Catholic Churches Begin to Learn Their Fates This Week
By Patricia Montemurri
There is a reason for excitement among some metro Detroit Catholics, as news regarding the pending church closures trickled out Thursday. At least four historic churches in Detroit will be saved. And there are indications that the list of shuttered parishes will be fewer than the 48 originally recommended in November. • Interactive map: A detailed look at Detroit's Catholic churches "We are rejoicing," said Rhonda Gilbert, 67, of Detroit, a parishioner at St. Charles Borromeo near Belle Isle in Detroit. She learned from her pastor this week that the church, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, will remain open. "We got our letter Wednesday," said Gilbert, referring to letters Archbishop Allen Vigneron sent this week to pastors and 270,000 registered Catholic households detailing the fate of each of the 270 parishes across the six-county Archdiocese of Detroit. Although some Catholics have cause for celebration, others will not fare as well. The Achdiocese of Detroit plans to make Vigneron's decisions public Monday afternoon on its website, www.aodonline.org . Pastors were instructed to report the decisions to parishioners at weekend masses. However, talk sparked by the letters has created speculation among the Catholic community. "It was the archbishop's intention that there is a pastoral plan for the life of the church in southeastern Michigan, and the archbishop hoped that the priest and the parishioners would hear it from him first," said archdiocese spokesman Ned McGrath. "In the current digital media world, that might not work perfectly, but we're going to do our best." In November, Vigneron said he was likely to approve the recommendations made to him by the Archdiocesan Pastoral Council, composed primarily of laypeople. Since then, McGrath said, there would be instances where the recommendations were modified. Staff and parishioners at Nativity of Our Lord Parish on the east side were elated when they learned Wednesday that they would be spared from a recommended shutdown. Sister Jolene Van Handel, who helps run Nativity, said it will stay open. She credited Vigneron with listening to the people and giving parishes autonomy. She said Vigneron's communications indicated that nearby Good Shepherd and St. Augustine/St. Monica parishes also will remain open and collaborate with Nativity. "I think he's doing much more to get the people to take action and do what needs to be done," said Van Handel, referring to Vigneron's message in Nativity's letter. "With every one of the parishes in our group, he said you've got to make decisions for when you can't take care of business, when you can't pay the bills, and when you don't have a pastor." "I'm very confident when you leave it in the people's hands," Van Handel said, "there will be some good decisions made. ... It doesn't make it easy, but it makes it a lot easier than somebody else telling you what to do that doesn't fit you." Lifelong Nativity parishioner Lisa Benberry, 49, of Southfield was happy to hear the good news. "We didn't know what we were going to do if it closed. This is absolutely excellent that we'll be in existence for sure," Benberry said. She attends Nativity with her parents, Richard and Barbara Kelly of Southfield. But the news was less reassuring for Paul Moore, who helps run St. Benedict's of Highland Park. Moore said Vigneron upheld a recommendation that two of three clustered parishes -- St. Benedict, Madonna or St. Gregory -- close in the coming years. "We're basically up in the air. The archbishop has left it up to us. He didn't give us any definite answers on who's going to be closing. He basically left it up to us to fight amongst ourselves," said Moore, who was laid off as the parish administrator but volunteers at St. Benedict, the only Catholic church in Highland Park. Moore said he expects nothing definitive to happen for three years and that he will fight for St. Benedict to stay open through its centennial anniversary in 2015 and beyond. Madonna is the inner-city parish from which Father William Cunningham and Eleanor Josaitis launched the pioneering civil-rights organization Focus: HOPE. The Rev. Charles Morris, pastor of St. Christopher on Detroit's west side, would not discuss specifics regarding his parish. But Morris said he was pleased with the tenor of Vigneron's decisions. "I can say, in general, they presented a number of different models that gave some flexibility to get from A to Z. The end view is what do you do when you have less fiscal resources and not enough priests to meet what was the traditional parish model," Morris said. Morris said Vigneron informed pastors that an ongoing archdiocese capital fund-raising campaign will dedicate grant money toward urban ministries, and "he does want to have a strong presence in the city." The archdiocese said that some closings are necessary because of the severe priest shortage, shifting demographics, and because some parishes are failing financially. In November, the council issued preliminary recommendations about parish closings and realignments. But criticism of the process has been fierce, as even some council members said they were surprised by the recommendations. On Thursday, there already were signs that some parishes might fight the decisions. The Rev. Norm Thomas, who heads Detroit's Sacred Heart parish near Eastern Market and St. Elizabeth parish, said he was informed Wednesday that both parishes should merge if something happens to him, which he takes to mean close one. Thomas is a longtime champion for small, urban parishes who fought the first round of parish closings some 25 years ago. "It's supposed to merge, but I have no plans for that," said Thomas, who says that laypeople can perform many duties once performed solely by priests. "If I'm gone someday and you put somebody in charge of Sacred Heart, you also take St. Elizabeth."
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