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	Parishioner's $720,000 Gift to St. Mary's in Northampton on Hold in Dispute By Larry Parnass Daily Hampshire Gazette July 6, 2011 http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_theme=dhgb&p_topdoc=1&p_docnum=1&p_sort=YMD_date:D&p_docid=138513F79D727F78&p_text_direct-0=document_id=%28%20138513F79D727F78%20%29&p_product=DHGB When she died at home on a Saturday night in October 2009, Irene S. Kuzontkoski had reason to believe the value of all she owned would go to her spiritual home - a Roman Catholic church. With her husband Lester already gone, Kuzontkoski's wish, as stated in her will, was to "give, devise and bequeath" all the money raised by the sale of her Cherry Street home in Northampton, as well as other assets, "to The Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield ... for the use and benefit of St. Mary of the Assumption Church." But Kuzontkoski, a childless phone operator who lived a life of thrift in Northampton, died days before parishioners of her beloved church were told it would close. Though St. Mary's was first selected by the Springfield diocese as the site of a consolidated parish, its parishioners were told in November 2009 - after Kuzontkoski had gone to rest in St. Mary's Cemetery - that the Sacred Heart Church on King Street would instead survive as home of the new St. Elizabeth Ann Seton parish. Today, roughly $720,000 that Kuzontkoski's estate was prepared to give the bishop for the "use and benefit" of St. Mary's remains in an account overseen by her executor. The money is on hold because a probate and family court judge is upholding claims from St. Mary's lay officials that their fellow parishioner's final wishes - to aid St. Mary's - would be violated if the money were released before the Vatican's Congregation for the Clergy rules on their appeal to save the church. The high-stakes case pits a religious institution's goal to govern and sustain itself against a civil court's duty to ensure that money given by a citizen for charitable purposes is used in the manner she intended. The Rev. John Connors of the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church said not having access to Kuzontkoski's bequest is a problem. "The effect of this (court) decision on the parish is significant. The proceeds from the will were to provide a financial safety net for the newly formed parish to pay costs associated with the ongoing maintenance and operational costs of St. Mary's Church and St. Mary's Rectory," the priest said in an email message. "The parish is very much relying on the proceeds from the will to provide a financial safety net during the time ahead for the appeal," he said. "That does not appear to be materializing ...." Judge's stance Probate and Family Court Judge Linda S. Fidnick's order to suspend action is based on her determination that if the money is paid to the bishop, and St. Mary's later reopens, "the Court will have failed to assist the Executor to carry out Ms. Kuzontkoski's wishes ...." "We want to make sure that that is what happens," Thomas McGee, a St. Mary's parishioner, said of the intended bequest. At the same time, McGee, of South Hadley, continues to press, as a member of the St. Mary's Finance Council, to obtain information from the diocese about the state of the former church's funding, including the status of what he believes was a bank account balance of $270,000. "We need to know the assets of the parish to protect the patrimony of the parish," McGee said. "Where has the money gone?" That claim means nothing now that St. Mary's is closed, according to Monsignor John J. Bonzagni of the Springfield diocese. "It is the pastor who represents the parish in all legal affairs," he said in an email response to questions from the Gazette, "and so, neither Thomas McGee nor anyone has any claim on any details about St. Mary's Parish financial or otherwise. The parish is gone. "It is fair to say that the diocese will take whatever legal action is necessary to fulfill the requirements of canon law - that is, to see to it that the bequest goes to the new parish of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton," Bonzagni said. Parties to the dispute are scheduled to meet in court Aug. 1, but no resolution is likely until the Vatican decides on the appeal of the closing of St. Mary's. Monsignor Celso Morga Iruzubieta, writing from Vatican City on behalf of the Congregation of the Clergy, has several times notified former St. Mary's parishioners it will take more time "in order to reach a studied decision in this matter," as a Jan. 21 letter said. Wider dispute McGee was one of five people who moved last year to intervene in the disposition of Kuzontkoski's estate, claiming that as members of the St. Mary's Finance Council, they had an obligation to the church, which ceased services in January 2010 along with St. John Cantius and Blessed Sacrament. They acted after the Hadley lawyer handling the parishioner's estate, William E. Dwyer Jr., asked the court for guidance because the church