Dozens Walk out during Mass in Long Branch, Kevin Penton, Asbury Park Press, July 5, 2009

Dozens Walk out during Mass in Long Branch

By Kevin Penton
Asbury Park Press
July 5, 2009

http://www.app.com/article/20090705/NEWS/907050366/1004/NEWS01/Dozens+walk+out+during+Mass+in+Long+Branch

Former parishioner of St. John the Baptist wear "Save Our Church" T-shirts during Mass at the newly combined Christ the King Roman Catholic Church on Sunday before the walkout.
Photo by TOM SPADER

LONG BRANCH — Dozens of parishioners walked out of a Mass at the former Our Lady, Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church on Sunday at the moment their former priest was introduced as pastor of the newly formed Christ the King church. That their church has been merged with Our Lady, Star of the Sea in Long Branch.

Dozens of parishioners walked out of a Mass at the former Our Lady, Star of the Sea Roman Catholic Church on Sunday at the moment their former priest was introduced as pastor of the newly formed Christ the King church.

The parishioners, who attended St. John the Baptist church until they were locked out of the building in May because of a consolidation plan, then marched back to their former place of worship and organized a service on the sidewalk.

"They have ignored us for far too long," said Victoria Collett, alluding to the Diocese of Trenton. She was among dozens of people who wore white T-shirts that read, "Save Our Church."

The Diocese merged St. John the Baptist, Holy Trinity and Our Lady, Star of the Sea into Christ the King in part because of a scarcity of priests, lack of financial resources and dwindling attendance, said the Rev. Sam Sirianni, who headed a committee that studied the consolidation.

Many of the hundreds of people who attended St. John the Baptist were of Latino and Brazilian descent, Sirianni said. Many of those among the dwindling population at Our Lady, Star of the Sea were descendants of Irish immigrants from decades ago, he said.

"There's always going to be a sense of loss for all three communities," said Sirianni, who served as Our Lady, Star of the Sea's pastor until December. "At this point, there's no turning back. We can't go back."

Some of the parishioners who walked out said they feel Christ the King's pastor, the Rev. Juan Daniel Peirano, was not forthright with them about the diocese's plans for St. John the Baptist when he was a priest there. They said Peirano did not help facilitate their efforts to meet with diocese officials to try to save their church.

"To support someone who destroyed the faith of a community is to not be with the truth," said Mario Mejia as he stood outside his former church on Sunday. Mejia said he is unsure whether he wants to take his family to a church headed by Peirano.

After he was congratulated outside Christ the King by hundreds of his new parishioners, Peirano said that members of St. John the Baptist were always invited to participate in the discussions that led to the consolidation.

"They chose not to listen," said Peirano, whose parents flew in from Peru to see him become pastor. "This was a decision we needed to make."

Noel Romero, who heads the St. John the Baptist Save Our Church Foundation, said members of the group still hope to meet with diocese officials to discuss the future of the church site. Should the group continue to feel it is not being respected or listened to, Romero said it is considering organizing a church of its own.

"If not a church, then there should at least be a center for the community here," Romero said. "Many in our community are contractors, masons, painters. We're willing to do whatever work is needed without charge."

The diocese has yet to decide what will happen with the St. John the Baptist site, Peirano said. Services will continue to be held at Holy Trinity.

Mike Feniello, a longtime member of Our Lady, Star of the Sea, said he went to the St. John the Baptist site after Peirano's installation to try to show the parishioners crowded onto the sidewalk that they are welcome at Christ the King.

"We want them to be part of our family," said Feniello, who had coordinated audio and some of the music for the Spanish-language chorus at St. John the Baptist. "It hurts me to see a community split into two pieces."