Posted on 08/16/2010 4:09:28 AM PDT by markomalley
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Defying the authority of their bishop, parishioners and their priest from the closed St. Peter Catholic Church in downtown Cleveland celebrated Mass Sunday in leased commercial space they transformed into a church independent of the Cleveland Catholic Diocese.
The move by the new Community of St. Peter puts members in danger of excommunication because they had been warned by Bishop Richard Lennon, who shuttered St. Peter's in April, not to hold worship services in places without his approval. 77 0 89Share
Still, about 350 people, joined by their spiritual leader, the Rev. Robert Marrone, gathered for their first Mass and communion in their new home -- a newly renovated, century-old building on Euclid Avenue and East 71st Street.
"This feels real good," said parishioner Bob Kloos of Cleveland Heights. "This is the handiwork of hundreds of people over many, many months."
Group leaders emphasize that they see themselves as traditional Catholics and are challenging the closing of St. Peter's, not the tenets of their faith.
"Here, enlightened by Christ . . . we can renew our dedication to the traditions of our faith which we hold as precious," Marrone said in his sermon. "Today is a day for action, not reaction; imagination, not fear."
He added, "I know it has not been an easy journey for you as it has not been an easy journey for me. But standing here today, I am filled with gratitude, peace and confidence."
At the opening hymn, the standing-room only crowd, joined by a choir and classical musicians, sang "Christ be our light. Shine in your church gathered today. . ."
Following the closing hymn, the crowd burst into an extended applause as the faithful hugged each other and cried tears of joy.
"I feel wonderful at this moment," said parishioner Suzanne Joseph of Shaker Heights. "It's a little scary. We're kind of going into a new way of being within the Catholic church, but I'm very happy we're on this journey."
Joining the journey were a few Catholics from other closed churches. "This is a historical moment," said John Juhasz of the closed St. Emeric. "These people are setting an example for many others to follow. This is truly amazing."
Patricia Schulte-Singleton of the closed St. Patrick in West Park said, "This is a big step. This takes guts. I commend this community and Father Marrone for their courage."
Officials from the diocese could not be reached Sunday.
The St. Peter rebellion is unique because unlike in Boston, where five congregations, in defiance of the archdiocese, have been illegally occupying closed churches for up to five years, the Cleveland group has created its own worship space complete with a new altar, baptismal fount and sacred icons.
The new space, unlike the classic cathedral structure of the closed St. Peter's, is a huge, brick-walled room painted white and lighted with rows of overhead spot lights and glass sky lights above exposed steel rafters.
The group's annual budget for rent, staff and a reserve fund is about $200,000. So far, about 325 people out of 700 parishioners at the old church have made the switch to the Community of St. Peter.
The congregation, made up mostly of suburbanites, had been quietly considering the breakaway ever since Lennon announced in March 2009 that he was closing their 151-year-old church building on the corner of Superior Avenue and East 17th Street.
The bishop's order was part of a downsizing that saw the closings of 50 churches over the last year because of dwindling collections, fewer parishioners and a shortage of priests.
After learning St. Peter's would be one of the casualties, parish leaders organized a non-profit corporation and raised money to lease the commercial space, originally the showroom and mechanics' garage for Baker electric cars.
When the bishop caught wind of a possible schism forming, he questioned Marrone and St. Peter's congregation leaders.
They told Lennon that the non-profit corporation was set up as a means to raise money to continue their social service and education programs after their church closed. The leased commercial space, they said, was for social gatherings to keep the congregation together. They did not tell the bishop they were setting up a church because at the time the community was still exploring the idea and had not made a decision.
Still, the bishop sent letters at the end of March of this year to each member of St. Peter's, suggesting their salvation was in jeopardy if they conducted worship services outside of a sanctioned church.
"Please know that I will not approve of a priest celebrating the sacraments in any space other than an approved site within the diocese," the bishop wrote, adding that he was concerned "for you and your salvation."
"It is my hope and my prayer," he continued, "that there is no attempt on the part of some to set up an alternative parish outside the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Cleveland.
"When there is a breaking of unity and communion with the church, there are consequences which affect one's relationship with the Lord. . . ."
Despite the bishop's admonishment, many in the congregation pushed on after their church closed in April, meeting every Sunday at Cleveland State University to pray and collect money for their new space.
But much of the flock was vexed with two gnawing questions:
Will Marrone come with us?
Are we willing to be excommunicated from the Catholic church for breaking off from the diocese in disobedience to the bishop?
Some left the group. Some stood by undecided. Some moved ahead.
But for months, Marrone, who has been on an extended leave of absence from the diocese since St. Peter's closed, stayed silent, talking only to those closest to him.
