Get the feed!
Closings challenge faith
Read the article / show / issue that provoked me to write a letter and my response below that or go straight to my response
Date Posted on this Site
June 28, 2007
Publication
Windsor Star
Publication Date
June 26, 2007
Published Content
by Craig Pearson
Local MP Joe Comartin, one of the highest-profile Catholics in the area, is considering changing his faith in light of the diocese's weekend announcement to close six Windsor churches.
Fourteen months ago, the diocese of London announced it would close six churches in Windsor, and close another three churches in Essex County and open one new one.
At Sunday mass, however, as a result of "further studies," the diocese reconfirmed it would still close Walkerville's St. Anne church, which it was reconsidering, and announced that it would shut five more in Windsor.
Comartin considers the decision wrong and thinks it will encourage some Catholics to switch faiths. Will Comartin consider changing denominations as a result of the church closings?
"I would have to say yes," he said Monday. "It's hard for me to imagine that. I've been a Catholic all my life, and quite devoted to it. And it's hard to imagine ever going to another Christian denomination."
But Comartin said he is so disheartened by Vatican policy and the slew of churches set to close, including his own, Our Lady of the Rosary, that he thinks only God can now help.
"From a straight faith-based standpoint, it really requires divine inspiration to hit our leadership," Comartin said. "The laity have lobbied extensively for changes. We are constantly rebuffed. At this point, I've given up all hope except by way of prayer."
Comartin feels the church closings are a direct result of blind adherence to Vatican policy. He believes most churches aren't closing because of a lack of parishioners or a lack of money, but because of a lack of priests.
The Catholic church must allow priests to marry and must ordain women priests, Comartin said, if it hopes to survive. "In 10 years from now we're going to go through the same thing again," he said.
Comartin notes that Our Lady of the Rosary has roughly the same number of members today as it did a decade or so ago, and that parishioners pledged to raise the money required to maintain it. He points out that the community helped pour $2 million into Our Lady of the Rosary in recent years.
This isn't the first time Comartin and the diocese have had friction. Two years ago, Bishop Ronald Fabbro stripped Comartin of his liturgical privileges and publicly criticized the outspoken NDP member of Parliament's support of gay marriage.
"In spite of my fight with the church two years ago, this has been much more damaging to my faith," said Comartin, who thinks the Catholic church is killing itself. "They're so hidebound by tradition that they can't see the ability that we have.
"It really isn't about money. It's about not sharing power with the laity."
London diocese spokesman Ron Pickersgill said declining numbers of parishioners, and rising costs of upkeep, have forced the Catholic church to make some hard decisions in order to grow stronger for the future.
"I've been getting some e-mails. People are disappointed with the news, and some are making excellent points on what to do in the future," Pickersgill said. "People do want to know how the decision was reached.
My Response Letter
I am appalled that Mr. Comartin would suggest that the closing of several Windsor churches may lead him and others to leave the Catholic Church. People believe in the truth of their faith, not in the status of a church's buildings. Instead of using his high profile within the community to bully the Catholic Church over the regrettable closings, Mr. Comartin should be honest enough to admit that he cannot submit his will to the truth of what the Church teaches. (After all, he supported same sex marriage, he advocates for women and married priests, and he criticizes the Church for being "hidebound to tradition".) Catholics in Windsor should pray for Mr. Comartin and others who find their faith tested at this time.
Jason Gennaro
Was my response published?
Yes