Faithful March in Norwich

By Day Staff Writer
The Day [New London CT]
August 18, 2002

Norwich - They might have been just a long line of shoppers or pedestrians, but it was way too hot for a stroll, and they were easily distinguishable from a distance by a canopy of golf umbrellas and signs held aloft that read, "In Solidarity with Our Church."
A woman emerging from a store watched them from across West Main Street. She took the measure of the stifling heat and the majority's advanced ages, spotted two ambulances cruising along in their wake, and said to her husband, "My God, they're going to drop dead."

TheKnights of Columbus lead the solidarity March along Washington Street to the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich on Saturday. From left, are Ralph Ciliano and Camille Salame, both of Norwich.

"Why are they marching?" he asked.

"You know," she replied. "Because of the thing with the priests."

The thing with the priests has affected every Catholic diocese across the nation, even if there have been no allegations of past or present sexual abuse by clergy lodged against them. Priests, long considered above suspicion because of their calling, are now often facing suspicion because of it.

Parishioners at St. Peter and Paul Church in the Norwich Diocese decided that priests, long charged with comforting the afflicted, could use some comfort themselves. So Saturday afternoon they held a march of solidarity, beginning at their church and ending with a 5 p.m. Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Bob McGrath, 68, had a special connection to the sponsoring church, but he was not atypical among the marchers.

"My wife was the first one baptized at the church," he said, referring to Ann McGrath, who wasn't up to marching. She was attending Mass at St. Peter and Paul, said Bob, adding that he was one of 15 children who grew up in that church.

One marcher after another said that they didn't want all priests to suffer because a few had broken their vows. And they were willing to suffer some discomfort themselves to make a public proclamation of support.

Albina Czapski was an inspiration in what might have been her Sunday best, an ankle-length flowered turquoise dress and crisp white jacket, leading the line of marchers in a recitation of the rosary.

"Hail Mary, Full of Grace, Blessed Art Thou Among Women, and Blessed is the Fruit of Thy Womb, Jesus."

Faith, pride, and a deep sense of loyalty and connectedness motivated the group. Young and old, most laughed off the heat. Several said it wasn't any worse than what they'd endured this week on the golf course. Walter Way, 73, said he'd pounded nails outside all his life in heat like this.

The marchers were about 70 strong and traveled about a mile and a half in total, alongside one major thoroughfare, across a bridge, and along several residential streets. They stopped once for rest, finding shade under the trees outside Christ Episcopal Church, but volunteers bearing water bottles donated by Foxwoods Resort Casino popped up at numerous locations along the way.

The youngest in the group, 9-month-old Matthew Spinelli, rode in a stroller. Some rode ahead of the group, in a school bus. A few older women dropped out, to be picked up by cars, along the way.

As they headed up Broad Street, Tom Ward, 74, his face bright red and glistening, broke ranks and sat down on the steps in front of one of the city's many grand but somewhat tarnished old houses. He was O.K., he assured two women who had come back to check on him, "just pooped." He accepted a lift from one of the policemen keeping an eye on the group; but not all the way.

Some of the younger marchers were dressed in shorts. But up front, a half dozen men from the Norwich and Moosup chapters of the Knights of Columbus were in full regalia; plumed hats, tuxedo pants, long-sleeved white shirts and satin-lined, light wool capes.

"We're used to it," said Michael Donnelly, the state marshal of the Knights of Columbus, who was barely breaking a sweat.

Ward got out of the police car to walk the last leg. "I wasn't a Marine for nothing," he said.

Geri Tribensky walked as far as she could on two feet that had had surgery just two months before, she said. Wearing white socks, black Velcro-fastened sandals and a plaid jumper, the cheerful older woman had the air of a schoolgirl determined to measure up.

When the marchers arrived at St. Patrick's about 4:30 p.m., they didn't tarry outside for chats or congratulations, but headed swiftly into the contemplative coolness of the cathedral. Just inside the door, a few paused long enough to take the last few gulps from their water bottles, and little Matthew Spinelli got a bottle of milk while held on the lap of his mother, Michele, who rested on a staircase.

As the faithful streamed in for Mass, many more than the marchers, some asked if Bishop Daniel A. Hart would be speaking.

Although the Norwich Diocese has had some complaints of past sexual molestation of minors by priests, the Bishop has not been at the hub of the controversy. But the Boston Globe reported this week that Hart was accused of ignoring a 1984 complaint by a Massachusetts man that a priest then under Hart's supervision had molested his wife.

Hart decided against having the scandal addressed at the Saturday Mass because, parishioners explained, he wanted to let this march be what it was, a pure lay person's event, without any direction or direct response from the church.

Marchers and worshippers seemed resigned that the controversy isn't going to go away soon. But they refused to let it keep them from celebrating the goodness of the many priests who have tended their families faithfully for decades.

"We are moving forward," said Czapski before the march began, "to a time when everything will be cleansed."