Catholic priest, the Rev. Bob Begin, challenges Bishop Richard Lennon on church closings

By Michael O'Malley, The Plain Dealer

March 12, 2010, 11:10PM

 

A Catholic priest who saved his church from closing last year by convincing Bishop Richard Lennon to change his mind, is now publicly challenging the bishop on the closings of other churches.

 

The Rev. Bob Begin, pastor of St. Colman on Cleveland's West Side, told the bishop in a letter Friday that the ongoing closings of churches in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese are violating the rights of parishioners and may be turning people away from salvation.

 

Begin, 71, who has a long history of challenging the church over perceived injustices, sent a copy of the letter to The Plain Dealer, saying he has written similar letters privately to the bishop, but has not received responses.

 

 

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2010/03/catholic_priest_the_rev_bob_be.html

Vatican panel extends deadline for reviewing appeals of Cleveland-area Catholic churches ordered to close

By Michael O'Malley, The Plain Dealer

April 09, 2010, 6:04PM

 

Plain Dealer file Participants in a 2009 vigil for St. Patrick church and others slated to closed carry a sign into St. Patrick church in West Park afterward. St. Patrick was one of seven churches notified that the Vatican wanted more time to consider their cases. Updated at 5:45 p.m.

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- At least seven churches ordered closed by Bishop Richard Lennon of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese received letters from the Vatican this week, extending the deadline for reviewing the churches' appeals of the closings.

 

Plain Dealer coverage of the Catholic Diocese church closings

It is the second time the Vatican panel, the Congregation for the Clergy, extended the deadline for the Cleveland-area churches appealing their closings to Rome. The new deadline is June 24.

 

"I think it's a hopeful sign," said Miklos Peller, a parishioner of St. Emeric, a Cleveland Hungarian church scheduled to close June 30. "At least they're looking into it and listening to us."

 

MORE AT  http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/04/vatican_panel_extends_deadline.html

Catholic Diocese of Cleveland puts churches on the market

By Michael O'Malley, The Plain Dealer

April 29, 2010, 9:30AM

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio — The Catholic Diocese of Cleveland, in the midst of eliminating 50 parishes, has begun marketing some of its properties, including 17 churches and a building at University Circle.

 

Total asking price: $11.8 million.

 

The push to unload real estate comes during Bishop Richard Lennon's ongoing downsizing of the eight-county diocese. The church closings are confined to three counties -- Cuyahoga, Lorain and Summit -- with most of them in urban areas of Cleveland, Lorain and Akron.

 

More at http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2010/04/catholic_diocese_of_cleveland.html

So this really was about the $$....

always is...

Another Cleveland City Church closed.  12 more to go....

 

Cleveland: St. Patrick parishioners say goodbye

Updated: 5/24/2010 5:13:44 AM 

 

CLEVELAND -- The parking lot was jammed and the pews were packed with people shoulder to shoulder for Sunday noon mass at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Cleveland's West Park neighborhood.

 

"It's very emotional," said Eloise Campbell. "Been here 82 years. Would you believe (that)?"

 

St. Patrick is scheduled to shut its doors May 30th after the closing mass is celebrated by Bishop Richard Lennon.

 

http://www.wkyc.com/news/local/news_article.aspx?storyid=136626&catid=3

St. Wendelin's also closed yesterday.

St. Emeric Hungarian Catholic Church parishioners want to preserve building as cultural center

Published: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 9:30 AM   

Robert L. Smith, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Members of St. Emeric Hungarian Catholic Church fear they have a lot to lose after the last Mass on June 30, when their historic church on Cleveland's West Side is scheduled to go dark in the downsizing of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.

 

Northeast Ohio is home to the largest Hungarian-speaking population in the nation, partly because of St. Emeric's Hungarian language school.

 

Each week, hundreds of children attend gatherings of the Hungarian Scouts in the church's Scout House, where a folk dance troupe rehearses.

 

More than a house of worship, St. Emeric is a cultural center for the Hungarian-American community on a secluded street behind the West Side Market. Parishioners, rebuffed in their efforts to keep the church open, now hope they can keep the cultural traditions alive.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/06/can_a_doomed_nationality_paris.html

 

 

Los Angeles Times picked up the story on St. Emeric:

 

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cleveland-church-20100614,0,1716703.story

I hope this place is preserved...the culture is fabulous and among one of Cleveland's first. Please...  No more parking lots!

