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COMMENTARY
[Commentary was invited
from the archdiocesan office. The office indicated that they would consider
writing a commentary from their own perspective. We will publish the archdiocese’s
response when we receive it.]
“Reconfiguring” a
Relationship: Our Lady of the Presentation School, Brighton, MA
by Maria Rodrigues
May 25, 2004 was a day
that we Boston Catholics saw approaching with increasing anxiety. I woke
up that morning with a feeling of foreboding, knowing that even if my own
parish survived the Archdiocese’s “downsizing,” those of friends and relatives
may not. I was soon to find out that the Our Lady of the Presentation (OLP)
parish had not made the cut. Worse yet, its elementary school, in which my
five-year-old son had just enrolled, was also slated to close. I arrived
at the OLP schoolyard at release time and saw my son walking out of the building.
Clearly there was something wrong. At such a young age, he could not fully
understand what was going on, but was fully aware of the intense pain all
around him. In that split second, I must confess, there was not one ounce
of Christian charity in me! I was almost blinded by the hate I felt against
men who had dared to inflict this much pain on my little boy! I struggled
for some self-control, and immediately decided to fight back. There had to
be a way out! There had to be a way of rescuing that school and, with it,
part of my son’s world! I kept repeating it to myself as I looked around
and saw the older students crying their hearts out. I kept repeating it to
myself as I tried to cheer-up teachers, many of them had worked in the school
for over twenty years. I kept repeating it to myself as I looked at speechless
and tearful parents, who, beside it all, were stunned by the absurd timing
of the Archdiocese: Where will they find a school to enroll their children
in the coming year when the current one was three weeks short of ending?
It did not take long for
me to realize that my eagerness to “fight back,” to challenge the Archdiocese’s
decision, was a unanimous feeling among OLP parents, students, faculty, parishioners,
neighbors, and friends. That very night, a group of parents, supported by
local politicians, came together and started to brainstorm ways to reverse
such a reckless decision. In the fourteen days that followed, the OLP community – yes,
COMMUNITY, a criterion that the Archdiocese neglected to consider as it determined
the “viability” of parishes and schools – that community rose to the task!
We marched to the Chancery, we held candlelight vigils, we prayed, we lobbied,
we wrote letters to the editor, we wrote letters to the Archbishop, we saturated
the Chancery’s phone lines with requests for a reconsideration to the point
that outside operators had to be called in! We finally got the Archdiocese
to delay the school closing for one year. It is true that, from the beginning,
we focused our actions on the viability of the school. We had a partial victory
there, but we lost our parish soon after, on August 29, 2004. (The church
remained available to OLP students for weekly masses and other functions
related to school use during the following year)
The year’s respite that
the Archdiocese “conceded” to the OLP community generated many fruits. The
most visible of them all – but by no means the only one – is the Oak Square
Partnership for Youth and Families (please see full proposal presented in
December 2004 to the Archdiocese of Boston at www.psf-inc.org).
Shepherded by the Presentation School Foundation (PSF), a non-profit corporation
committed to supporting education in Brighton, the OLP community built partnerships
with civic groups, local politicians, business, and residents and offered
to buy the OLP school building at market price from the Archdiocese and establish
there a community center and private school. The Vicar General did not take
long to summarily reject the one hundred and fifty-page proposal in a five-sentence
letter. Stunned, PSF supporters and OLP families still went on. Again we
held vigils and rallies, we wrote letters, and held signs, we stood together
in sub-zero temperatures in the Oak Square Commons (across the street from
the OLP building) and celebrated our community and the promises of the Oak
Square Partnership. We held on to that dream and were sustained by the love,
friendship, prayers, and energy of so many.
As I write this piece
I wonder if our resolve shed some light onto our Church’s leaders. In the
winter of 2005, confronted with similar resolve among at least eight other
communities in Boston (the parishes in vigil: St. Albert the Great and those
who followed its lead), the Archdiocese began to re-think – though still
minimally – its disastrous reconfiguration process. In the case of OLP, such “rethinking” was
precipitated by the catastrophic events of May 8, 2005, when the Archdiocese
decided to close the school two days before Graduation day. But this is a
saga best covered in the local and national media. For us, members of the
Voice of the Faithful, the OLP story holds many messages of hope and empowerment.
