Author Archives: Pat Smiley

St. John was a “Voice in the Wilderness”; Frankford Voices Cry Out Today, Too!

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IMG_2588 - Version 2We are continuing to demonstrate in front of 222 N. 17th Street, the Archdiocesan Office Building. At a recent meeting, we discussed the value of continuing these efforts. Mainly, Bob S. explained that it’s important to show that we are down there “in front of” the Archdiocese every day because we believe in the need for a Catholic presence in Frankford. I believe we have spread our message far and wide (as we have signatures from all the tourists who come to our area) that the Church hierarchy needs to involve the laity in more substantive ways. This begins with having a real dialogue. If we had a voice, we could have found a much better solution for everyone than simply closing 2 churches. Closing our churches was taking the easy way out – it would have been much harder to meet with all of us and tell us that the needs of the Archdiocese outweighed the needs of the faithful. That is indeed true sometimes, but we don’t think that was the case in this particular instance of closing both our Frankford Churches.

In a recent radio interview with Loraine Ballard Morrill, the News and Community Affairs Director for Clear Channel Media+Entertainment, her questions led me to understand that we are kept at arms’ length from having a voice, from real involvment in the Church here in Philadelphia. There is a distance between the laity and the hierarchy and to realize it on a deeper level is saddening. It doesn’t have to be this way. Please find Loraine’s Blog here.

So, we continue to make our voices heard through demonstrating, our prayer services, meetings, reaching out and joining together with others who have suffered loss of their church and to focus our efforts on continuing to work to Keep the Faith in Frankford. Here are some of our “Frankford Voices”!

 

 

 

 

 

Who Are We?

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redvotivecandlesAs we work to reopen St. Joachim Church, it’s not an easy road to walk. But the rewards are well worth it! I have gotten to know so many wonderful people, connected with St. Joachim and not, but caring about the fact that anytime a church is closed, the candle of faith burns less bright! But we are tenders of that light and it is up to us to keep it burning bright – in spite of not having our beloved church. We are like the other believers who, after Jesus was crucified and His followers were persecuted, scattered to other parts of the world and became the first missionaries. We merged with Holy Innocents who have been very welcoming to all who have lost their church – we of St. Joachim, Mater Dolorosa, St. Joan of Arc and last year, Ascension. But we also have many people looking for that “spiritual home” mentioned in an earlier post. We hear each other talking about being “Roaming Catholics” (Maureen and Agnes) instead of Roman Catholics.

I came across this article in the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales’ Pillars of Faith section on their website where Father Kevin Naldoski, OSFS, Director of Communications and Development, wrote “Eulogy for a Church” based on Father Steve’s sermon and Judge Timothy Savage’s own “Eulogy” at our last Mass on June 30. I thought how we are coming up to the one month anniversary so very quickly. Father’s words so eloquently say what we have been living, what we have been doing.

“Yet, our Spirit is bigger than any one place. Perhaps that is why Jesus was able to appear to his disciples in a locked room. God cannot be limited to any one space. God is larger than that. So are we.”

You are so right, Father! Psalm 77:13 “God, your ways are holy! What god is as great as our God?” Our prayer is that we always walk in holiness in all we do, in all we are!

If We Ever Needed a Hero…

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PeterBorreIt just might be Peter Borre. He is our canon law consultant working with our Italian lawyers to appeal the decision in Rome to close St. Joachim Roman Catholic Church here in Frankford. Along with Mater Dolorosa, these two Churches no longer serve the Frankford community. Their loss has touched not only us but our community as well.

It has been my pleasure to talk with Peter on the phone. He is caring, insightful and tireless in his efforts on behalf of those he tries to help. I’m glad he’s on our side. Here is an article from last year’s Daily News about Peter’s work and those he is helping. Titled, “National Advocate Could Be Local Parishes’ White Knight”, foreshadowed many of the current events happening in the Archdiocese.

One of the Vatican’s top priorities is the “re-evangelization” of church members who have “drifted away,” he said, but the Archdiocese “is going in the wrong direction.

 

You gotta like this guy!

Food for Thought – “People Long for Spiritual Home….

