Dear Bishop Niederauer,

Welcome to San Francisco, a most diverse, contentious and politically balkanized city whose politics are worthy of Renaissance Italy. Good luck!

Among the many problems you will face is the festering resentment over the closure of parishes 11 years ago. Worse than the shock of closing beloved churches was and is the dismissive attitude of the Chancery towards its aggrieved laity. Its refusal to enter into meaningful dialogue with the parishes is reminiscent of the 12th century more than the 21st century. Vatican II does not seem to have filtered down to this diocese.

Eleven years ago I was talking to my friend of 55 years, Bishop Carlos Sevilla, about the closures in the hope that somehow he could help St. Brigid. During the conversation I also brought up the openly scandalous life of a priest who had been accused of fiscal malfeasance in two parishes and had been cleared by the Chancery. He was transferred to the Propagation of the Faith where he and his pedophile monsignor friend misappropriated more church funds. I said; "Carlos, if the Church tries to sweep this under the rug, it will eventually reap the wild wind." Unfortunately, that has happened here and across the nation. Surely, there must be a great shortage of millstones.

I am a parishioner of St. Brigid. This parish has been the most tenacious in its struggle to save its church, a veritable thorn in the side of the Chancery. The fact that it had 1,000 people attending Sunday mass, had 1,500 registered parishioners, had $700,000 + in its parish account and was the eighth largest donor to the archdiocesan fund made its closure particularly shocking.

A committee was formed to save the church. After several months, their request to meet with Bishop Quinn and Chancery officials was granted. Since there had been no visible damage to the church in the 1989 earthquake, it questioned the validity of an estimated $5 million for repairs and retrofitting. It offered to pay for a seismic study. Denied. It offered to raise the $5 million + for retrofitting. Denied. Denied on the grounds that it wouldn't be fair to let a wealthy parish avoid closure and close a poorer one. The committee then offered to also raise money to retrofit any other church the Chancery designated. Denied. It seemed rather odd that St. Dominic and Old Saint Mary were able to raise millions to retrofit their churches.

The committee then went through the long, arduous and expensive process of appealing to Rome. Rome’s final decision was that the fate of the parish was at the discretion of the bishop of San Francisco. Square one!

A San Francisco paper leaked a secret list that the diocese had compiled. It listed the value and possible uses of various church properties. St. Brigid was valued at $8 million, if sold and replaced by luxury condominiums. Recently, St. Brigid was sold for $3.7 million. Why the great discrepancy?

Well, since the committee realized that it could not save the church through the church process it turned to the civil process. Since the object of the committee was to save the church intact, it and many individuals and organizations requested that the San Francisco Board of Supervisors bestow landmark status on both the interior and the exterior of St. Brigid. Landmark status would mean no alterations and that would mean good-bye condos. No final decision has been made, but in the meantime the Chancery sold the church to the Academy of Art for $3.7 million.

The committee is continuing to seek landmark designation for both the interior and exterior and is also trying to negotiate with the new owner who intends to turn the interior into some sort of public space. If the landmark status is denied the Academy could do what it wishes with the property and it would immediately more than double the value of the property. Hello condos! It has also come to light that the Chancery had been offered $3 millon for St. Brigid by a Catholic layman who would have preserved the church and returned the use of the gym under the church to St. Brigid School. It also turned out that he was willing to increase his bid in order to outbid the Academy. Why did the Chancery reject the possibility of a more lucrative offer that would also have preserved the church? Selling a church to a layman is not without precedent in this diocese. Sacred Heart convent, church, rectory and school were recently sold to a Catholic layman. He intends to preserve the church and he has also helped save St Dominic and Sacred Heart schools.

I hadn't been to a meeting of the St. Brigid Committee in 10 years, although I occasionally made donations to the cause. I recently went to two to hear what was currently happening. At the last one there were about 60 people. Not only were there St. Brigid people, but also Sacred Heart people, the Russian Hill Neighborhood Association and a group that is dedicated to saving and preserving Victorian architecture. Catholics and non-Catholics, parishioners and preservationists and neighborhood organizations were there to help preserve the great cultural, religious and artistic heritage that is embodied in the church of St. Brigid. You should also be aware that it has been the nearby Russian Orthodox cathedral that has given the St. Brigid Committee space to meet over many years.

Perhaps the Chancery thinks it has prevailed and perhaps it has, but at what price? It has repeatedly shot itself in the foot, earned the ill-will and mistrust of hundreds of laity and made a fool of itself in the papers and before the general public. It has lost millions in the sale of the property as a result of its unremitting struggle with the St. Brigid Committee. It has sold our heritage. Please check : www.stbrigid.org to see what I am talking about.

I personally feel betrayed and demeaned. I am bitter beyond belief because I feel that the shepherd has allowed the wolves to ravage his flock and then asked the flock to pay for the damages to the flock. Yes, I would like to see St. Brigid as a living church or at the very least as a preserved architectural gem. I want transparency and accountability from the Chancery. I want the laity to be treated as Christ would have treated it. I want the Living Word preached and practiced by those who preach it. I no longer believe father is always right. I no longer pay and no longer obey and I find it increasingly difficult to pray.

Bishop Niedrerauer, come sit down with us, your people, and let us try to bind up the wounds for our good and the good of all the Church.

Sincerely. Bruno Morelli