Confessions of a Concerned Catholic, by Jeff Crouere, Times-Picayune, January 6, 2009

Confessions of a Concerned Catholic

By Jeff Crouere
Times-Picayune
January 6, 2009

http://blog.nola.com/jeff_crouere/2009/01/confessions_of_a_concerned_cat.html

As a lifelong Catholic, I share a very similar background with many people in the New Orleans area. I attended Catholic elementary school, high school and graduate school (16 years of Catholic instruction). I received a tremendous education and sincerely appreciate the devotion of so many dedicated lay and religious instructors. I believe so much in the mission of the Catholic Church that I spent ten years after college working for a variety of Catholic institutions raising funds for important projects.

Today, my wife works for a local Catholic institution and our children attend Catholic school. We had other, cheaper, educational alternatives for our children, but we believed in the importance and value of a strong Catholic education.

Of course we are not alone for thousands of devout Catholics in our community strongly support the Church in a variety of ways. New Orleans is one of the most loyal Catholic communities in the country. The city's ties to the Catholic Church go back to the founding of New Orleans three hundred years ago. From the earliest days of New Orleans the Catholic Church has played a vital role in the growth and development of the city.

The contributions from many Catholic religious orders to this community are too plentiful to enumerate. Yet, vital to the success of each and every Church initiative has been the cooperation and support of active lay Catholics.

For many years, New Orleans residents have enthusiastically backed Catholic Church programs, supported Catholic charities and schools and donated to the retirement of priests, nuns and brothers. It has been a very successful partnership that has stood the test of centuries.

Sadly, today, at least in some parts of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, cracks have been exposed in that relationship. Many active Church members, especially in several Uptown New Orleans parishes are quite angry with the Archdiocese of New Orleans. Their anger is not unwarranted.

I realize that the Archbishop is the leader of the church in our area. He has great responsibility and great pressure. Without doubt, there have been financial burdens on the Archdiocese post-Katrina and there is an acute priest shortage.

Most reasonable Catholics realize that some church closings were necessary after the hurricane. Many of the closings were in areas that were heavily damaged during Katrina and have a limited post-hurricane population. No one is denying that contraction of church properties was necessary and financially prudent.

However, the zeal to close two viable parishes, St. Henry's and Our Lady of Good Counsel, makes almost no sense. In these parishes, there is an active membership of parishioners who support the Church and participate in parish activities. The two churches are financially self sustaining due to the donations of so many parishioners.

The two church properties were not affected by storm waters and their facilities were not damaged by Katrina. The neighborhoods around the two churches are more populated today then they were prior to Katrina.

Parishioners in these two communities want to maintain their churches. Deeply rooted ties to the two churches go back for many, many years. People in these neighborhoods have been baptized and married in the churches. They have also attended regular mass, dances, bingos, dinners and innumerable other Church functions at St. Henry's and Our Lady of Good Counsel. All of these activities have combined to make both of these parishes vibrant, dynamic, successful and financially profitable.

These good Catholics realize that changes must be made and that the number of masses must be reduced and the staff trimmed at both churches. They are willing to function within the umbrella of Good Shepherd parish as active parishioners. They just want their churches to remain open even if on a limited basis. The precedent was set in 2006 when the Archdiocese allowed St. Augustine Church in the Treme area to remain open. At first, the Archdiocese announced that St. Augustine would be closed, but protestors loudly wailed that the decision was unjustified. Outsiders moved in to the church and a major confrontation was avoided when the Archdiocese relented and allowed St. Augustine to continue.

In contrast, parishioners at St. Henry's and Our Lady of Good Counsel wanted a non-confrontational approach with the Archbishop. No outside agitators were introduced to exacerbate tensions. At both churches, a quiet and orderly schedule of vigils was maintained giving parishioners a chance to stay in both churches and keep them open. At the same time, both parishes continually offered to meet with the Archbishop to try to work out a negotiated settlement that was a win-win for all parties.

In response, the Archbishop refused to meet with the parish leaders and sent a team of people to takeover both churches the other morning at 2 a.m. When that failed, the Archdiocese called in the NOPD yesterday to forcibly remove the parishioners that remained in both churches. Praying parishioners were led away in handcuffs in a scene captured by local media. The tactics were unconscionable. It created a very uncomfortable mental image that will be long remembered by many local Catholics.

The drive to close both parishes is perplexing to many people in this community. By resorting to police force, the Archdiocese has now created more problems. To use police officers and city attorneys in this situation was heavy-handed to say the least and raises questions about the expenditure of city resources. What serious crime was committed by these worshippers? Shouldn't the police focus their attention and manpower on the criminals roaming the streets of New Orleans?

In Boston, there have also been disputes with the Archbishop concerning the announced closure of some churches. In that city, some of these church vigils have been ongoing for more than four years. In New Orleans, the two vigils were maintained for only 72 days before the police raid ended them yesterday.

This whole incident has divided Catholics in this community and served as a distraction from the many worthwhile projects and charities that the Church supports. It is a shame that a more peaceful and Catholic solution could not have been devised to end the standoff. Sending in the police and handcuffing prayerful Catholics is not the way to solve any problem, especially one within a family that shares the same faith.