New Bedford Council Wants to Meet with Bishop over St. John's Closing

By Natalie Sherman
South Coast Today
September 29, 2012

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120929/NEWS/209290344/-1/NEWS10

City councilors have upped the pressure on the Fall River diocese to reverse its decision to close historic St. John the Baptist Church, requesting a meeting with the bishop and faulting the parish priest for not fighting on behalf of the parishioners.

"You know what could really strengthen this whole thing is if we had a priest who would stand up for the church, for the parishioners," At-Large Councilor Brian Gomes said at the City Council meeting Thursday night. "Tonight I put Father Jack on the line."

The Rev. John J. Oliveira, who is pastor of both St. John the Baptist and Our Lady of Mount Carmel churches, where St. John's parishioners will attend, has deferred requests for comment to the diocese.

The County Street church is home to the oldest Portuguese Roman Catholic parish in North America and celebrated its 141st anniversary this month.

Bishop George Coleman announced the decision to close the church in March, citing several years of falling attendance, mounting debt and a building that needed an estimated $1.5 million in repairs.

Parishioners are fighting to keep the 99-year-old building open, holding vigils and enlisting politicians in support of their cause. Mayor Jon Mitchell met with Coleman Wednesday and councilors said Thursday they also wanted to try to change the bishop's mind.

"I would love to speak to a man with that much power and see what he has to say," Ward 5 Councilor Jane Gonsalves said.

Closing the church will lead to decline in the surrounding neighborhood, Ward 6 Councilor Joseph Lopes said.

The council has been on record against the closing since March 22, and has sent repeated letters to Coleman, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, the Papal Nuncio to the United States and even Pope Benedict XVI to little effect. Two councilors, Gonsalves and At-Large Councilor Denis Lawrence Jr., said they had been raised attending the church.

"St. John's has always been there for us," Lawrence said, adding that his parents, who married and renewed their vows there, intended to make the trip from Florida for what is scheduled to be the last Mass on Nov. 4.

Contact: nsherman@s-t.com