By Colette M. Jenkins
Beacon Journal
April 7, 2009
http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/42629997.html
An April snow shower that dumped heavy, wet flakes and frigid 30-degree temperatures didn't stop the prayers of a group of parishioners who gathered Tuesday on the front steps of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church.
"Nothing could have stopped me from being here," said James Sebe, 71, of Barberton. "Somebody's got to take a stand and say that it is wrong to close these churches. With all the wrong things that are going on in the world, we need the church to stand strong in our neighborhoods."
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| As members of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church on Grant Street in Akron gather for a prayer, a crucifix rests at the locked front door Tuesday. Photo by Phil Masturzo |
Sacred Heart of Jesus, at 734 Grant St. in Akron, is among six parishes in Summit County scheduled to close as part of a major restructuring in the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland. The other parishes are SS Cyril & Methodius in Barberton and St. Hedwig's, Christ the King, St. Mary's and St. John's in Akron. The latter three are to merge at St. Martha's, St. Bernard's and Annunciation, respectively. All of the closing parishes were on the prayer list of the group at Sacred Heart.
"Behold, all of us gathered here today filled with lively faith and confidence in the promises dictated by your sacred heart come to ask this favor today: to keep all churches around the world open; in order for us, your servant people, to carry on our individual missions in life," the group of nine adults and four children prayed in unison.
The prayer gathering was scheduled at noon, to coincide with the hand delivery of a letter to the office of five senior Vatican officials in Rome by the leader of a Boston-based advocacy group for Roman Catholic parishes. Peter Borre, co-chairman of the Council of Parishes, said he delivered the letter on behalf of 31 parishes in eight American dioceses, including Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Borre said the letter asks the Vatican to instruct American bishops who are closing vibrant parishes to suspend those efforts, and begin mediation with parishioner groups. Other dioceses with parishioners participating in the request are Allentown, Pa.; Boston; Buffalo, N.Y.; New Orleans; New York City; Scranton, Pa.; and Springfield, Mass.
"What we object to, in the strongest way — because it is un-Christian — is the closing of spiritually and financially strong parishes," Borre said by telephone from Rome. "It is a fundamental mistake to shut down a vibrant parish."
Borre said his concern for parishes in the Cleveland diocese is compounded because Bishop Richard G. Lennon "was the architect of a truly disastrous plan to close parishes as the Vicar General in the Archdiocese of Boston." Dozens of parishes in Boston were ordered to close under a 2004 reconfiguration. Officials cited financial distress and a shortage of priests as the driving forces of the plan, which came in the wake of a priest abuse scandal.
Borre said the initial plan in the Boston archdiocese was to close 83 parishes. But after a "spontaneous resistance movement from the pews" that resulted in parishioners in nine churches going into around-the-clock vigils, the archbishop opened four of those churches, he said.
The restructuring plan in the eight-county Cleveland diocese was initiated in 2005 as part of the Vibrant Parish Life initiative by retired Bishop Anthony M. Pilla to address population shifts from urban to suburban areas, a shortage of priests and financial hardship in some parishes. Lennon was assigned as bishop in April 2006 and continued the plan of collaboration between parishes.
Last month, Lennon released a list of 52 parishes that will close by June 30, 2010. Parishioners throughout the diocese (which consists of 224 parishes in Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties) had 10 days to appeal in writing to the bishop.
Those who appealed, including parishioners at Sacred Heart, are waiting for replies from the bishop. If he declines to reverse his decision, parishioners have 15 days to appeal to the Vatican.
"People need churches open for spiritual enrichment. It is the people who are important, not the dollar," said Elizabeth Beresh, who travels from North Canton to attend Mass at Sacred Heart. "It hurts that any church would close. These are neighborhood churches. What is going to happen to the neighborhood if this church closes? Every time a church closes, America loses some of her values."
Beresh was joined on the steps of the church by three of her daughters and four of her grandchildren. A couple of them held handwritten signs that read: "Sacred Heart of Jesus, Fill Our Hearts with Hope" and "Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace." A third sign, written in Hungarian, read "Our Lady of Hungary, Pray for Us."
The parish, made up of 185 households, was founded in 1915 by Hungarian Catholics. Nearly 3,000 people attended a service to bless the cornerstone of the church on Nov. 23, 1924. The building was dedicated on Sept. 13, 1925. It is the place where Beresh and her family have celebrated their Hungarian heritage.
The Hungarian Mass was one of the things that attracted Sebe to the church, after his home parish in Barberton, Holy Trinity, closed in 2007 amid dwindling enrollment. The Barberton parish was established in 1911 by Hungarian immigrants. Sebe came to the area from Hungary in 1957.
"I was at Holy Trinity for 20 years and when it closed, I said we would come to Sacred Heart. Now, it's closing," said Sebe, with tears rolling down his face. "It might not do any good to be standing out here in the cold and snow, but I figure it's worth a try. I want to do what I can to let my voice be heard."
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