By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal
March 15, 2009
http://www.ohio.com/news/41274822.html
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| Magda Rozsa (left) of Akron listens to the Rev. Robert Clancy talk about the closing of Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic church as her friend, Elizabeth Tuza, of Cuyahoga Falls, wipes away tears after mass Saturday, March 14, 2009, in Akron, Ohio. The women have been attending the church for over fifty years with their families Photo by Karen Schiel |
Cleveland Catholic Diocese decides to close six churches in Summit County. Akron to lose five
News of the mergers and closings of Roman Catholic churches hit hard on Saturday in the pews of six Summit County parishes.
"It's like a death. You know it's coming, but you hope for one more day," said Angela Zumbo, a parishioner at Akron's Sacred Heart of Jesus for 12 years. "We still had a glimmer of hope until today. Now, our whole family is shattered."
Sacred Heart is one of the local churches notified Saturday that it will close by June 30, 2010, as part of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland's Vibrant Parish Life initiative.
The diocese is closing churches to address declining enrollment; financial hardships in some parishes; population shifts from the city to the suburbs; and a worsening clergy shortage.
Directives from Cleveland Bishop Richard G. Lennon call for 29 of the diocese's 224 parishes to close and for 41 to merge with one or more neighboring parishes.
In the end, 52 parishes will be closed and 18 combined parishes will be created. The diocese includes Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties.
In Summit County, Akron is taking the biggest hit, with the closing of five churches: Sacred Heart of Jesus, St. John the Baptist, St. Mary, St. Hedwig and Christ the King. Barberton will lose one, SS Cyril & Methodius.
Of the six churches, Sacred Heart, St. Hedwig and SS Cyril & Methodius were ordered to close.
St. Mary will merge with St. Bernard at the
St. Bernard site, 44 University St.
St. John will merge with Annunciation at the Annunciation site, 57 Broad St.
And Christ the King will merge with St. Martha at the St. Martha site, 300 E. Tallmadge.
The schools at St. Mary and Christ the King (North Akron Catholic School) will remain open at this time.
Lennon's decision on closings and mergers come more than a year after parishes were mandated to form regional cluster teams to examine ministries, finances and facilities to determine how they could collaborate to make the Catholic church more vibrant.
His decision about local closings and mergers reflected what was proposed by parish cluster teams in the southern portion of the diocese, with the exception of the merger involving St. Bernard and St. Mary.
Parishioners speak out
"I can't say it was really a surprise because the bottom line is we're an aging congregation that needs to be financially responsible for the upkeep of the church and a school," said Bob Howe, a parishioner at St. Mary for more than 50 years. "I was hoping the bishop would keep it open. It's sad, but what can you do?"
Louis Zuzak, a parishioner at St. John the Baptist for more than 40 years, said the only thing to do is take one day at a time and hope and pray for the strength to accept that a person's church home will no longer exist.
"It's one thing to feel or think that your parish is going to close, but when you get the official word, it changes everything," said Zuzak, who normally walks to Mass from his home four blocks away from the church. "This has hit me pretty hard. I'm just lost. I've got to figure out where I'm going to go now.
"Wherever it is, I won't be walking. I've been walking to church for 42 years. My wife and I were married here. My kids went to school here.
"All I can say is, I'll be here until they close the doors. Miracles happen. We're not closed yet. It's not over until it's over."Although St. John is merging with Annunciation, members are free to choose another parish.
Mergers require that a new parish identity be established and that new pastoral leadership be assigned. That means St. Bernard, St. Martha and Annunciation will be renamed and will include sacred items and artifacts from the merging congregations. The new entities will be responsible for the assets and liabilities of the merging parishes.
When parish property is closed, the diocese takes on the responsibility for maintaining the property. The communities that receive parishioners from a closing parish will also receive sacred and other items from the church.
When a property is sold, any net proceeds follow parishioners from the closed churches.
Losing their heritage
Phyllis Early, a parishioner at St. Hedwig for more than 60 years, said seeing familiar items in another parish community may make the transition a little easier. Until Saturday, she said, she tried to ignore the fact that her parish might close.
"I grew up in that church. My parents were founding members," she said.
"When we were growing up, we lived in North Hill and walked to church. It's very upsetting to hear the word 'closed.' A merger would have been better.
"The church has always been a place where we could pass down our Polish traditions and share them with other people. That is something that is going to be lost now."
Like Early, Elizabeth Tuza and Magda Rozsa could always celebrate their heritage at Sacred Heart. The two women, who came to Akron from Hungary during the revolution in the late 1950s, always attend the 10 a.m. Hungarian Mass with their husbands.
"There is no place else you can go around here where they say Mass in Hungarian," Rozsa said. "It's really a shame. I guess I'm just going to have to go to my basement and pray once they close the doors here."
The Rev. Robert Clancy, the pastor at Sacred Heart for 17 years, said his goal is to keep the people together until there is a decision on when the church will close. He encouraged the congregation to pray.
Beverly Murphy, who travels to Sacred Heart from her Massillon home, said she will try to follow his advice but she needs to get past her anger first.
"I want the bishop to know that I, as a Catholic, did not leave my church. He took my church away from me," Murphy said. "I'm a convert. I'm Catholic because I want to be. The bishop is not serving the people when he closes a church like Sacred Heart."
News conference
Lennon will discuss the reconfiguration plan during a news conference at 10 a.m. today at the diocesan offices in Cleveland. A complete list of closings and mergers is expected to be released then.
In a news release distributed on Saturday, Lennon explained that he used his best judgment.
"The clustering and collaboration process reflects hard work and discernment by parish leaders and parishioners from every one of our parishes, but in the end, it was my responsibility as bishop to apply my best judgment," Lennon said in the release. "I pray that my decisions will serve the needs of this diocese and its people and create the vibrancy that allows us to carry out what God has asked."
Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com
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