Catholic Priest, the Rev. Bob Begin, Challenges Bishop Richard Lennon on Church Closings

Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | 3/12/10 | Michael O'Malley

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A Catholic priest who saved his church from closing last year by convincing Bishop Richard Lennon to change his mind, is now publicly challenging the bishop on the closings of other churches.

The Rev. Bob Begin, pastor of St. Colman on Cleveland's West Side, told the bishop in a letter Friday that the ongoing closings of churches in the Cleveland Catholic Diocese are violating the rights of parishioners and may be turning people away from salvation.

Begin, 71, who has a long history of challenging the church over perceived injustices, sent a copy of the letter to The Plain Dealer, saying he has written similar letters privately to the bishop, but has not received responses.

"By this public letter," Begin wrote to Lennon, "I wish to make it clear to the people of our diocese that my own public silence on this matter and that of many other priests is not a silence that has agreed with your decisions.

"It is a silence that was motivated sometimes by a fear of your retaliation, sometimes by an unwillingness to hurt the faith and culture of the church we love and/or by a sense that speaking up would not do any good."

Diocese spokesman Robert Tayek said Friday that he read a copy of the letter, sent electronically to him by Begin. However, Tayek said the bishop had not seen it.

"Father Begin's opinion is just that, one man's opinion," said Tayek. "We are not about to engage in a public debate between the bishop and one of his priests. The bishop's door is always open to his priests."

Begin's four-page letter comes one year after Lennon announced the closings of 52 churches in the eight-county diocese, saying the downsizing is due to shortages of priests, collection-basket cash and congregates.