BishopAccountability.org
	St. Peter Split from Diocese Symbolizes Defining Moment for All Catholics: Regina Brett By Regina Brett Plain Dealer August 22 2010 http://www.cleveland.com/brett/blog/index.ssf/2010/08/a_defining_moment_for_catholic.html "There is nothing on this earth so ugly as the Catholic Church, and nothing so beautiful." If you don't like that sentiment, blame Cardinal John Henry Newman. He wrote that in a letter and he's still expected to be canonized as a saint. Either something beautiful or ugly just happened in this dysfunctional church that so many of us love and hate in equal measures. The parishioners and priest at St. Peter Church have defied the authority of the bishop and created an independent church called the Community of St. Peter. They celebrated their first Mass last Sunday in a building on Euclid Avenue and East 71st Street in Cleveland. The human wrecking ball that is Bishop Richard Lennon closed one of the most vibrant, beautiful parishes when he shut the doors of Historic St. Peter Church at East 17th Street and Superior Avenue. His predecessor, Bishop Anthony Pilla, had handed that church over to Father Bob Marrone in 1991 and asked Marrone to try to save St. Peter's. Marrone created a jewel unlike any other in the diocese. We studied the transformation of St. Peter Church when I was a graduate student at John Carroll University. Those of us working on our master's degrees in religious studies watched a film about how this unique congregation of 400 people from six counties traveled to the inner-city every Sunday to worship, how they created a boutique parish that became an oasis for Catholics who felt they fit nowhere else. The parish raised $2 million to restore the church. When I moved to Cleveland, I joined St. Peter. It was a vibrant, prayerful, socially active church that celebrated Eucharist in the most elegant way. The homilies Marrone gave were all CD-worthy. So was the music. Then along came Lennon. To be fair, he was given a difficult deed. The diocese should have downsized over the years and didn't. But those on the other end of his shepherd's staff soon felt it to be a club. Some are saying that Marrone is also a clumsy shepherd, going rogue with his congregation. Is this new community a cult or a church? Is it based on solid principles or a solo personality? Is it still considered part of the Roman Catholic Church? What we have are two shepherds, both with strong egos, as leaders must have. Neither man has a reputation for playing well with others. Will either one budge? It's a defining moment for the Diocese of Cleveland and for all those in its pews. Do you improve the church from the inside or from the outside? Do you stay and struggle or leave and start over? It's not a time for threats of excommunication or for people to boast of being Catholics in exile. It's not too late for Bishop Lennon to reconsider the closing of St. Peter Church and for Marrone to rethink continuing the Community of St. Peter. The bishop wrote these words in a statement dated Friday and posted on the diocese's website: "This is not a time for dismissive words or actions; rather, it is a time for prayer and calmness." He plans to meet with Marrone and make himself available "to have conversation with the lay leaders of the 'Community of St. Peter.' At this moment, I cannot think of anything that is more urgent for our diocese than addressing this matter --my prayer is that all the Faithful will be committed to going forward." The bishop cited these words from the Christian Bible, words about unity and communion that Jesus prayed the night before he died: "that they may all be one; that they may be one in us, as you Father are in me, and I in you." It's important that he reflect on these words Jesus said as well: "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Both shepherds need to gather in His name and turn this crisis into an opportunity for healing, hope and holiness. They need to do so in a way that honors the people of St. Peter and all the other sheep in the diocese. To reach Regina Brett: rbrett@plaind.com, 216-999-6328
Any original material on these pages is copyright © BishopAccountability.org 2004. Reproduce freely with attribution.