Saint Brigid's Parish is on appeal to the Congregation for the Clergy in Rome, from the Decree of Archbishop John R. Quinn to close our Church in less than four weeks. This weekend Robert R. Bryan, our attorney, is finalizing and sending to Rome a motion asking that the Church not close while we are on appeal. Joining him is our canonical consultant, Reverend James A. Coriden, Dean, Washington Theological Union. The motions states, in part:

It would be unfair and result in enormous hardships to the faithful of Saint Brigid, to permit the Parish to close while its appeal is pending from the closure Decree. The parishioners do not want to be forced to cease worshipping at the Church, only to return some time in the future if they are successful in saving their Parish. The spiritual lives of the faithful and their many Parish organizations should not be so unnecessarily disrupted and damaged.

. . . .

If the final ruling of the Congregation is favorable and Saint Brigid Church remains open, then it would be illogical to compel it to close only to be reopened some time in the future. The unnecessary disruption of the parishioner's lives and the expense would obviously be substantial. . . . Certainly it would be difficult to reopen the Church after it had been closed and portions of it contents likely removed. Church employees would have to be hired, accounts reopened, etc.

It is well established that any building will degenerate when not used. What happened to Saint Rocco's Church in the Archdiocese of Chicago, is a vivid reminder of the enormous harm which can come from permitting a church to close while its appeals are ongoing. As recently reported:

The idea that the Vatican could side with disgruntled parishioners, and against a bishop or cardinal, may seem far-fetched. But that is precisely what happened in the case of St. Rocco's parish in Chicago, after Cardinal Joseph Bernardin closed the church for reasons that remain unclear. Before making the move, the archdiocese announced that it needed to shut down at least two of six parishes in Chicago Heights, an older suburb near the Indiana border. St. Rocco's was one of the losers, although lay leaders say the parish was solvent, with 800 dues-paying families.

Members of the Italian ethnic parish filed a petition with Rome's Congregation for the Clergy, which ruled in Bernardin's favor. But that was only Round I. Then came Round II: a review by the Apostolic Signatura, the Vatican's highest court. In a 14-page ruling handed down (in Latin) in October 1992, the Signatura said, "The Archdiocese of Chicago is required to restore the parish to the status quo enjoyed before its suppression."

It was, despite the lift from Rome, a hollow victory for St. Rocco's. Bernardin lost on a technicality of Canon Law, which states that a bishop must consult with the priests' council before closing a church. (The cardinal insisted that he followed procedure, but the parish, backed by the Vatican court, argued that the consultation came too late.) Instead of reopening the parish, as the Vatican required, Bernardin went back to the priests' council to seek approval for the original decision. By then the vacant church had been vandalized repeatedly, and the debt-ridden archdiocese could argue that repairs would be too costly.

William Bole, Closing the Doors, THE CATHOLIC WORLD REPORT (Ignatius Press), May, 1994, at 30-33.

A recent memorandum from the Archdiocese of San Francisco to the pastors of the closing parishes, specifically deals with tasks relating to the final termination of church operations, even though appeals are pending...

. . . .

The very essence of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church require fairness and due process. To permit Saint Brigid Church to close while the appeal process is continuing, would create substantial hardship to the parishioners.

WHEREFORE, it is prayed that the Congregation for the Clergy stay the execution of the Decree of suppression until thirty days after the final ruling on the pending appeal.

Sincerely in Christ,

Robert Russell Bryan
Attorney for Petitioner-Appellant,
Committee to Save Saint Brigid Church

On May 27, 1994, Joe Dignan, Vice-Chair, received permission from the Archdiocese for an in depth structural engineering evaluation of our Church. The $15,000 study was to be paid for solely by the parishioners. Thus it was a shock to learn last Tuesday, that the Archdiocese "would not give permission for a further seismic study." In an effort to salvage the planned project, a letter was immediately sent to the Chancery, stating:

Today I received your May 28, 1994 letter regarding the proposed structural engineering study of Saint Brigid Church by H.J. Degenkolb Associates, Engineers. You unfortunately misconstrued my letter of May 27, 1994, and have also been given erroneous information.

I can only repeat what was expressed in my previous correspondence. We do agree with your terms. We only want the facts, and have not "unilaterally changed the fundamental conditions under which the Archdiocese had originally agreed . . . to conduct such a study." Specifically, we have and continue to accept the conditions you outlined: "1.) no information would be shared by Degenkolb with anyone until the study had been completed and at that time Degenkolb would hold a joint meeting with members of the Archdiocesan leadership and members of the committee to save Saint Brigid to share the results of the study; 2.) the study would be completed before July 1, 1994."

It is unfortunate that so much confusion has been generated over such a simple matter. We have agreed to your terms for the engineering study, and merely ask permission for the engineers to enter our Church for the evaluation process.

Please advise immediately whether we may proceed with the study, since time is of the essence.

Sincerely in Christ,

Robert R. Bryan
Chairman, Committee to Save
Saint Brigid Church

To date there has been no response to Robert's letter. It is tragic that we have been denied permission to get the true facts regarding the Church structure. This is an affront not only to the faithful of Saint Brigid, but also to Robert F. Tokarski, Chairman of the Engineering Subcommittee, who is presently in Great Britain. The Archdiocese should not fear the truth.

It is our duty as Christians and Catholics to continue doing everything reasonably possible to save this Church, which is essential to the community. Our Parish is viable and financially self sufficient. Please work with us in saving this 130 year old Parish. We will not throw in the towel.

The campaign to save this Church is not a contest of wills. The talents, time and financial support of thousands of individuals have been freely given because of a commitment to God. We are faithful Christians who feel it is contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ to close this viable Church. We simply want to continue serving our Lord in this community.

During a meeting with the Archdiocese on April 8, 1994, the offer was made that we, the parishioners, would raise any funds necessary to retrofit the Church. It would cost the Archdiocese nothing. The Archbishop rejected this, stating that allowing us to save our Church would favor a rich parish over ones that are poor. Nevertheless, Archdiocesan officials recognized that we could certainly raise the money, since the Parish is affluent.

Robert Bryan then made an alternative offer, based upon the examples of Jesus Christ to help the downtrodden: that we at St. Brigid would raise the funds necessary to save also a poor church. Bill Regalia, a longtime parishioner and leader in our Church, pointed out that he had successfully headed up a drive some years ago to help a less fortunate church. The Archbishop rejected our plan to save two churches, explaining that it was too much trouble.

We repeatedly stressed to Archbishop Quinn that by fighting to save our Church and one that is poor, we are only doing what Christ would expect of us. To do any less would be wrong.

Our commitment remains to save two churches. We pray that the Archbishop's heart will eventually soften, and we will be allowed to help the needy.

Write a letter to help save the Church
His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, and to the Congregation for the Clergy before whom our appeal is pending, must understand the importance of saving this Church. Please write them. Feel free to give us your letters, which we will promptly send by fax to Rome. They should be addressed to:

His Holiness Pope John Paul II
Supreme Sovereign of the Universal Church
00120 Vatican City State
Europe
FAX: 011 396 6988 5088

Cardinal Jose T. Sanchez, Prefect
Piazza Pio XII 300193
Rome, Italy
FAX: 011 396 6988 4845

Prayer
Most importantly, we all need to continue praying that this wonderful House of God will be saved.

We thank you for joining us in the campaign to save St. Brigid's Church. Everything we do is based upon a commitment to continue doing the work of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church in this community.

BSJ
Secretary