Cleveland: St. Peter’s reappears: "You just can't do this to people."

Some will remember the “Hand of God” film about priest sex abuse in Salem, Mass., particularly the raw moment when the filmmaker is shooting outside the Boston diocesan administrative building where his brother first had first reported his abuse. Bishop Richard Lennon, who had succeeded Cardinal Law until Law’s replacement was named, comes out, pushes the camera, asserting private property rights. When the filmmaker identifies himself, Lennon dismisses him scornfully as “as sad little man.”

In his other episcopal life, Lennon closed a number of Boston churches, disregardful of pleas from parish communities, a half dozen of which occupied their churches and have maintained 24-hour vigils since in the hope of continuing their parish communities in their churches. (Rome recently rejected all of their appeals.) As Cleveland bishop, Lennon is at church closings again—50 so far. Among those closed was 700-member St. Peter in downtown Cleveland.

Unlike other closing parishes whose members were resigned to joining other parishes or, as in Boston, occupying their closed churches, St. Peter parish leaders met every Sunday to pray, consider their future and raise money. They formed a non-profit corporation and raised money to lease a commercial space. When Lennon questioned them, they told him that the corporation was set up to continue social services and education programs and the space was for congregations social gatherings. At that time, they were still exploring the prospect of continuing as a parish.

Anxious, last March Lennon sent letters to each St. Peter’s parishioner suggesting that their salvation was in jeopardy if they conducted worship services outside of a sanctioned church. He told them that he was concerned “for you and your salvation.”

Two questions were prominent as the group moved toward continuing as a church: how many would accept being excommunicated and would their pastor, Rev. Robert Marrone ,come along? On leave, Marrone kept his counsel, talking to few. At 63, he had lived in a culture of obedience since entering the seminary at 13.

Subsequently, after a year of deliberations, the group decided to continue as a parish community and on August 15th about 350, including a few from other closed Cleveland churches, joined by Father Marrone, celebrated its initial Sunday Eucharist in their new space. Marrone had decided to be faithful to the community he had nurtured and served for over 20 years rather than obedient to Bishop Lennon.

"The most important thing to me," Marrone said in an 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."

In his homily, Marrone declared, “Today is a day for action, not reaction, imagination, not fear.” He added, “I know it has not been an easy journey or you as it has not been an easy journey for me. But standing here today, I am filled with gratitude, peace, and confidence.”

The liturgy began with the standing-room only crowd singing “Christ be our light. Shine in your church gathered today. Following the closing hymn, the community into extended applause, hugged, and cried tears of joy,

For once, a community joined in its faith journey had escaped the episcopal game of moving deck chairs on the sinking Titanic because they will not yield the power of the celibate male patriarchy to married men and to women, putting first things first. Community, central to the people of ‘God, apparently means nothing to Bishop Lennon and his like.

Parishioner Bob Zack declared, "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."

A University of New Hampshire scholar reports that at least 30 breakaway groups across the country, most, like St. Peter’s, determined to remain Catholics in worship and doctrine.
"The irony is most who splinter off are actually more Catholic in their beliefs than main-stream Catholics. But they really challenge the authority of the hierarchy," she has observed.

Professor William D'Antonio of the Institute for Policy Research & Catholic Studies at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., has found that breakaway groups are born out of Vatican II democratization of the church, calling for collegial decision-making and subsidiary function—making decisions at the lowest level where they may be made effectively. "This movement has continued to expand, mostly in America, but it's spreading world-wide," he said.

Two primary reasons, said D'Antonio, are the church's sex-scandal, which has hurt the credibility of the institution's hierarchy, and a laity that is more educated today than any other time in church history. "They have moved away from automatically doing what the bishop says."

[This report is much indebted to Michael Malley’s Cleveland Plain Dealer article. whs