Boston Lithuanian and Other Parishes to Stay Open

St. Peter Lithuanian Parish Website | June 21, 2005 | Angelas

[Angelas]

Friends of Saint Peter Lithuanian Parish – Update # 18

June 17, 2005

Dear Friends,

A little over a year ago, we received the devastating news that our beloved St. Peter Lithuanian Parish was going to be closed! Yesterday, on June 16th, 2005, the Archdiocese removed the threat of extinction by announcing that our Parish will stay open!

We all deserve to breathe a sigh of relief and we all deserve to feel a great amount of satisfaction at having its ill-conceived decision reversed. We banded together to save a part of our heritage. We stood shoulder to shoulder in our determination to keep our Parish open. We demonstrated, we wrote letters, made phone calls and helped the cause in countless ways. We contributed monies to launch a legal and canonical challenge to the threat of closure. We worked hard, we sacrificed time and energy and we can exult in the news proclaimed by the Archdiocese.

However, there are still unanswered questions. We shall pursue answers and clarifications with the help of our canon law attorney. News reports offer different threads of information. For example, the Boston Globe proclaimed on its front page (June 17, 2005) that St. Peter Lithuanian Parish would remain open along with four other parishes. The news release published on the website of the archdiocese of Boston offers a slightly different tone. This news release clearly states that two parishes will remain open, two others will have their closing dates rescinded and St. Peter Lithuanian Parish will not have a closing date established.

We are not sure what this means and we hope to find out. We shall be requesting clarification from the archdiocese. Fr. Zukas has been named principal contact concerning the status of the Parish so perhaps he will receive clarification that he can share with us.

We know that at least for now, we are open and the imminent threat of closure has been removed. We should celebrate this victory and we can afford to be guardedly optimistic about our future. It remains a very real possibility that the archdiocese will revisit this whole issue of reconfiguration at some later time and we may be faced with a similar threat of closure. Time will tell. But for now, enjoy the serenity that comes with the removal of the threat of closure. Let’s enjoy our Parish life as never before. Let’s recommit ourselves to making our Parish more vibrant and thriving than ever before!

Plans are being considered for a mass of Thanksgiving and Celebration in the early fall. We shall keep you informed of any information about our future. Enjoy the day! Enjoy the news! Pray that the archdiocese does not consider reconfiguration again for a very long time! Until next time,

Gloria R. Adomkaitis for the Friends

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/06/17/archdiocese_lifts_plans_to_close_five_parishes/

http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=89757

http://www.rcab.org/News/releases/statement050616.html