BUFFALO, NY (WKBW) — You might say Western New York’s Catholic community is on "pins and needles" waiting to learn the fate of their beloved churches.
The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo now put the wheels in motion to start holding regional meetings with parish families this week. This is when we could learn for the first time which churches it will recommend closing or merging.
“All clergy, family leadership teams, their trustees are invited to attend that meeting, and their deacons, so they can all be on the same page of why we are making the recommendations we are making,” explained Father Bryan Zielenieski, vicar for Renewal & Development, Buffalo Diocese.
Last week the Buffalo Diocese announced it would reduce its footprint with more than 50 churches to close or merge, among 161 parishes across the eight counties of Western New York. It’s part of the Road of Renewal as the bankruptcy diocese faces a mountain of debt from the more than 900 Child Victims Act cases filed against them from the clergy abuse scandal.
Now 36 families of parishes are part of seven regional vicariates.
The diocese began meeting with the vicariates this week to announce its recommendations for what churches should close or merge.
“They will then be allowed to take those recommendations back to their larger parish structures to talk about them further and to either acknowledge and accept the recommendations that were made or to provide alternatives to what was recommended,” Zielenieski described.
The vicariates have until July 15 to provide their suggestions to the diocese. The diocese will then have a final list of church closings will be issued on September 1st.
A vicariate meeting for all Buffalo churches is planned for Thursday night.
"The parishioners want something that works,” declared Michael Taheri, Buffalo Catholic.
Taheri an outspoken Catholic, tells me he doesn't support this process and said the diocese needs to allow the “laity” to have a “bigger role in this process”.
“People want to participate, they want to be heard, and they want their recommendations taken seriously, so, this is not a responsive situation. This is being we're being dictated to,” Taheri remarked. “They really need a massive redo on the role of laity.”
The diocese has announced another piece of property will go up for sale. The St. Jude Center on Ellicott Street in downtown Buffalo’s Medical Corridor. They are listing it for $1.5 million.
The diocese plans to move the St. Jude Center to St. Joseph Cathedral downtown, but that’s not within walking distance from those who traditionally go to the shrine from the nearby hospitals for prayer.
“It's close to Children's Hospital, Buffalo General Hospital, the UB Medical School, so there are people that go to that center on a short-term spiritual retreat. Maybe they're at the hospital, maybe they just had some type of care, and they want and they want prayers and it's walkable, so that's really a cornerstone of what ministry is all about – that’s not the place that should be closing,” Taheri replied.
You might recall Taheri and a handful of other Catholics sent a letter to the Pope in April calling on the Vatican to force Bishop Michael Fisher to resign.
“Have you heard any response to your petition from the Vatican?” Buckley asked.
“No. We sent a follow-up letter about two weeks ago and I remain confident that the Pope will respond in some form or fashion and at least look at the matter. If he sends a representative, like they did before, and the representative draws certain conclusions and the laity can participate then we've done our job as laity. We've brought it to the pope's attention,” replied Taheri.
But since that letter, the bishop has been more visible, even agreeing to media interviews with 7 News in April. He also appeared and spoke at last Monday’s Road to Renewal announcement. I asked Taheri if he felt the bishop is doing a better job.
“I think he has. I think since that letter was sent by our little group; I think he's been out in public more. I think he's trying to be a participant in the community, but there's more work to do, and I think he is certainly capable of doing more,” Taheri responded. “Listen to the people and you know like Jesus, you got to hang on the cross, sometimes it is tough. Jesus Christ did, we imitate Christ so he's got to hang on the cross a little bit.”