And as St. Paul would say, our faith is only as good as it translates itself
into action. The Church in Boston has lost many of its faithful followers
in the past three years. Its mismanagement of the OLP issue drove away from
the Catholic faith at least half of the families – and the children – once
enrolled in the school. This, for me, was the most painful aspect of the
crisis. Who will bring these children back? Who will give them the opportunity
to experience a most loving God, a glorious faith, and a Church that, at
its core, will always embrace them? The OLP community, in the past month,
seems to have been embraced by Archbishop Sean O’Malley. I pray – and ask
for your prayers – that this is the beginning of a new approach to a “reconfiguration” of
the Catholic Church in the United States that is truly Christian.
Thoughts at Indianapolis – plus
30 days
From VOTF vice president Kris Ward
It was just a month ago
that the curtain came down on the Indianapolis Convocation but the excitement
and energy is still at a high pitch.
For those who have kept
the faith the longest and who have by their efforts, dedication, sweat of
their brows and their money supported this movement, Indianapolis was a moment
where it was and is clear that laity take their responsibility seriously
in this Church – and both the work and money is well spent.
For those who have come
to the movement any time in the last three years and who have also contributed
without counting the cost, it was evident in Indianapolis that we are fortunate
as a movement to have the talent that has been attracted to this organization.
With nearly 600 leaders coming
together at Indianapolis we were able to look around the convocation and
see the commitment and dedication that not only has carried us through a
trinity of years but gives us strength and hope for the future of our movement
and for the Church.
The seating of the newly
elected National Representative Council was a landmark moment at
Indianapolis. In the every day business of this movement it is rare that
we pause to stop and think of the historic. This is a history moment in
our history and may well be so for the Church. Stay tuned.
Indianapolis recharged
our batteries and propels us forward:
- An Implementation
Committee is being formed to keep the energy and work of Indianapolis
alive and progressing in our movement.
- Debriefing is
taking place with members of the program committee, committee chairs and
members and Steering Committee of the Indianapolis Convocation to gather
as much information as possible about what went right and what went wrong
as a storehouse of knowledge for our next national event. This effort includes
keeping a good record of our expenses.
- A list serve has
been established to continue the good conversations and connections that
were made at Indianapolis. To join contact Gaile Pohlhaus at gaile.pohlhaus@villanova.edu
The tyranny of time made
it impossible to make these announcements in Indianapolis but our gratitude
is nonetheless heartfelt:
- The Carmelite Monastery
in Indianapolis provided hosts for our celebration of the Eucharist.
This was a gift to us along with those provided by the
- Paulist Center, Boston (the
Paulist Center provided the hosts for the first Voice of the Faithful convention
7/20/02) and the wine made and given by our own Steve Sheehan. We thank Donna
Doucette for transporting these New England gifts.
- There are many members
of Voice of the Faithful who are married to members of Voice of the Faithful. It
was my intent in the introduction of our president, Jim Post, to acknowledge
all spouses of Voice of the Faithful members those who are members themselves
in words of gratitude to Jeannette Post, Jim’s wife. Jeannette
is a member of Voice of the Faithful and a founder. Only the Lord knows
how much through the Sacrament of Marriage and their lives together
Jeannette and Jim Post have given individually and collectively to Voice
of the Faithful. We are grateful to them and to all of our married Voice
of the Faithful members whose work in this movement is now a binding
thread of their marriages. We are also grateful to those spouses who
are not registered members of our movement but are very much part of
this movement in their staunch, steadfast, and long-suffering support
of the many hours their spouses put in on the telephone, at the computers,
on cathedral and chancery office steps, at press conferences, at state
houses, at meetings and that all important tossing and worrying in the
middle of the night. Voice of the Faithful is grateful.
- There is always danger
in a thank you list that all will not be noticed and named. From our first
grade teachers we know that even if a gesture or action is not seen by
human eyes “God sees” and notes. For all that human eyes overlooked
and for all that God sees and declares good, Voice of the Faithful acknowledges
with gratitude.
- Kris Ward, Convocation
Co-chair
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