St. Joseph's Church. Once a church is consecrated or dedicated, only the Holy See can change its title, and the Holy See's practice is not to do so, Msgr. Pedone said. The decrees must be issued before July 1, when the changes take effect, he said. He said they will be kept in the welcoming parishes, with copies in and the bishop's office and Office of the Tribunal. Canonically a bishop must make recommendations for suppressions and mergers to his presbyteral council, and the council must vote before he makes the final decision, he said. The presbyteral council voted unanimously to accept the recommendations, the bishop said. In this case, Bishop McManus also sought recommendations from the Diocesan Pastoral Planning Committee, listening, asking questions, attending most of the meetings, said Msgr. Pedone, who is on the committee. He said the bishop met individually with the affected pastors, then sought input from all the pastors in the city of Worcester, none of which he had to do canonically. The closed churches will no longer be used for divine worship, so liturgical items will be removed, Msgr. Pedone said. He said the welcoming parishes can use them for something else or sell them to someone who will not use them in a "sordid manner." But if any church property is sold for $527,000 or more, the bishop has to seek the consent of the college of consultors and the diocesan finance committee, he said. "We are going to the Vatican with a letter" similar to the one sent to the bishop, Mr. Statkus said. "I feel there is that little shred of hope out there. I can't help but think we're being guided" by God. He said fellow parishioners "look in your eyes with this hope: 'It's going to change, isn't it?'" They are willing to shoulder the financial cost for their petition, he said. Parishioners have a right to go to the Vatican, Msgr. Pedone said. He said they will need to hire a canon lawyer and petition the Congregation for the Clergy, which adjudicates issues concerning church property. The congregation looks not at substantive issues; it looks to see if a bishop followed the canonical process mandated for the suppression and merging of parishes, he said, adding, "It's not second guessing the bishop's decision."
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