Immaculate Conception Church in Watervliet is slated to celebrate its final mass this Sunday. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)
Posted on 11/16/2006 1:14:26 PM PST by NYer
WATERVLIET -- One of two Watervliet churches scheduled to celebrate their final Masses on Sunday asked the Vatican this week to reverse Bishop Howard Hubbard's decision that the church must close.
The appeal contends the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany manipulated the system that decided which of six churches targeted for consolidation would stay open, according to a copy obtained by the Times Union.
"I'm saying they rigged the process to get the outcome they wanted, right from the beginning," said John Razzano, a General Electric Co. chemist who wrote the appeal on behalf of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church.
Hubbard finalized plans last month to consolidate six churches in Green Island and Watervliet into three "worship sites" for the newly established Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.
The decision followed three years of meetings, study and debate. It came over the protests of hundreds of longtime worshipers in communities tied to their neighborhood parishes.
Those worshipers will have to let go for the last time on Sunday, when Our Lady of Mount Carmel on 23rd Street and Immaculate Conception on Seventh Avenue celebrate their closing liturgies.
An overflow crowd of more than 400 people is expected to attend the 9 a.m. Mount Carmel Mass -- "everybody who ever had any affiliation with the church," as Razzano, a lifelong parishioner, put it.
At Immaculate Conception, the Rev. Boleslaus Watroba will be one of six priests at the 2 p.m. closing Mass. He shepherded Immaculate Conception for more than four decades -- 1944 to 1986 -- the longest pastoral tenure in the traditionally Polish church's century-plus history.
"He still lives here and attends Mass every Sunday," said Carol Pickel, Immaculate Heart of Mary's parish life director.
Watroba will perform the final blessing and dismiss the congregation. Worshipers will process out of the church singing Polish songs. The doors will then be locked and wrapped in a purple velvet ribbon.
Hubbard is not expected at either church. The bishop is scheduled to attend a 2 p.m. Mass in Saratoga Springs to honor outstanding Catholic educators and volunteers.
Hubbard last month recognized the "understandable sorrow" that would accompany the church closings.
At Mount Carmel, Razzano took his case to the Vatican after Hubbard refused to reverse his decision. Razzano directed the 13-page appeal and supporting documentation to a major Vatican department established in 1564, the Congregation for the Clergy.
The department, which in the past has ruled both ways in such cases, will evaluate whether the parish realignment followed proper procedures.
The details of Razzano's appeal are lengthy and complex, but one of his chief arguments that the diocese "deliberately and maliciously manipulated the process" concerns an engineer's review of the six churches.
Razzano claims its results were a deliberate attempt to make Mount Carmel -- in his view young, strong and financially stable -- look like the most expensive building to fix up. The intent, he argues, was to ensure St. Patrick's emerged as the surviving church in that area.
The Vatican will request a response from the Albany Diocese at some point, said diocesan spokesman Ken Goldfarb.
"At that time we will respond," Goldfarb wrote in an e-mail to the Times Union. "It would, however, be inappropriate to address any specifics of this matter publicly. We respect the process, and we will respect any determination that is made by Rome."
The diocese has characterized the consolidation process as bottom up, not top down. Hubbard accepted the recommendations of a six-parish planning team made up of diocesan officials and five representatives from each church.
The plan would position the diocese to deal with a glut of buildings serving a smaller number of churchgoers, officials said in announcing it last year. Fewer than 10,000 people live in Watervliet.
The diocese, like others in the Northeast, is grappling with migration to the suburbs and a shortage of priests.
ALBANY -- Bishop Howard Hubbard finalized a plan Tuesday to consolidate six churches in Green Island and Watervliet into three "worship sites" for the newly established Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish.
The decision came after three years of meetings, study and debate -- and over the angry objections of hundreds of longtime worshipers in the communities tied to their neighborhood parishes.
Hubbard broke the news in a letter to anguished Catholics and in a news release, in which he said he recognized their "understandable sorrow."
But the leader of the 14-county diocese said it's time to put energy into developing a strong collective community that can maintain a strong Catholic presence "while being prudent stewards of our parish resources."
The decision was based on recommendations from a former six-parish core planning team charged with determining the fate of Immaculate Conception, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Sacred Heart of Mary, St. Brigid's, St. Joseph's and St. Patrick's.
Sacred Heart of Mary was closed last year.
Ginnie Hartkern is a sixth-generation member of St. Brigid's.