The czar Lennon church closing is finished....ending with the Hungarian spoken St. Emeric.

 

The sad part about closing all these inner-city churches is not that we're probably going to to lose beautifully preserved architecture, but because in most cases, it gave certain neighborhoods a break from blight, and a presence of old culture....much is and will be lost sadly...especially the loss of authentic ethnic parishes.  St. Emeric for example, was/is the largest Hungarian speaking community in North America.

 

Closing of St. Emeric marks end of Cleveland Catholic Diocese downsizing

Published: Monday, June 28, 2010, 10:00 AM

Michael O'Malley, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- It has been 15 months since Bishop Richard Lennon announced he was closing dozens of parishes in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese, sounding a death knell for mostly urban churches built long ago by people coming to a New World.

 

Week after week, Lennon, in the company of armed police, has presided over church closings throughout the eight-county diocese, saying final Masses and performing rituals to "desanctify" the holy places so they can be sold on the open real estate market.

 

The closing of St. Emeric, which held its last Hungarian Mass on Sunday, signals an end to a downsizing that the bishop has said was necessary because of Catholics leaving the city, a shortage of priests and dwindling collection-basket cash.

 

"He did not want to come back in five or even 10 years and do this process again," said diocese spokesman Robert Tayek. "It's too difficult. The expectation is we will not have to go through this again in the near future."

 

The closing of so many inner-city parishes -- about 70 percent of the 50 -- unraveled the work of Lennon's predecessor, Bishop Anthony Pilla, whose "Church in the City" program toiled for years to preserve urban parishes, calling on the entire diocese for help.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/06/closing_of_st_emeric_marks_end.html

whoa...follow up story:

 

St. Emeric closing Mass canceled by Cleveland Catholic Diocese

Published: Monday, June 28, 2010, 2:00 PM    Updated: Monday, June 28, 2010, 2:59 PM

Plain Dealer staff

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Catholic Diocese has canceled the closing Mass planned for Wednesday at St. Emeric after being notified that parish leaders and members would not participate.

 

"As a result of this notification, it does not seem appropriate that a closing Mass be celebrated in such a manner," according to a news release issued today by the diocese.

 

Bishop Richard Lennon had been scheduled to preside over the 4 p.m. closing Mass at St. Emeric, a Hungarian parish on Cleveland's near West Side. It is the last of 50 churches shuttered as part of the diocese's downsizing.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2010/06/st_emeric_closing_mass_cancele.html

he's done it before i believe when the parrish decided to boycott the final mass.  I wonder how they de-sanctify the church then without the closing mass.  I would think the Bishop still would have to perform the rituals to de-sanctify the tabernacle, alter, font, etc,

More appeal and protest for the Hungarian church:

 

http://www.newsnet5.com/dpp/news/local_news/cleveland_metro/parishioners-of-clevelands-st.-emeric-plan-demonstration-to-keep-their-church-open

whoa...fighters.

 

St. Emeric protesters barricade themselves inside church

Published: Thursday, July 01, 2010, 10:29 AM   

Michael Sangiacomo, The Plain Dealer

 

 

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ten people have barricaded themselves inside St. Emeric on Cleveland's near West Side, refusing to leave the church that was closed Wednesday as part of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese's downsizing.

 

The protesters remained in the church overnight after a prayer service to mark the closing. Diocese officials were on the scene this morning, but refused to comment.

 

St. Emeric is a 106-year-old Hungarian parish behind the West Side Market. The church complex hosted a Hungarian language school, cultural banquets and a busy Hungarian Scouting program.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/st_emeric_protestors_barricade.html

 

 

rebels...

 

Bishop warns the Rev. Robert Marrone to stop breakaway church Masses

Published: Sunday, January 23, 2011, 6:03 PM   

By Michael O'Malley, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Bishop Richard Lennon of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese has threatened the Rev. Robert Marrone with punishment through church law for celebrating unauthorized Masses in a breakaway church.

 

Marrone and his congregation set up worship space in a commercial building in August, four months after Lennon closed their parish, St. Peter's near downtown Cleveland.

 

On Wednesday, Lennon handed Marrone a letter saying the priest was engaged in "scandal" and "corruption" by saying Masses in a space not sanctioned by the diocese.

