Armijo Weighs in on Church Controversy

By Elizabeth Hardin-Burrola
Gallup Independent
June 8, 2015

http://gallupindependent.com/

Local civic leader Mary Ann Armijo is weighing in on the controversies that have surrounded her Catholic parish and the Diocese of Gallup over the last month.

“I know that we’re all afraid that at some point they are going to close St. John Vianney, but I think as parishioners, instead of being upset we should maybe all just come together and not give them a reason to close St. John’s,” Armijo said in an interview Thursday.

On May 10, the Gallup Diocese announced it was immediately transferring the Rev. James Walker, the parish’s popular pastor, to another assignment and reducing St. John Vianney Parish into a chapel with only two weekly Masses and no religious education program for children.

After a swift and vocal public outcry, Bishop James S. Wall reversed those decisions and announced the church would remain an active parish. Wall also appointed the Rev. Kevin Finnegan, his chancellor and vicar general, as pastor. Parishioners, however, continued to be frustrated with Wall’s lack of response to their phone calls, letters and requests for a meeting.

Colored by disability

Armijo, a Gallup businesswoman, former City Council representative and the current chair of the McKinley County Democratic Party, said although she respected fellow parishioners who have spoken out in the media, she does have a different opinion on a couple of issues.

One of those opinions, she said, is colored by her own personal experience with having a visual impairment disability.

A number of parishioners have been upset that Finnegan, who has paraplegia, requested adult volunteers help him during Mass rather than youth servers. Armijo said after seeing Finnegan celebrate Mass, she understood why he might have made that request.

“That’s how I feel about my own disabilities,” Armijo said. “I wouldn’t want a 15-year-old that just got a learner’s permit to drive me around. I would want someone with experience, someone that’s been with me through my disabilities to be with me.” “And I guess that’s why I feel a little more compassion to the fact that, you know, Father Finnegan has the right to ask for adult servers,” Armijo said, adding she thought he might be concerned about falling down near a child.

Sparse attendance

Armijo also noted that church attendance was “very sparse” on Sunday, and she attributed that to parishioners protesting the recent decisions coming down from the Gallup chancery. Armijo said she believes such protests are unfair to Finnegan, and also unfair to other members of the parish.

“We all have to remember the purpose that we’re there,” Armijo said. “We’re not there to serve Father Walker, but we’re there as Christians to serve our Lord. I just still feel it’s unfair that Father Finnegan has been put in that position by people not showing up.”

“As Christians, we’re called to stand together,” Armijo added. I mean, it’s what Jesus said, ‘Upon this rock we’re going to build the church.’ We are the church. And if we let them do this, and we don’t go to church, and we continue to protest, then we’re giving them every reason. And I’m just not the person that’s going to give them that reason.”

Lack of communication

Armijo did agree with parishioners who have criticized Wall’s lack of communication regarding the decisions of the last month. Although Armijo said she was “trying to understand” if the bishop truly needed to act quickly regarding St. John Vianney, she said she believes Wall should have personally visited the parish and explained those decisions.

“They could have really stopped a lot of this if they just would have communicated,” Armijo said of Wall and his chancery officials. She said the Gallup Diocese needs to do a better job of communication and expressed the hope they will correct this in the future.

“I think he needs to go to communications class,” Armijo said of Wall, “or if he’s got a communications person, that person really needs to communicate. It’s just simple. That’s all people want. People just want to be heard.”

“And I believe in transparency, whether it’s from the church or government,” Armijo added. “They need to be more transparent and let us know and communicate better.”