At age 63, he had spent his whole life immersed in the Catholic culture. He entered a seminary at age 13, was ordained at age 26 and lived his whole adult life under a vow of obedience to Catholic hierarchy.
Now Marrone had to decide whether to be faithful to the congregation he had inspired and nurtured for more than 20 years, or to the bishop who closed his church.
He began attending the CSU gatherings and eventually came to a decision: He would risk his institutional position as a conforming priest to continue shepherding his rebel flock.
"I see this as an act of disobedience, not a schism," Marrone said in an interview before the new space was opened. "But I suspect we'll get accused of schism."
Asked last week how he felt about his bold move and possible punishment from church superiors, Marrone, known for his oratory skills, simply said: "I don't talk about my feelings."
"The most important thing to me," he said in a separate interview, "is that the ministry of St. Peter's continues. The closing of St. Peter's was not legitimate. Our rights were violated. We made it clear to the bishop we don't think this is right. You just can't do this to people."
The reconstituted congregation stresses that it is not a revolutionary group seeking to shake the foundation of the institutional church.
"The Community of St. Peter holds to the fundamental teachings and doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church," said parishioner Bob Zack of Independence. "We consider ourselves neither a focal point of dissent nor a schismatic organization.
"We do stand, however, in opposition to the closing of our church as well as so many others in our diocese," Zack said. "The bishop says the church is his real estate. Fine, take it. We have no control over that. But we have decided we want to keep our community together."
"We believe, as the bishop has repeatedly stated, that we as Catholics, not any particular church building, are the church" he said.
Asked whether the congregation fears excommunication, Zack said, "That's something each individual has to consider. I have a hard time understanding why we need the bishop's permission for us to worship together."
Parishioner Norbert Koehn of South Euclid, a sculptor who designed and built the new altar and baptismal font, said he didn't expect the bishop to retaliate or push for excommunications.
"This is a new beginning, a new start," he said. "It has nothing to do with the bishop any more.
"Yes, there could be excommunication, but I don't think that once you've been baptized it can be taken away from you by anybody."
Marrone, in the earlier interview, described the Catholic church as being "in deep conflict with itself" and St. Peter's split as "a tragic comedy."
"None of us wanted to be in this position," he said. "We did not seek this out. There just comes a point when you stand up and say, 'We can't do this.'"
"This is a sociological story," he added, "not just a religious one."
"It's an ongoing story. It's an evolving story. In my last sermon at St. Peter's I said, 'The exodus begins. Come, let us go.'"
OK, as someone who is not Roman Catholic, I have a question: what’s with the bishops closing these large churches (700 people attending St. Peter’s before it was closed)? If there are that many people and they can raise $200,000, surely they could have kept on, keeping the existing church building in good repair? Roman Catholics I know from various state all lament the decisions to close churches, especially the large ethnic ones, such as the large Croatian one in Pittsburgh dating from the 1880s, where the bishop even tried to get it knocked down before the historic preservation people saved it.
I’m not Roman Catholic, but I suspect it is related to the expenses of maintaining old buildings and a shortage of priests. Some areas are extremely short of priests and if there are two churches very near each other with facilities that can serve both, one will probably close.
This pharisee of a bishop needs to be more worried about his own soul than the souls of those who are clearly working to advance the Kingdom of God and the Catholic Faith.
> not to hold worship services in places without his approval.
OK, so where does it say THAT in the Bible?
Or are we bound to the “traditions of men”?
WOW!!! I have NEVER heard of a diocese where sick people could not receive the sacraments at home, or wherever they are.
So, basically, he said, "I'm gonna make 'em an offer they can't refuse!"
In reference to my post #8, we are being told that giving money to the diocese for the new cathedral is what God wants us to do!
Protestant churches need to take in enough money to support the local congregation and their facility. Catholic churches have to take in FAR more money than the local congregation needs. The local Catholic church must support a HUGE hierarchy all the way to Rome. A large protestant church in my area may have 1000-2000 members. A Catholic church near me (no larger and no better staffed) has 20,000 members.
A 700 member suburban Catholic church cannot generate the money needed to support Rome. They must combine them with other local congregations to make them more profitable.
I was about to ask if these folk are rad-trads in the SSPX mold, or whether they're lefty loons in the "spirit of Vatican II" mold.
The about passage just gave me my answer.
It's the latter.