"There's no religion in any of this," Hartkern said. "I believe in God. But I don't believe in this anymore."
Consider how Hubbard is spending tens of millions of dollars to shore up his legacy, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, she said, while he's closing parishes that are the lifeblood of everyday families.
"I lived my religion, but now I see it's only about money and politics," she said. "It's wrong to come to a community and destroy it."
Shutting the Watervliet and Green Island churches comes on the heels of the decision to merge three parishes in Albany. Although the number of American Catholics since 1965 has risen from 45 million to nearly 65 million, the number of active worshipers is in decline.
In June, Hubbard unveiled the initiative "Called to BE Church " which will close some parishes and combine others to accommodate a shifting population and a dramatic drop in priests.
Part of Hubbard's announcement on Tuesday was that St. Brigid's School will remain open. For now, he said it will also oversee Our Lady of Mount Carmel School, which for this year will operate in its current location.
He said, however, he has also asked the parish leadership team in Watervliet and Green Island to plan and celebrate, by mid-November, the closing liturgies for Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Parishioners at the latter church gathered 2,300 signatures on a petition, hired engineers, and produced a 56-page report on why they should not be closed.
After hearing Hubbard's announcement on Tuesday, some said they believed even their most ardent entreaties had continually fallen on deaf ears.
"He made his decision two years ago," said Jean Dowling. "It's heartbreaking. Because your church is your life."
On Tuesday, Hubbard said an architectural study of the 21 buildings that had served the six former parishes will be invaluable in determining the new church's future.
"As a result, the parish will be able to redirect anticipated new resources from the lease or sale of those buildings into supporting existing vital programs and services," he said.
Luke chapter 19 -
Then the other servant came and said, 'Sir, here is your gold coin; I kept it stored away in a handkerchief, for I was afraid of you, because you are a demanding person; you take up what you did not lay down and you harvest what you did not plant.'
He said to him, 'With your own words I shall condemn you, you wicked servant. You knew I was a demanding person, taking up what I did not lay down and harvesting what I did not plant; why did you not put my money in a bank? Then on my return I would have collected it with interest.'
And to those standing by he said, 'Take the gold coin from him and give it to the servant who has ten.'
But they said to him, 'Sir, he has ten gold coins.'
'I tell you, to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. Now as for those enemies of mine who did not want me as their king, bring them here and slay them before me.'"
Christ have mercy
if only taking money from smaller parishes to restore a cathedral was the worst thing he ever did ...
I have much sympathy for these people. It's still happening here in Massachusetts.
I've got to say it: he is a homosexual terrorist who goes out in street dress to pick up male prostitutes.
Granted, some of these church closings are necessary. How the decisions are made, however, is the crux of the problem. Hubbard has adopted a slash and burn approach. Another freeper, who also resides in this diocese, recently wrote that the bishop has closed 9 of the 11 parishes in her area. And he is not done! He plans to shut down another batch of churches across the river from Watervliet, in the city of Troy.
Meanwhile, when my pastor approached the RC Diocese about purchasing one of the closed parishes, he was met with silence. He then expanded his search and found the 'perfect' church - a former Methodist/Episcopal Church, built in 1850 that was boarded up in the late 60s. After battling against liturgical abuse in this diocese, I set off in search of a new parish nearly 3 years ago and stumbled upon St. Ann's Maronite Catholic Church in Troy. Their church burned down in the 60s and was replaced with a simple, small, shrine, where Masses have been held ever since. On that first visit, I fell in love with the Maronite Divine Liturgy. Looking around the small building, a thought crossed my mind - "this liturgy deserves a more beautiful setting; I will help them find a new Church".
God acts through us in extraordinary ways. On that first visit, I had no way of knowing that the pastor had already purchased the ME Church in Watervliet. Committed to this cause, I helped him have the new church recognized as a state and national landmark. Once that was accomplished, we immediately applied for 'matching' grants from the state. Despite odds heavily weighed against us - in October of this year, both Hubbard's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and lowly St. Ann's future church, were awarded state grants to assist in their renovation.
The true irony of all this is that Father has struggled with the small community to raise funds to repair the future Church. With this grant now in place, Father expects that by this time next year, the future Church will be ready for Consecration and Dedication by our Bishop Gregory John Mansour, and ready to serve the Catholic Community in Watervliet. We both believe that our Lord has arranged this to ease the pain of so many Catholics, embittered by the decisions made to close their 5 Churches.
Please pray for us and the Catholics in Watervliet!
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