Parishioners of a Dozen Local Closed Churches Meet with Bishop Richard Lennon

By Tracy Carloss
Newsnet5
May 16, 2012

www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/oh_cuyahoga/parishioners-of-a-dozen-local-closed-churches-meet-with-bishop-richard-lennon

[with video]

CLEVELAND - Parishioners of 12 closed Catholic churches have began meeting with Bishop Richard Lennon of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese. They're discussing the process of re-opening the dozen parishes which were closed then re-opened by the Vatican under appeal.

Parishioners from the closed St. James Church in Lakewood and St. Adalbert in Cleveland met with Bishop Lennon on Wednesday.

"We had a very positive meeting. We talked about where we have been, where we will go. We know we have a lot of work ahead of us," said Phillis Fuller Clipps, a St. Adalbert church-goer.

The diocese said the process of re-opening the churches will take time. They weren't able to give a timetable.

"I'm asking for patience and understanding. This is a process that is going to take a while but we are doing it in good faith," said Bob Tayek, spokesman for the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

Parishioners still have many unanswered questions, though some of them were answered at the meetings. The sacred artifacts taken from the churches when they closed will be taken out of storage and returned. The money for most of the churches is in escrow.

Parishioners from St. Barbara in Cleveland met with Lennon on Tuesday. Parishioners from St. Emeric are scheduled to meet with Bishop Lennon on Thursday.

The 12 churches were among 50 that were closed dating back to 2009. A dozen appealed their closings to the Vatican in Rome. During the appeals, the diocese was prohibited from selling the properties. In March, the Vatican said Lennon had failed to follow Canon Law and procedures when he closed them.