You are absolutely correct. I believe the Bishop was justified in his actions toward this “parish.” I have attended this “community,” and they are not in line with the traditions and teachings of the Catholic Church. A friend invited me to attend their Sunday “Mass” many years ago, and I left believing it was not a legitimate liturgy. At that time, they were still in the old St. Peter’s Church in downtown Cleveland. No holy water fonts, no pews—instead, folding chairs—no Blessed Sacrament chapel, Crucifix placed in the BACK of the Church, not behind the altar, priest “Fr. Bob” sat in the middle of the congregation in a folding chair, not at the altar, no Eucharist left over to distribute to the sick of the community, people inappropriately bowed to one another, Profession of Faith omitted, no sign of the Cross at the beginning of Mass, people went to the Altar during the Eucharistic prayer and surrounded it and holding hands, congregation singing “Amen” during the Eucharistic prayer, and DID NOT leave after the Eucharistic prayer. They continued to hold hands and said the Lord’s prayer. Not to mention they had a donut social afterwards in the back of the church instead of in a separate room. This is NOT Catholic.
Hurray for the bishop!
Thanks for that information. I had guessed the opposite. My job takes me all around the country and I like to stop in for a local Mass. Sure is a lot of variety. I definetly don’t like the alter being in the middle. I was raised in a proper church but sadly am too young to ever have heard a latin Mass. They have one in Dayton OH and I should go to it.
Precisely, dsat4life, it’s not Catholic at all to do what they are doing now. Many of the people involved with this are the same people who keep popping up in Cleveland dissident Catholic circles. I’m blogging on this topic: http://contrapauli.blogspot.com/2010/08/this-feels-real-good.html
The use of the description “traditional Catholic” is an interesting twist in this article. I think it’s an attempt to add more traditional Catholic schismatics to their bandwagon of agitators. That’s what these folks are—agitators. The one dude, Kloos is a big Dem contributor. http://fundrace.huffingtonpost.com/neighbors.php?type=name&lname=Kloos&fname=Bob
P.S. Michael O’Malley is a horrible religion writer. No wonder he writes for the Plain Dealer.
??? What are you talking about? Catholic churches take up one, that's *one* collection a year to support the Vatican. The "HUGE hierarchy" between me and Rome? Well, there's my pastor, and then there's my bishop, and he reports to the Pope.
Bob Kloos is also a former priest and, unfortunately, those men are almost always heterodox. My son had the misfortune of attending a Confirmation retreat several years ago, which Mr. Kloos conducted. There was nothing traditional or even Catholic about this retreat. Mr. Kloos and his female sidekick gave the eighth graders feathers which they pranced around with. Needless to say, there weren’t any traditional prayers or devotions at this event.
Since you obviously are not a Catholic, I will chalk up your post up to being uninformed.
In the Diocese of Cleveland, Catholic parishes pay either 10% or 16% of what they receive in their weekly collections to the diocese. They do not pay anything to Rome. Once a year a voluntary collection is taken up for Rome but no one is required to contribute to it.
Bishop Lennon of Cleveland is closing churches because there are fewer priests and because there are fewer Catholics in the diocese than there used to be (800,000 today as opposed to 1,000,000 in 1980). Moreover, out of that 800,000 Catholics who still live in this diocese, only one fourth to one third of them actually attend church on a regular basis and contribute financially to the support of their parishes. Fifty years ago, almost three quarters of all Catholics did so.
The problem has been further aggravated by the migration of Catholics out of old city neighborhoods to the suburbs over the last thirty years.
In other words, the diocese is downsizing because it has more parishes than it has Catholics to support them or priests to run them. This is especially true in urban neighborhoods, which have parishes that are located in close proximity to other parishes. The previous bishop probably should have started to close some of these parishes but he did not want to do that and become unpopular.
Finally, St. Peter’s is not a large church by any means and money is not the only or even primary issue in the bishop’s decision to close churches. The bishop gave every parish in the diocese the opportunity to participate in this process but it is my understanding that St. Peter’s refused to do so.
I have a hunch that quite a few members of St. Peter’s are involved in the movement “Future Church,” based out of Cleveland. They are a bunch of agitators and apostates.
Yes—while studying this yesterday I found out about former priest Bob Kloos and his Beacon Street ministry company that does stuff with puppets and mimes and what-not. He’s a big Democrat supporter. He’s performed at at least one Call to Action conference and he’s on the FutureChurch website. More recently he has become involved with the whole “Endangered Catholics” group. I’ve been commenting about this on my blog and elsewhere and these people are most *definitely* agitators as you pointed out. They put a note on my car telling me not to contribute to my parish anymore to protest the closings. Their new strategy seems to be an attempt to advertise themselves as “traditional Catholics”, a term which has been appearing in news stories about this incident. It is possibly a clever ploy to rope in the wacko contingent who usually get riled up whenever churches need to be closed and really not less accurate than when sedevacantists use the term.
In my opinion, Mr. Kloos is not the best type of person to be involved in the official ministry in the Catholic church. If he wanted to continue to be a part of church ministry then why did he ditch the Holy Priesthood? He’s a sad case of someone wanting to have the cake and eat it. These people are very confused and they are spreading their confusion around to others instead of learning obedience.
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