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Pane-ful quarrel grips Ajax church
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
April 14, 2008
Publication
Toronto Star
Publication Date
April 11, 2008
Published Content
By Carola Vyhnak
Church and state are at war in Ajax over a piece of history. Twenty pieces of history, to be exact.
They're stained-glass windows - some of which are shown at left - in a decaying 137-year-old church the town bought last fall. The parish that prayed there for decades wants to put the sacred works of art in its new house of worship. But the town refuses to relinquish what it calls an integral part of the building's history.
The feud has escalated to the point where Ajax Mayor Steve Parish is accusing the pastor at St. Francis de Sales of ringing church bells at all hours as a pressure tactic.
Rev. Roy Roberts - "Father Roy," as he's known - accuses the town of "trampling on the graves" of founding families whose names are inscribed on the windows.
The Archdiocese of Toronto, which owned the structure on Church St. in Pickering Village, sold it to Ajax for $50,000 because the congregation had outgrown it. They tried to negotiate the windows but the town refused to give them up because of the church's heritage designation, said David Finnegan, director of planning, properties and housing.
The Catholic parish, meanwhile, had assumed the windows would be removed to hang in its new building two kilometres away on Ravenscroft Rd. The "beautiful, beautiful" stained-glass panels donated by early parishioners could easily be replaced in the old building with replicas, Roberts said yesterday. "They're not just a decoration. There's a sacred and spiritual element that raises them to the level of iconography."
By refusing to hand them over, the town is "trampling on the very graves of the donors" and "disrespecting their Catholicity," he said in a bulletin to parishioners.
Roberts cast the town among the "ranks of Church persecutors throughout history."
There's pain in Denise Ford's voice as she relates her family's connection to the windows through her husband Dan, a descendant of William Harrigan, who helped build the church in 1871. After he died in 1904, his family donated a window in his memory, depicting Saint Francis de Sales.
"I'm very hurt and saddened," said Ford, who helped raise money to build the new church that opened in July 2006. "Everyone has a sense of loss over this. These belong to the parishioners. Why can't we take what means so much to us spiritually to our new home?"
Removing the windows would have destroyed the building's historical designation, Parish argues.
"We felt it was incumbent upon us to preserve one of the most significant pieces of architecture in Pickering Village."
The town plans to spend $1.2 million to repair and turn the building into an arts and cultural centre.
Two windows were offered as a compromise but the parish "wanted all or nothing," the mayor said in an interview. Roberts, however, said the offer was revoked before they could make a decision.
Yesterday, Parish cited a laundry list of alleged sins by Roberts and his flock, including pews unlawfully stripped out, an insult to a staff member and excessive bell-ringing "at all hours" at the new St. Francis de Sales church.
"This is a tactic to put pressure on the town over the windows," he charged.
The town has taken the church and Archdiocese to court for violating the noise bylaw, following complaints by neighbours. The case has yet to be heard.
Roberts called the bell-ringing accusations "absurd," saying if anything, they're ringing the bell less often and more quietly than at the old church. Finnegan also denied a link between bells and windows.
"It is not a tactic. It is not something we'd do or condone."
Both sides said they're waiting for apologies for the way they've been treated, although Father Roy is still hopeful they can restart "peaceful negotiations."
But they don't have a prayer as long as Parish doesn't feel inclined to ask council to have the historical designation overturned.
"Let's just say I'm not in a mood to be generous," he said, indicating he's closed the door on further dialogue.
"In light of them spurning our offer (of two windows) and the subsequent course of conduct . . . and the silly, silly bell-ringing incident, I think they should all be embarrassed."
My Response Letter
Dear Mr. Parish:
I recently read in the Toronto Star that the Town of Ajax has refused to allow a Catholic parish to transfer 20 stained glass windows to a new church, after the parish sold the church with the windows to the town.
If the reporting is correct, I am dismayed at this situation.
No church should be forced to relinquish a part of its history so that a municipality may preserve the historical nature of the building. Admirable as preservation is, the Catholic community has a right to windows, which remain more than mere parts of a building. These works of art are sacred matter. In most instances, the glass was donated on behalf of deceased parishioners. In many respects, that makes the pieces equivalent to tombstones and cemetery markers.
Although it would be wrong for the church community to strip the building of its contents, it cannot be right for the town to withhold from the parish its rightful belongings.
I pray that you and your colleagues can find it in your hearts to allow the parish to possess the stained glass.
Yours in Christ,
Jason Gennaro
Did I get a response?
Yes
Dear Jason:
Thank you for your e-mail with respect to the windows of St. Frances de Sales Church. I appreciate the time you took to provide me with your comments.
Sincerely,
Mayor Steve Parish