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SaintJoachimRomanCatholicChurch_1 copy 2I have been researching the Archdiocese’s Parish Pastoral Process which failed the faithful in Frankford – miserably. It has taken a little over a month to put the pieces of this puzzle together. We will tell the story. We also want to save future parishes from this obviously flawed process. I came across this post on CatholicPhilly.com and found Franciscan Sister Katerina Shuth’s explanation of changes in parish life pertinent. In her lecture, “Shaping Parish Life: Ongoing Influences of Vatican II and the Catholic Common Ground Initiative“, Sister used the life of Monsignor Phillip J. Murnion to illustrate how parish life has changed from 1963 to now. Monsignor was the founding director of the National Pastoral Life Center in New York and this later became the home of the Catholic Common Ground Initiative. What hasn’t changed is what the best pastors know:

Msgr. Murnion’s efforts to envision and support vibrant parishes relied on a deep understanding of the Incarnation and a commitment to dialogue, partnership and collaboration among all levels of the church, Sister Schuth said.

Monsignor passed away in 2003. Monsignor Murnion, pray for us, as we try to find the “common ground” here in Philadelphia. Read all of the story at People Long for a Spiritual Home, an Inviting Parish, Says Franciscan Nun. 

It’s Official…

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Today we received the acknowledgement from the Apostolic Nunciature that our “recourse for St. Joachim’s Parish in Philadelphia has been forwarded through the diplomatic pouch to the Congreation for Clergy”. You really have to love the intrigue of this!

What we don’t appreciate, quite frankly, is that your voice and my voice were not involved in the Parish Pastoral Process. I appreciate that the hierarchy was involved, that our Pastors along with three representatives were involved but, and we must make it clear in the case of St. Joachim, “interested parishioners” did not receive information about this process along with the rest of the parishioners. We truly believed in this process and it turns out our faith was truly misguided.

What makes an “interested parishioner”? Was this term used because you didn’t want to tell all of us what was going on – which took us 30 days to find out that our Pastors and representatives believed that St. Joachim parishioners and Mater Dolorosa parishioners had irreconciliable differences and would not, could not find a better solution than shuttering two viable Churces? Did anyone question that 4 people may not have been fully representative of 200-300 others in the parish? Hand picking representatives doesn’t lead to a diversity of thought but commonality of beliefs. This is the same idea that my husband and I couldn’t work as caring members of the Transition Team because of our concerns about how this process was handled and the subsequent decisions made. (For the record, we still received information and shared it with our parishioners. It’s not hard. Try it.) Who was really listening? Was this process just “lip service”? Did this give you another out to blame us for your flawed process? Did you have to be selected to be an “interested parishioner”? Each of us received a letter telling us our Churches were closing. Each of us received a letter welcoming us to the “new” old Holy Innocents. Why did each of us not receive a letter informing us of the status of this process and it’s progress. It appears that to do that would have been troublesome and opened up debate.  Real debate that all “interested parishioners” could have participated in. Imagine having a discussion on the future vitality of the faith in Frankford BEFORE closing two viable Churches? Well, surely we qualify as “interested parishioners” now!

We would hope and pray that as this process moves forward these same mistakes and judgements are not repeated. We will be watching closely and offering other parishes the benefits of our woeful experience with this process to safeguard their Church from those more interested in their “process” than “parishioners”.

 

Receipt from Apostolic Nunciature

 

 

 

Lord, We Hold Your People In Our Hearts!

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Two Frankford Roman Catholic Churches were shuttered- Mater Dolorosa and St. Joachim. St. Joachim closed its doors just last Sunday and it gates are now locked. But in the video, you will see that the faithful’s hearts and spirits are as high and as hopeful as this summer heat wave we’re experiencing. Just as St. Joachim has been there for us, we feel the need, now, to be there for St. Joachim to continue to give witness to our faith. Since it is a Worship Site, we gathered at the times our Masses used to be – Saturday, 4:30 PM, and Sunday at 8:00 AM and 10:30 AM. This was a holiday weekend yet for those of us here in the city we continued our struggle to demonstrate the need for a Roman Catholic Church in Frankford. We continue to be committed and united in our efforts.