his client intended to give her money to had closed. Dwyer would neither confirm nor deny that the estate is worth $720,000, as the St. Mary's group claims. He called the sum substantial. "There's enough at stake here to warrant a judicial ruling to clear my conscience," he said. "I have money, but I don't know what to do with it." Members of the same St. Mary's group, as individuals, are behind the appeal to Rome - which also concerns money. When Bishop Timothy McDonnell changed his stance on the future of St. Mary's, he based his decision on two factors, spokesman Mark Dupont said at the time: the high cost of repairing St. Mary's and its lack of parking and handicap access. The parish group's appeal claims, among other things, that the $1.3 million repair cost cited by the diocese was inflated and that the church could have been fixed for a fraction of that. The Springfield diocese opposed the St. Mary's group in probate court, saying through its attorney in filings that the case concerned "ecclesiastical matters in a hierarchical church (that) are not reviewable by civil courts." Paula C. Tredeau, an attorney with the Springfield firm Egan, Flanagan and Cohen, further claimed that only the bishop, and not the Finance Council, had legal standing under Roman Catholic canon law. But Fidnick, the probate judge, found otherwise in her Jan 28 order. At the same time, the judge recognized that her court has no say over whether or not St. Mary's reopens. "Indeed it is out of deference to the Catholic Church's hierarchical authority and canon law that this Court has determined to suspend these proceedings to await the decision of the Congregatio Pro Clericis (Congregation for the Clergy)." Fidnick found that the St. Mary's council had standing in the case - despite claims to the contrary from the bishop - because it had been created under the terms of canon law. The Rev. William J. Hamilton, pastor of St. Mary's, had named six people to a Finance Council on Sept. 1, 2009, right after his Elm Street church was named as the home of the consolidated parish. The priest cited canonical principles and his own duty to "insure the accurate administration of the finances and patrimony of the parish of St. Mary of the Assumption (and) administration of ... goods during this period of transition." Ongoing transition In her order, Fidnick noted that until the Vatican answers the parish appeal, that transition is still under way. The fact that the Congregation for the Clergy has accepted the St. Mary's appeal for review further supports the Finance Council's legitimacy, the judge said. McGee, the Finance Council member, said he has attempted several times through letters to obtain financial information about St. Mary's from Bishop McDonnell, who leads the Springfield diocese. In a letter May 19, McGee requested a copy of an inventory of church belongings and assets, including information about the operations of St. Mary's Cemetery. He also asked for records on income derived from St. Mary's assets since Dec. 30, 2009, and details on spending or payments. Correspondence reviewed by the Gazette shows that the bishop maintains, just as a lawyer did in probate court filings, that the Finance Council ceased to exist when the church closed. Bonzagni, of the Springfield diocese, noted that by church law, finance committees exist only to advise a pastor. "It follows that when there is no pastor and no parish there is no committee. Even in a functioning parish with a pastor the finance council has no authority or standing at all. If this is so, how can it be argued that absent a pastor and a parish, they represent the parish 'by default,'" he asked. "As a matter of church law the bequest goes to the new parish created by the merging of all the parishes in Northampton," Bonzagni said. Margo E. Welch, the attorney representing the St. Mary's Finance Council members, could not be reached for comment. Court work ahead Depending on how the Vatican rules, the Northampton court may have more work to do. If the church is saved, the judge notes, Kuzontkoski's wishes can be carried out as expressed in her will. If the appeal is denied "this court will need to address the executor's request for instructions in interpreting the meaning of the language of Ms. Kuzontkoski's Will." In such cases, it is common for a probate court to work to determine how it can make things right, if a deceased person's stated wishes can no longer be followed. Dwyer, Kuzontkoski's executor, says he sat with Kuzontkoski to plan how she'd like her assets disbursed. As to her charitable intent, he noted that she was a longtime parishioner of St. Mary's. "You can draw your own conclusion to that. There were two churches that were physically closer ... but she made a conscious decision to go to St. Mary's," he said. "She certainly had long roots with St. Mary's. When she said she wanted to leave money to St. Mary's, that's how I wrote it up." Larry Parnass, the Gazette's editor, can be reached at editor@gazettenet.com
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