Article published March 07, 2006
Diocese locks doors on parishioners
Hope ends for tiny Seneca County church battling to stay open
St. James Catholic Church in Seneca County had more than 200 members before it was ordered
shut on July 1. Parishioners have since maintained an around-the-clock prayer vigil.
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THE BLADE
)
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By DAVID YONKE
BLADE RELIGION EDITOR
KANSAS, Ohio - For more than 10 months, about 50 members of St. James Catholic Church have diligently taken turns in an around-the-clock prayer vigil in their small wood-frame church, hoping Toledo Bishop Leonard Blair would change his mind and let the church reopen.
Yesterday, the Toledo diocese closed the door on the building and on parishioners' hopes, sending a maintenance man to the farm town 40 miles southeast of Toledo to clear the building and change the locks.
Seneca County sheriff's deputies told parishioners that anyone who sets foot on the property would be arrested for trespassing.
"The decision to secure the building was made for insurance liability reasons," the diocese said in a statement.
"I think it's the rottenest thing the Catholic Church can do," said a crying Ginny Hull, 63, organizer of the vigil.
"How would you like to get locked out of your church?"The closing came a day after 49 members of the former parish performed His Last Days, an Easter drama, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Norwalk, Ohio.
St. James, which before closing had more than 200 members and an average Mass attendance of 176, was one of 17 churches ordered shut by Bishop Blair on July 1.
The closings were needed because of a shortage of priests and shifting demographics in the 19-county diocese, with many parish boundaries dating back to the horse-and-buggy era, the diocese said.
St. James was one of the few closed parishes that challenged the bishop's decision, appealing to the Vatican and holding the prayer vigil that began on May 1 and continued even after a final Mass was celebrated there on June 25.
In December, the Vatican upheld Bishop Blair's decision to close St. James.
But even then parishioners did not concede, praying in the pews 24/7 while religious music played softly in the background.
Members of the former parish requested a meeting with Bishop Blair, which was held a few weeks ago, Mrs. Hull said.
The bishop told them that they "need to move on," Mrs. Hull said.
"We asked if we could buy the church, and he said no," she said.
Yesterday, the unidentified maintenance man sent by the diocese arrived about 12:45 p.m. while Marilyn Hamilton, a sister of a St. James parishioner, was inside praying, Mrs. Hull said. The maintenance man reportedly shouted at Ms. Hamilton, who is in her 70s, to get out of the church.
"He just kept yelling, and he got real nasty," Mrs. Hull said. "She was crying and shaking. We never thought we'd see the day the diocese would send some thug down to kick an elderly lady out of the church."
Seneca County Sheriff Tom Steyer said yesterday that he received a letter from the Toledo diocese asking that people be removed from the church property.
"They were more concerned about liability and everything," Sheriff Steyer said.
"They wanted to turn off the heat and get the place winterized for whatever winter we've got left."
Parishioners chipped in to fill the propane tank for heat, and the diocese had kept the electricity on, Mrs. Hull said.
Diocesan officials said previously that they would wait out, rather than kick out, the praying parishioners.
"Can you really trust any of the officials of the Catholic Church?" Mrs. Hull asked. "Can you? I don't think you can."
Yesterday's statement from the diocese quoted earlier comments by Bishop Blair saying that while "the closing of parishes is indeed difficult and painful, the process assures every Catholic in the diocese a nearby Catholic parish.
"We ask that the neighbor parishes extend a warm and welcome greeting to new parishioners."
Contact David Yonke at:
dyonke@theblade.com
or 419-724-6154.
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