After Vigil to Protest Church Closing, Six Women Are Arrested

By James Barron and Jennifer 8. Lee
New York Times
February 13, 2007

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/13/nyregion/13church.html?_r=1

Six women were led away in handcuffs from an East Harlem church by the police last night, hours after protesting parishioners declared that they would not leave until the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York dropped plans to close it.

The six women, all parishioners, were given summons for trespassing, the police said. They were part of a group that had grown to almost 40 last night to oppose the planned closing of Our Lady Queen of Angels, on East 113th Street between Second and Third Avenues.

As the women were taken to a police van, a crowd gathered to chant, ''Save our church!''

Maria Soto leaving Our Lady Queen of Angels Roman Catholic Church, on East 113th Street, after taking part in a vigil yesterday. [Photo by] John Marshall Mantel for The New York Times

Just before she was arrested, Carmen Villegas, 52, said, ''I can't believe I have to be afraid in my own church. I can't believe the church is not backing us up.''

The other protesters, participating in a round-the-clock vigil that started after Mass on Sunday, agreed to leave after church leadership requested in writing that they do so.

The six women were taken to the 23rd Precinct station house.

Two parishioners were arrested at a church in Yonkers, which is also scheduled to close, for taking part in a sit-in on Sunday.

Before the arrests, about two dozen parishioners, many of them elderly, wearing coats and hats, were prepared to stay the night in the cold church, which was lighted only by flickering votive candles and two altar lamps.

Earlier in the evening, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York called in security guards to watch over the group, which had been singing ''Ave Maria'' and saying ''Hail Mary'' in Spanish.

''The archdiocese is quick to hire private security, but they can't have a dialogue with their parishioners, and it's really shameful and unfortunate,'' said Melissa Mark-Viverito, a councilwoman representing East Harlem. ''They are here to intimidate.''

The spokesman for the archdiocese, Joseph Zwilling, did not return calls about the guards and the arrests last night.

''We don't want to do this,'' said Carmen Villegas, an organizer of the vigil, who was one of those arrested. ''We don't want to disobey the church, and I don't think that's what we're doing. But we do want to be here to pray and worship where we feel comfortable.''

Our Lady Queen of Angels is one of 21 churches that the archdiocese has said it will shut down or combine with others as part of a plan that the archdiocese released last month as it struggled to deal with a shortage of priests and what it saw as demographic changes in its 10-county jurisdiction.

Upset at the prospect of losing a nearby church that has been a fixture in their lives, the parishioners began organizing a continuous protest with parishioners taking turns in shifts, some as short as four hours, others practically all day. The protest began when five church members stayed behind on Sunday.

Some said they had been reluctant to take part in a protest at a church they loved. ''People in this group don't relish being arrested,'' said Peter Borre, co-chairman of the Council of Parishes, a Boston-based group that has fought church closings there and is helping with the vigil.

''They don't think it's necessary or appropriate, but they're ready,'' said Mr. Borre, who spent Sunday night in the church with the protesters.

Mr. Borre said the group was being careful to keep the linoleum-tile floor in the sanctuary clean. ''No coffee cups,'' Mr. Borre said. ''No boom boxes.''

The pastor, the Rev. Gerard Mulvey, dropped by twice on Sunday night, the first time so quietly the protesters did not hear him. Startled, Ms. Villegas trained her flashlight on him. She said he seemed as surprised as she was.

''He jumped,'' she said.

He returned a few hours later and ''made sure to say hello'' as he walked through the dark sanctuary.

The morning Mass was said by the assistant pastor, the Rev. Alvito Cardozo. Ms. Villegas and other protesters said that when they did not get up to leave, he walked down the aisle to them and asked, ''Why are you still here?''

Ms. Villegas said they replied that they were taking part in the vigil.

Several others quoted him as asking a second question: ''Are you going to leave soon?''

Maria Santana, who was taking part in the protest, said the group told him, ''No, we aren't leaving because you're going to shut this place down and lock us out if we do.'' Father Cardozo later confirmed the exchange but refused to answer any other questions.