St. Joseph Sr. Elizabeth Hill NCR Interview

Posted on by

It is a great read but here are some excerpts:

St. Joseph Sr. Elizabeth Hill might be the most petite college president in the United States, but she brings a truckload of credentials and creativity to the faculty and students on two widely separated campuses of St. Joseph’s College in New York. Since assuming that position in 1997, she has become a valuable, deeply respected influence in the Fort Greene-Clinton Hill section of Brooklyn and beyond…

What in contemporary Catholicism encourages or distresses you?

Contemporary Catholicism can mean many things. If you are referring to the institutional church, I think it is in a very sad state, in which there’s little room for the real values of the Gospel, or even basic humanity. The hierarchy has strayed so far from the path of service, social justice and care for the poor that it’s impossible to take their efforts at leadership seriously. I am cautiously optimistic that Pope Francis may make some difference, but he’s clearly quite conservative, and I wonder if he will make the changes necessary to get things back on course.

On the other hand, if you mean all the things that are going on “in the trenches,” I feel very differently. The laity is alive and well and ready to take on leadership roles, if only the bishops would let them. I hope that someday (soon?) the bishops will realize what great allies they have right at hand and will be open to much fuller participation of the laity in all aspects of church life, including worship.

Is there anything you would change?

As I mentioned, I would love to see the role of the laity expanded so that the church is really the church of the people, not just for the people. There are so many gifted, generous people out there, yearning to contribute their time and talents, yet all they are being asked for is their treasure. The bishops are being narrow and shortsighted, alas!

Read the entire interview at this link.

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

Posted on by

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. 

Parishioners at St. Joachim file appeal to reopen

Posted on by

From the Northeast Times:

Former parishioners at St. Joachim Roman Catholic Church last week formally filed an appeal to reopen the recently closed parish.

The overview of their case was sent on July 3 to the Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See to the United States, based in Washington, D.C. The appeal will be forwarded to the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy, and there is no timetable for a final decision.

The former parishioners have raised $4,805, with another $1,000 pledged. That’s about half of what their total legal bill is expected to be.

The Archdiocese of Philadelphia closed 15 parishes, including Frankford’s St. Joachim and Mater Dolorosa and Tacony’s St. Leo the Great, effective July 1. It cited drops in weekend Mass attendance, marriages and baptisms.

The archdiocese did not consider any appeals in the month between the announcement and the closings.

Read the rest of this story at this link.

The Churches That Did Not Close in Frankford

Posted on by

Catholics lost both churches in Frankford on June 30th as a result of the Archdiocese decision to close Mater Dolorosa and St. Joachim.  The reasons given for closing both churches are feeble at best and false at worst.

You might take a look at the other 30 plus churches in Frankford that have remained open.  They are large, small and everything in between.  I took a tour this past Sunday to take some pictures.  They are active and looks like they will remain so.  And still the Archdiocese of Philadelphia walks away from Frankford.


 

It’s Official…

Posted on by

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

 

 

 

When St. Joachim Reopens

Posted on by

There are a lot of things to think about and here is one idea that hasn’t been tried here.  The concept may need some tweaking for Frankford.

Coffee and Catholicism is a great combination for the New Evangelization.

The idea of spreading the faith while serving a cup of java is cropping up in parishes, college campuses and even strip malls.

St. James Coffee (StJamesCoffee.com) in Rochester, Minn., was founded on the premise of providing a space in the modern public square for fellowship, dialogue and the opportunity for people to come to know Christ and his Church.

An inspiration of Father Matt Fasnacht, a priest of the Diocese of Winona, Minn., St. James Coffee was founded in a mall across the street from a church. It opened in July 2012 — after four years of planning and fundraising.

 

Lord, We Hold Your People In Our Hearts!

Posted on by

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!

 

 

Archdiocesan Land in Bucks County to Go to Auction

Posted on by
The 48-acre parcel, shaped like a smoker’s pipe, once was viewed as a solution to a rapidly expanding Catholic-school population. Not so long ago, it may have been a coveted site for homebuilders.
The archdiocese bought the land in 1964 in anticipation of growth such as a school or parish, according to a news release from Max Spann Real Estate & Auction Co., in charge of the sale. But, almost 50 years later, the archdiocesan school population is contracting, not growing.
The sale would help reduce the archdiocese’s budget deficit, which results in parts from lawsuits, investment losses, and bad loans to some parishes. Church attendance and Catholic-school enrollment also have fallen, leading the archdiocese to merge parishes and close schools.

Eulogy for a Church

Posted on by

From the DeSales Weekly:

We see Jesus in each other.
We see Jesus in the poor.
We see Jesus in the struggling addict.
We see Jesus in the one just released from prison.

  When Fr. Steve Wetzel, OSFS, used these words in the homily of the last Mass at his inner-city Philadelphia parish, St. Joachim, he described a people. A community. The People of God.

Since 1845, these holy people faithfully prayed, served, taught, learned, fed, worshipped, healed, and gathered. The dynamics of urban life and shifts in Catholic communities prompted the leaders of the Archdiocese to close St. Joachim and ask its parishioners to join another community, Holy Innocents.

Read the entire story at this link.

Guest Opinon on the Closing of the Philadelphia Catholic Churches

Posted on by

By Joe Menkevich

July 03, 2013
Notes/Opinion on the closing Philadelphia Churches
With the stroke of a pen, Bishop Chaput in an instant, managed to complete what could not be accomplished in 300 years – which was to purge the Catholics from Philadelphia.
In 1683 William Penn welcomed Catholics who suffered religious persecution in England.
The Catholic Church in America was a mission, it was not a business.
In Philadelphia, 1707/08 Mass was being “set up” and “read publicly.”
There was no regular appointed pastor in Philadelphia until 1720, and no priest until much latter. “Roman Catholics were as scarce as comets.”
However the Catholic Church flourished right through the Anti-Irish Riots of 1844. In those Riots, the Protestants were burning Philadelphia Catholic Churches.
To the Catholics of the City and County of Philadelphia.
 
BELOVED CHILDREN— In the critical circumstances in which you are placed, I feel it my duty to suspend the exercise of public worship in the Catholic churches which still remain, until it may be resumed with safety, and we can enjoy our constitutional right to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience. I earnestly conjure you to practise unalterable patience under the trials which it has pleased Divine Providence to subject you, and remember that afflictions will serve to purify us, and render us acceptable to God, through Jesus Christ, who patiently suffered the cross.
 
FRANCIS PATRICK,
Bishop of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia, May 9th, 1844.
Joe Menkevich is a local historical researcher.
You can read a great history of the Catholic Church in Philadelphia at this link.  There is a good view of the time period when St. Joachim was founded.  It was written over 100 years ago and I don’t think the writer could have imagined that the Church would, someday in the future, abandon the city.