Former parishioners working to save churches

PHOTOS BY JACOB GURNEY Parishioners are trying to save St. Sebastian Church (left) and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church from destruction. Former parishioners of St. Sebastian Church, 5589 Bismark Road, Bellevue, and Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, at TR 126 and North CR 29 near Reedtown, still are working to save the buildings from destruction. Senior Director of Communications Kelly Donaghy of Catholic Diocese of Toledo said there was a merger of parishes in 2005 and the churches haven't been used since. In a letter to parishioners Jan. 23, Bishop Daniel Thomas stated that as many individuals chose to move away or no longer exercise their Catholic faith, it was necessary to merge parishes in the area and throughout the diocese in 2005. Nov. 22, Thomas decreed the churches as relegated. Donaghy said when a church is relegated, it loses its "blessing, dedication and consecration." The decrees were communicated to Father Jacob Gordon, pastor of St. Gaspar del Buffalo parish, which had 10 days to challenge the decree. Donaghy said information about the decrees was published in parish bulletins to let people know, and a Dec. 26 letter from the bishop to Gordon acknowledged the relegations were announced in the parish bulletin. President Deb Bumb of Bismark Senior Community Center, located across the road from St. Sebastian, said while nobody initially disputed the relegation, they weren't told the churches could never be used again and a few people didn't know about the decision and were upset. In the Jan. 23 letter, Thomas said members of the finance and pastoral councils of St. Gaspar Del Bufalo parish and its pastor, Father Jacob Gordon, requested the relegation of both churches because the parish did not have sufficient funding for their upkeep. It states "In the letter requesting relegation, dated October 12, 2017, Father Gordon expressed the concern that Saint Gaspar del Bufalo parish faced a likely financial deficit, which would only be worsened if the two former church buildings were retained by the parish." Joe Fritz said he attended both churches as well as St. Gaspar Del Bufalo, 16209 E. CR 46, which is where parishioners were told to go when the other churches closed. He said an offer of $300,000 to buy St. Sebastian and an offer to purchase Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the appraised price were declined by the diocese. "It just makes no business sense at all," Fritz said. "It is going to cost more than that to get rid of the churches." In the Jan. 23 letter, Thomas stated, "After thorough analysis, it was either not possible or did not seem prudent to alienate — through donation or public sale — the two closed church buildings. Assumption Church is logically connected with the cemetery on the same grounds and provides the sufficient space to expand the cemetery if needed in the future. The former Saint Sebastian Church is immediately adjacent to the cemetery, thereby making it impossible to separate it from the cemetery, which Saint Gaspar Parish should retain. "As a result, a way forward had to be found that would release any possible future burden for maintaining buildings closed since 2005 that the parish has neither used nor needed, and resolve, as best as possible, the financial situation of the parish. You can therefore see why the logical decision was to raze the structures," he stated. Fritz said the diocese no longer would have any liability if the buildings were sold. "The diocese is showing us they are in control," he said. "I think it's just a power thing with the diocese because it would be our problem after (the churches were purchased), not theirs." In the letter, Thomas stated, "Some individuals have indicated that they are now willing to contribute to the retention, repair, and perpetual care of these closed buildings. This, however, should cause all of us to pause and consider the current realities of Saint Gaspar Parish. With due respect for those who may have offered the above-mentioned funding, it is deeply concerning that similar support does not appear to be present for the active parish, the location where the Church regularly celebrates the Sacraments and sacred rites-these celebrations that go beyond buildings and truly make us the Church present in the community." "We were told at the time, the churches closed because they didn't have enough priests. Now, they're saying they closed them because we weren't supporting the parishes," Fritz said. "We were and we will." Bumb said people wants to save the churches because it is "a part of their heritage." "It's a landmark and a sacred place," Bumb said. "You don't do that to sacred places, it's dishonorable." Bismark Senior Community Center was founded in 2009 after the late Ralph Phillips purchased the school, priest's home and nun's home from the diocese, according to its Facebook page. Bumb said Phillips purchased the property for the community and Ralph's daughter, Angela Phillips, has been a huge help in the fight to keep the churches. "She has been working hard with us and has helped us out financially," she said. Feb. 13, a group of parishioners protested at the Catholic Diocese of Toledo to save St. Sebastian. "It was a peaceful protest and everybody has been respectful through all this," Bumb said. "I don't feel the diocese has been respectful, but we have been respectful." She said people from California, Florida, Michigan and all over the country and overseas have written letters to the bishop because they are frustrated. Bumb said she thought at least 1,000 letters had been sent to him. "The bishop continues to fight us. He won't speak with us or meet with us," Bumb said. After consulting many lawyers in the past, Bumb said just recently a canon law lawyer from Massachusetts reached out, which is how parishioners discovered the Diocese of Toledo may have broken canonical law. She said she just found out this year about canonical law and how it was broken. "We just found out this year about canon law and how it was broken,"she said. "That lawyer was sent from God." Bumb said canonical law states parishioners are allowed to have two Masses in the church each year, the church is to be open for prayer to parishioners and, if someone is financially stable to take care of the church, they are to be allowed to. Fritz said they were told they never could use the churches for Mass and for years, parishioners were locked out from the churches. The few people who could go in, later on, had to make sure not to take anything, he said. Bumb questioned why the diocese wasn't following canonical law. "Why do they have it, if they're not going to follow it?" she said. Bumb said while demolition was to begin Feb. 18, the destruction was delayed because the appeal of St. Sebastian's relegation was sent to the Vatican. The diocese had taken asbestos out of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but demolition had not started, she said. Parishioners were allowed to take out woodwork, windows and other items prior to the demolition date that they didn't want destroyed, Bumb said. "They're not supposed to touch it until we hear back from the Vatican," she said. Donaghy said that while Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary did a local appeal, St. Sebastian did a Holy See appeal. She confirmed demolition had been halted until they hear back about the canonical appeal. Bumb said that they have "definitely had people leave the Catholic faith" over this. "They're chasing more people away from the Catholic faith than they will ever be able to bring back," she said. Fritz said while he goes to church and will always be a Catholic, he just questions the way it is run. "I feel betrayed because I always thought we mattered," Fritz said. "I feel that Bishop Thomas is more worried about money than people coming in because we have lost people because of this. People have quit the church." Bumb said while this fight has gone on for years, there is always something good that comes out of something bad. "Everybody's frustrated and we get a lot of calls," she said. "It's really brought the community back together. (Bismark Senior Community Center) has a breakfast once a month and last month we had a record amount of people come. If there's one good thing that has come from all this it is that it's brought everyone together." "Now we are just waiting to see what we hear back from the Vatican," Bumb said.