Saturday night, my husband, Bob, my mother, Mary, and I went to Holy Innocents for Mass. The Saturday night Vigil Mass is 5:30 PM there. We couldn’t have been more warmly welcomed and the rich traditions of our Catholic rituals are very moving but it wasn’t “home”. Perhaps we would understand this better had we “answers” from those who closed our Churches. Our voices were never heard in the process but that does not seem to matter. “The decision has been made and we are not considering any changes”. Our feelings are certainly understandable as the sacred places that gave us roots and our sense of belonging and were a compass in our daily lives are not easily replaceable. So we kept St. Joachim company this weekend.

Here’s a link to a homily Pope Francis gave this weekend with Seminarians and Novices. Pope Francis tells them that God asks us to “Comfort, comfort my people (Isaiah 40:1) and that leads to mission”. As we shared our thoughts today one among us said that “comfort” was what was missing in our dealings with our Philadelphia hierarchy. We are told whenever we try to meet the Archbishop – not to confront, not demonstrating – to let him know who we are and to be seen, we are told like children that it is not the right time or place. But when is the right time and place? We are on “mission” and hope our prayers and actions “break hearts of stone”.

Join us as we plan to be at St. Joachim every weekend! Bring a friend! Rekindle your faith! Keep the Faith in Frankford!

 

 

The Demonstration Daily – Friday, June 14, 2013!

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Happy Flag Day! We celebrate that we are able to voice our opinions! Today, 3 young visitors from Russia wanted to get a picture with Greg Minetola, an”American Protestor”! We weren’t quick enough to save this moment for posterity. So, perhaps our struggles will reach Russia!!!!!!

Here’s our Roll of Honor for the week:

Wednesday, June 12th – Janice C., Bill McG., Greg M., Kate M., Mary M., Maryanne S., Bob S., Pat S., and Ann Y.

Thursday, June 13th – Mary M. (All by her lonesome – she’s a trooper! A few others would have gone except for the threatened downpours!)

Friday, June 14th –  Brian H., David H., Shannon H., Dolores M., Greg M., Linda N., A.J., Florence S.,  Tina D., Kate M., Bob S., Pat S., Ellie S., Al S., their daughter, Kelly,  grandchildren Caithlyn, Grace and Rylie, Jackie Young

As I’ve shared with you, these demonstrating efforts do have a great effect and are a great way to share information and publicize our plight. Today, we were joined by those protesting the abuse of children by the clergy. Wanting to give them an opportunity to express their opinions, we walked over to the Basilica to demonstrate there. We thought this was much better than 222. We had less wind so we could have a display; it was sunny; we were able to reach people on the Parkway. There are a lot of tourists and many did come to the Basilica. We would be there for Mass as well. Since the Basilica is being renovated at a total cost of $25 million; it may make more sense to align our message with the Basilica – Church to Church!

Bob Smiley has been taking pictures and interviewing those who want to share “the St. Joachim Good News”! Enjoy the photos and an interview with Tina D! We are creating new spaces on our website and the text of Tina’s letter will be posted there soon.

 

Smileys Unable to Accept Merger Plan So Removed From St. Joachim’s Transition Team

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Father Thomas Higgins, Pastor of Holy Innocents, reached out to Bob and Pat Smiley, the Transition Team representatives from St. Joachim. The Smileys were invited to meet with Father Higgins at the parish rectory. We met today. The beginning of the meeting was very cordial with Father asking how everything was going and we asking about his work. Father shared with us, as he has said from the beginning, that he believed there should be a Catholic presence, a church, in Frankford.

This pastoral planning process was long and arduous for all. That we can all agree on! Father told the Smileys that he had made two proposals himself suggesting first that St. Joachim merge at Mater Dolorosa and St. Joan of Arc at Holy Innocents. When that was not accepted, Father tried again with St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa merging with St. Bartholmew and St. Joan of Arc merging with Holy Innocents. Again, that was not accepted. The Smileys thanked Father for his efforts and believe that someone in the Archdiocese will have the wisdom to overturn this unfair and unjust decision.

