Posted on 06/20/2002 10:24:52 AM PDT by nickcarraway
Power play in church?
Catholic family suing over pastor's treatment of them
Thursday, June 13, 2002
By Allison Hantschel
It sounds like a good deal: Commit time and money to the church and get a tuition-free Roman Catholic school education.
But to Bill and Marianne Bruss of west suburban Winfield, the program at St. John the Baptist school became a power struggle between them and the church's pastor.
The Brusses filed a lawsuit Monday in DuPage County alleging their pastor, the Rev. Guy Vaccaro, was trying to kick them out of the church they joined 15 years ago and their two children out of the elementary school.
"We don't think it's in his power to dismiss us from the parish if we want to participate," Marianne Bruss said. "We don't think it's right for him to threaten us."
The suit takes issue with the concept of tithing and names Vaccaro, the Diocese of Joliet, St. John the Baptist school and the bishop of Joliet, Joseph Imesch, as defendants.
Some Catholic schools — including a few in the Joliet diocese — are asking parishioners to tithe rather than pay tuition. A novelty to modern Catholics, tithing is the centuries-old practice of donating a percentage of one's overall income to a religious congregation.
Today, church leaders see this as a way to keep school tuition from rising.
Marianne Bruss said she and her husband had objected to St. John the Baptist's program because they felt it was unfair to require someone to make a time commitment they might not be able to keep.
However, they did initially pledge to volunteer and give money, and have kept that pledge, she said.
The priest also required all parishioners to attend mass at St. John or produce "evidence" that they had attended mass elsewhere, the Brusses claim in their lawsuit. If they did not, their children's spots in the school might be jeopardy.
"Seats will be awarded in (school) to those families who by their actions show the greatest commitment to stewardship through their attendance at Sunday mass, turning in their commitment card, and volunteering their time and talent," the lawsuit quotes Vaccaro as writing to parishioners.
Marianne Bruss and her husband often attended mass in another church, objecting to the way Vaccaro celebrated mass at St. John. They say he retaliated by removing them from parish committees, taking away their volunteering opportunities.
"It made us less than popular," Marianne Bruss said.
When they attended committee meetings anyway, they said, he wrote them a letter saying if they continued to go against his "express wishes," he would not allow their children to return to school in the fall.
The Brusses' daughter finished the sixth grade this year. Their son recently completed second grade.
Diocese of Joliet officials say the Brusses' suit involves disagreements with parish policies. In a statement, the diocese said the courts "generally do not become involved in these types of issues. We are sorry that a family of one of our parishes felt the need to take legal action. We hope the matter will be resolved quickly and fairly for all involved."
The parish's business manager, Aaron Simpson, said the tithing program has been in effect for more than a year now at St. John the Baptist, and has been well-received by most parishioners.
"We don't tell anyone how much they have to give and we don't ask how much they're giving," Simpson said. "And we ask everyone in the parish to tithe, not just the people with children in the school."
Encouraging tithing
The Christian practice of tithing dates back to the Middle Ages when it was instituted in Europe as a tax in support of the church and the poor. Contributions now largely are voluntary, usually based on an amount equal to 10 percent of the member's income but varying greatly.
Recently, Catholic school officials have begun exploring the idea of encouraging parishioners to tithe. However, the practice is controversial because it often requires a higher level of contributions from parishioners, and some church members balk at being told how much they must give.
The only American diocese to implement the program in all its schools is the Diocese of Wichita, Kan. Its schools are tuition-free to parish children, but parishes are responsible for getting enough money to support education through weekly collections and other fund-raising efforts.
The practice has been so successful in the diocese's 36 schools that it has been called the "Wichita model," according to Education Week magazine.
Wichita Supt. Robert Voboril said in his diocese families that tithe 8 percent of their income and pledge to attend mass receive priority in school admissions.
"The priest does monitor attendance, but in a general way. He doesn't stand at the door with a checklist, but he'll say, 'I haven't seen you at mass in a while,' " Voboril said. "Stewardship really is about spirituality and not about money, and I think people who pledge stewardship understand what they're getting into."
Concept being examined
The Archdiocese of Chicago's Catholic school superintendent, Nicholas Wolsonovich, has spoken favorably of the tithes-for-tuition concept. He acknowledged extensive study and input from parents would be needed before making a serious effort to put it into practice, however.
"We have not yet made any moves in that direction ourselves," said Sister Dawn Tomaszewski, spokeswoman for Chicago Catholic schools. "Informally, we do have sharing programs where one school will contribute money to help another, but we have not done that kind of stewardship."
In the Joliet diocese, St. Mary Immaculate school in Plainfield recently asked its parishioners to begin contributing 7 percent of their income to the church or face higher tuition fees.
The Bruss' lawyer, Joseph Williams, said his clients are not asking the Joliet diocese to pay damages, only to clarify how much control the pastor of the parish can exact over his flock in exchange for a place at the school.
'Parish belongs to its parishioners'
Vaccaro did not return phone calls seeking comment Wednesday. In the priest's letter to the Brusses, however, he cited their lack of attendance at mass as a reason they should not be included on parish committees or have their children in the parish school.
"It makes no sense to allow individuals to exercise leadership in our parish or to reserve seats in our school for the children of those individuals who do not believe that the mass we celebrate here is a true Catholic mass and do not participate in the celebration with other members of our Catholic community," he wrote.
The Brusses responded by accusing Vaccaro of purchasing an expensive home and "breaching his fiduciary duty to the parish and diocese."
Bill Bruss said he intended to fight for his family's place in the parish.
"They can't make individual rules to throw us out," he said. "The parish belongs to its parishioners. St. John's has been there for more than 100 years. Why should I leave?"
Southtown religion writer
Allison Hantschel may be reached at
ahantschel@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5998.
I'd really like to know what this line actually means. How indeed does Fr. Vaccaro celebrate Mass?
I'm sure the IRS will give it due consideration!
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