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Sacred Heart-St John's Parish
601 N. Main St.Wilkes Baire, PA18705
May 31,2007
Dear Parishioners of Sacred Heart-Saint John Parish
At the direction of Bishop Martino and after extensive consultation with Monsignor Joseph Bambera, the Episcopal Vicar of the Central Pastoral Region of the Diocese of Scranton, I am writing to you about aii issue of deep concern for me as your pastor and for each of you as parishioners of Sacred Heart-Saint John Parish. The issue at hand has the potential to tear apart the very fabric that binds us together as a parish community.
A few days ago, I received a letter from a parishioner of our parish, Mr. Anthony Foti, who has presumed to speak on behalf of many of you. Mr. Foti proposed a plan to address the grave financial concerns of our parish, a plan that he indicates is endorsed by numerous parishioners. In his letter, enclosed in this mailing, Mr. Foti presents an ultimatum to me to respond to his demand to conduct a parish meeting. The purpose of the meeting is to create a forum in which he can present his'fund raising plan and 1, in rum, can respond to your many questions. If such a meeting is not held, Mr. Foti plans to conduct his own meeting and invite the.press.
In the interest of keeping us united as a Catholic parish community I feel it incumbent to respond to the many inaccuracies in Mr. Foti's letter. In his own words, Mr. Foti states that he plans to be "very explicit regarding the refusal of the bishop to even hear our presentation, the fact that efforts to save the church have been characterized as irresponsible, and how the parish community has been mislead and uninformed for over five years." Allow me to respond to these allegations of Mr. Foti.
Mr. Foti states that the parish community has been mislead and uninformed for over five years. The reality is that for five years we have openly discussed at parish town meetings, announcements at Mass, and informal discussions the precarious situation facing our parish community as a result of the deteriorating condition of our beloved church building. In 2002 a major presentation was made to the parish community regarding the physical problems of the church structure. We addressed immediate safety concerns at that time by removing the finials from the church steeple for safety reasons. We also, at great expense, replaced the church roof and made other repairs. These repairs however, only secured the building to prevent injury of parishioners and grave damage to the interior of the church. As a parish, we continued to move forward in the face of a mounting debt to the other parishes of the Diocese of Scranton from whom we have borrowed money. In the fall of 2006 another town meeting was held at which an updated presentation of the deterioration of the church building was presented as well as updated cost figures for its repair and restoration. Detailed minutes of all parish meetings are available to any parishioner as a reminder of what you have heard and what has been presented by professionals and parishioners alike over the years.
We have all struggled to confront the reality of a changing parish profile and exorbitant costs for the repair of our church and what would be the best way, for all concerned, now and into the future, to address the situation. To suggest that this struggle is synonymous with misleading you is simply unfair. To suggest that you have been uninformed is simply untrue.
Mr. Foti also states that efforts to save the church have been characterized as irresponsible. The term "irresponsible" was indeed used in the context of a letter sent to Mr. Foti by the Bishop's representative to our region. I quote the following from Msgr. Bambera' letter:
No one, including the parishioners of Sacred Heart of Jesus - Saint John parish, Bishop Martino or Monsignor Sempa wants to see a church building deteriorate or close. That being said, the expenditure of millions of dollars for the repair of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in light of the current profile of its parishioners and the questionable future of many parishes throughout the Diocese would reflect an irresponsible use of funds, given the many needs of the Church both in the parish and throughout the Diocese of Scranton.
Mr. Foti fails to acknowledge the fact that the profile of Sacred Heart - Saint Johnparish has changed significantly over the past few years. Like most of the parishes in Luzeme and LackawannaCounties, our parishioners are aging and many of our young people are relocating. To quote one: telling statistic, in 2006 there were 7 baptisms'of parishioners compared to 45 funerals of parishioners. Clearly, as in so many parishes in the area, our numbers are decreasing rapidly and a review of any of our parish statistics is proof of that sad reality. In light of that fact, we simply no longer have a sufficient number of parishioners to raise the necessary funds and more importantly to maintain'a repaired but still old church building well into the future. Is it not irresponsible to ask you for millions of dollars for a building that will be used by fewer and fewer people? Given the fact that we, as a parish, have been unable to address our debt for years, what makes any of us think that we will suddenly be able to raise millions of dollars from our declining number of parishioners?
Mr. Foti states that he has a plan to raise the necessary funds to restore our church building. He disagrees with the four million dollar price tag, stating that we no longer need to address the $500,000.00 for school repairs or the $700,000.00 for improvements to the church grounds. He then states that the estimate for the preservation of the church, even adjusted for inflation "is about 2.5 million dollars." He then goes on to note that "the initial fundraising campaign to raise less than two million dollars will fund all the structural and masonry repairs to the church building, and a majority of the debt repayment." Considering that our debt is over $700,000.00, Mr. Foti's math seems to be woefully inadequate. Even if the price tag for repairs and debt repayment were only 2.5 million dollars, given the fact that we presently have 1,090 families in our parish, which includes both active and inactive members, each family would have to contribute approximately $2,300.00 in order for us to achieve our goal. Given the price of fuel alone these days, not to mention the fact that many of you are living on a fixed income, is it not irresponsible to presume that we can attain such a goal from our parishioners? Mr. Foti may indeed have a plan to raise this money.
He is not, however, a fund raiser by profession. After the initial presentation of our needs in 2002,1 spoke with a professional fund raiser who indicated that the make-up of our parish was such that we could expect to raise only about a million dollars.
Finally, I would like to offer a few thoughts about Mr. Foti's statement regarding the refusal of the Bishop to review his presentation. Church law indicates that as your pastor, I am charged with the administration of the temporal goods belonging to our parish (see canon 532 in the Code of Canon Law}. It is however, for the Bishop "to exercise careful vigilance over the administration of all the goods which belong to public juridic persons (parishes) subject to him" (see canon 1276). Bishop Martino has been informed of our struggles as a parish since his arrival in the Diocese of Scranton in 2003. The structure of our Church is such that I am obliged to hear the parish finance council and parish pastoral council in order to share an informed perspective on a given situation with the Bishop. The Bishop, in turn, is obliged by Church law, after having been assured that the people of a parish have heard of their situation and have had an opportunity to make their voices heard, to make decisions about a parish in ways that insure that the sacramental and spiritual needs of the people are met. Ultimately, the Bishop's role relative to our parish is not necessarily to hear every idea and plan, but to insure that the mission of the Church is maintained and that our spiritual needs are met. That may necessitate at times, given the reality of change in our parish and, indeed, throughout the Diocese of Scranton, that a particular church building, as beloved as it may be, should not undergo repairs, because of the disproportionate burdens that such repairs may place upon the faithful.
The sad reality of life is that our parish is indeed in a precarious situation like so many throughout our Diocese. Sacred Heart of Jesus church building is not closing next Sunday or next week or next month. It will remain open as long as we can ensure that our people are safe and our worship is offered in a dignified space. But given the burdens that the restoration of our church building would likely place upon so many of you and the fact that it will likely face further decline in membership in the future, it is not our plan to embark upon such a costly project. To what end would we do so? If we want a museum, then perhaps some organization can underwrite the restoration and can take ownership of the building. If however, our goal as a parish is to provide an environment where faith can grow, where children can be educated in the ways of Jesus, where justice can be taught and lived, and where the Eucharist can be celebrated and the sacraments shared, we need to remember that a building will not provide those things. They will happen when we as a people remain focused on the Lord Jesus, wherever we worship.
May we never yield to threats but live as people of faith, proud of our heritage and committed to proclaiming the mission of the Church in ways that best serve-the needs of the people of God in our corner of the world.
Thank you.
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