 

He told Marrone he expected him to resign from the breakaway group within 48 hours or face "canonical action," a warning that left Marrone with the choice of remaining faithful to his congregation or to his bishop.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/religion/index.ssf/2011/01/bishop_warns_the_rev_robert_ma.html

 

Sell off that Cleveland history and character!!

 

Cleveland City Council delays consideration of stained-glass legislation

Published: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 5:00 AM    Updated: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 7:48 AM

By Mark Gillispie, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cleveland City Council on Monday delayed a vote on controversial legislation that would have allowed the Cleveland Catholic Diocese to remove stained glass windows from closed churches without first receiving the approval of the city Landmarks Commission.

 

When -- or if -- the legislation will ever come to a vote is unclear. Council members at a Finance Committee hearing on Monday expressed doubts about the legislation and several said they had no intention of voting for it.

 

"I'm not going to vote to take anything out of those churches," said Councilwoman Dona Brady.

 

When Bishop Richard Lennon announced plans in 2009 to close churches and remove the stained glass, some council members rushed to save the windows by designating the structures as landmarks. At least a dozen closed churches have landmark status.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/03/cleveland_city_council_delays.html

Cleveland Catholic Diocese shares financial report on closed parishes

Published: Monday, January 09, 2012, 12:21 PM   

Dave Davis, The Plain Dealer By Dave Davis, The Plain Dealer

 

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Catholic Diocese received $19.5 million related to the closing of parishes as part of a diocese-wide downsizing. That includes about $10 million transferred from closed parishes and $7.6 million from the sale of parish properties.

 

The remainder came from miscellaneous sources such as the sale of religious items and rental income.

 

Cleveland Bishop Richard Lennon promised today that the money would go to support local parishes.

 

Lennon offered the community an update in the wake of the reconfiguration that closed and merged parishes across the diocese.

 

So far, $4.9 million of the proceeds have gone toward closing expenses and paying debts of the parishes that were closed, a report released today by the diocese shows. Another $7.8 million has been distributed to local parishes and charities they support, and $6.8 million is being held by the diocese for future use.

 

http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2012/01/cleveland_catholic_diocese_sha.html

This is certainly unprecedented.  I wonder what it will actually mean....  that they would reopen those ones (if not already sold)

 

Lawyer: Vatican overrules 13 Cleveland closings

Published March 07, 2012| Associated Press

CLEVELAND –  The Vatican has taken the extraordinary step of overruling the closing of 13 parishes by the Cleveland Diocese, a lawyer who fought the cutbacks said Wednesday.

 

The move represents a rare instance in which Rome has reversed a U.S. bishop on the shutdown of churches.

 

The Congregation of the Clergy ruled last week that Bishop Richard Lennon had failed to follow procedure in the closings three years ago, attorney Peter Borre said.

 

The 13 Roman Catholic churches were among 50 shut down or merged by Lennon, who said the eight-county diocese could no longer afford to keep them open because of declining numbers of parishioners and a shortage of priests.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/03/07/lawyer-vatican-overrules-13-cleveland-closings/

 

I think that the parishes under appeal were not sold.

 

Of course, now they have to find priests to staff these parishes.

An e-mailed PR......

 

PRESS RELEASE - March 7, 2012

Contact:  Patricia Schulte-Singleton, Parishioner, Save St. Pat's Committee

 

A press conference will be held at P.J. McIntyre's located at 17119 Lorain Ave., Cleveland, Ohio  on Thursday, March 8, 2012 at 3 p.m. to publicly announce and discuss the details of the decree sent by the Congregation for the Clergy (Vatican) on the status of their appeal. 

 

St. Patrick Church was founded on March 17, 1848 in the Cleveland community of West Park.  It is the oldest Catholic parish in Cuyahoga County.  The parish doors was suppressed on May 30, 2010.

This is certainly unprecedented.  I wonder what it will actually mean....  that they would reopen those ones (if not already sold)

 

Lawyer: Vatican overrules 13 Cleveland closings

 

 

The preliminary reports suggest that part of the ruling was that the Diocese failed to follow the proper procedures for closing these churches.  If that's the case I would not be surprised if only a few of these churches are ever reopened.  They'll just start the process over and do it right the second time.  They really do not seem to have the funds and the parishioners to maintain all of the churches in the city right now.

^From reading various new reports, it appears that not only were there procedural errors, but there were also substantive errors (violation of canon law).  It was suggested that as a result, even starting the whole process over again by the bishop (as if there were only procedural problems) might be fruitless.