JuniataAs it became clear that the Smileys would not cease trying to “Keep the Faith in Frankford” by keeping one Church open in Frankford, Father expressed concerns that the Smileys would not be able to truly “be on the same page” with Father and the rest of the Transition Team. The Smileys, especially Pat, restated their committment to helping in this important process while acknowledging that, according to Father, we wanted the same thing, a Catholic presence in Frankford. Pat Smiley asked if either Smiley had done anything to warrant or cause these feelings. Emails Father has received from the Archbishop, Monsignor Rodgers and the latest article from the “Juniata News” titled “St. Joachim Parishioners Want to ‘Keep the Faith in Frankford’ by Keeping Their Church Open are evidence of the successful efforts that St. Joachim parishioners and supporters have demonstrated regarding the unfair and unjust decision to close St. Joachim. Father indicated that we were not accepting of the Archdiocesan decision to merge our parish. Father felt this gap was too big to be able to be bridged and he was not comfortable with the Smileys remaining on the Transition Team. As of today, the Smileys are no longer on the Transition Team. The Smileys expressed regret that Father felt this way and wish the entire Transition Team and staff of Holy Innocents only the best and many blessings on their efforts.

 

 

 

 

 

The Spirit is With Us!

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spiritHello, all! Much has been happening behind the scenes and I really appreciate your patience. I have not been able to share this simply because of time and wanting to give you the full story.

As you know, we began today what I feel is one of the most important things we can do to get the attention of the Archbishop and our ecclesiastical hierarchy. That is to “demonstrate” by physically walking for what we believe in, in effect, picketing.

I went to the Archdiocesan office building yesterday to let them know we were coming. The Information Office is staffed by two very kind people who understood our sincerity and desire just to express our views and share information with those entering and leaving the building as well as those passing by.

You’ll remember that I had posted that we would be demonstrating Monday – Friday from 11:00 AM until 1:00 PM downtown, Sundays at the 6:30 PM Mass that the Archbishop says at the Basilica, and that we would greet him as he traveled within the Archdiocese. That meant going to Downingtown on Saturday at 4:00 PM for the rededication of St. Joseph’s Church there. We had volunteers at the ready.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

You have been heard! The Archdiocese is listening!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

WE ARE NOT GOING TO DOWNINGTOWN! WE ARE NOT GOING TO DOWNINGTOWN! SPREAD THAT WORD FAR AND WIDE! WE ARE NOT GOING TO DOWNINGTOWN!

Yesterday, I received a phone call from Fr. Steve, who received a phone call from Monsignor Kutys, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia, who received a call from the Archbishop in California to ask us to please respect the celebration of those at St. Joseph’s. To show their good faith and acknowledge that we have been effective, Monsignor Rodgers, Coordinator of Archdiocesan Planning Initiatives, came out to greet me today. We spoke for at least one-half hour and covered our reasons that St. Joachim needs to stay as a full parish. If you know me, you know that I am more of a talker than a listener and this was our opportunity to make a good case – in a good way. In good faith, I agreed to respect the celebration scheduled for the people of St. Joseph’s. Monsignor talked about the idea that parish reorganization was to insure sustainability of our parishes. I did counter with the fact that no one knows the future and that the fact we are “small” has not kept us from making a “big” impact within the neighborhood in large part because of Father Steve and the 15th Police District. So many people have had contact with St. Joachim and our spirit of community. For those of you who remember Mary Teat, Monsignor would have tea with her and he said that’s probably what he would be doing now. I said that she probably wouldn’t give him any cake to go with that tea because of these announced closings. God bless you, Mary!  

As we finished talking, Monsignor had to leave to hear confessions, but as Pastor of the Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, he let me know that the Archbishop greets those who attend Sunday Mass there. He invited us to come. We can make the best of the good faith that we have engendered in the style of the way we have opposed the closing of our churches. We will not picket on Sunday but we will wear our badges and sit together. We hope to have our chance to greet the Archbishop.

We are demonstrating on Friday (tomorrow could be questionable due to the weather but Tina, Barbara and Mary may go – remember I can’t).

Shortly before we were finished downtown, I received a call from Father Higgins, Pastor of Holy Innocents, asking Bob and I to come to a meeting on Friday afternoon. I don’t know what it’s about and it might be related to our transition. You know I will inform you.

We are meeting tomorrow night at 7 PM at Church. This meeting to open to anyone who wants to actively help us in our efforts to show that St. Joachim, though a church building, brings the Church to our neighbors. We will be planning new strategies!

We will meet again after the 10:30 PM Mass! We must keep pressure on! We can’t let up!

Because of the Archdiocese’s efforts to reach out to us through several highly placed Monsignors, you have had an effect. We have stayed together, united and purposeful. Keep the Faith in Frankford! Keep working to spread the Good News of St. Joachim!