As a member of the group called Save Holy Apostles Parish, (a group of interested and devoted people who are attempting to keep it intact, Holy Apostles Parish, which includes worship sites, Saints Peter and Paul and St. John Churches), we’ve been meeting to look at the decision made by the Bishop of the Diocese of Buffalo which includes closing the doors of Saints Peter and Paul Church, attempting to sell it, utilize St. John Church as a Secondary Worship Site, and extinctively merge Holy Apostles Parish (the already merged parish of SSPP and St. John’s) with another local Parish.

Many feel this plan is being made for monetary reasons, to help cover settlements from the extreme number of cases brought to light of improprieties and wrongdoings committed by some clergy members of the diocese.

Within our area’s Catholic Neighbors in Faith, as a part of the Diocese’s Road to Renewal campaign, four worship sites have been marked for extinction (Our Lady of Victory (Frewsburg), Our Lady of Loreto (Falconer), Our Lady of the Snows (Panama), and Saints Peter and Paul (Jamestown), leaving the parishes of Sacred Heart (Lakewood), with the merged Our Lady of the Snows, St. Patrick’s (Randolph), and St. James Parish (with extinctively merged Holy Apostles, and extinctively merged Our Lady of Loreto.)

There are many who think that the closing of SSPP Church and merging of Holy Apostles with St. James is not in the best interest of those who attend masses at the two Holy Apostles’ churches, which is also the home (both churches) of a wonderful church choir which has been a huge part of the community for over the forty years I’ve been a member of that parish. They have performed, also, for many groups within the community, at Christmas time, Holy Week, Easter Time, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations, Veterans’ Day Weekend Masses, and other times. Also, within the music ministry of Holy Apostles are the Jubilate Singers and the Bell Choir.

Please understand, the group attempting to save HA Parish, is not asking for a trade of buildings to be closed. The committee is attempting to keep Holy Apostles Parish intact, with both SSPP and St. John churches remaining status quo, since their extinctively merger took place as part of the Renewal of Faith and Grace campaign of the Diocese of Buffalo in 2008. Both churches in the parishes are fairly well attended, both are fairly well supported financially, as compared with the respective percentages other area parishes receive through contributions and parish projects.

A major concern of the group meeting to discuss the decision to close SSPP church and merging of HA Parish with St. James, are feelings that this decision may have been made, with violations of aspects of Canon Law, which must be followed when certain decisions are made by a Catholic Diocese. It has nothing to do with which parish is merging, or with whom they’re merging, it’s about major questions in the minds of people including, “Is the diocese following the letter of Canon Law,” and “How is it affecting the parishioners?”

The purpose of this narrative is not to throw any other church under the bus, or disrespect any other church/parish, and no, I will not stop exercising my faith and/or worship, because I believe that we, the people, make up the church, but the reasons for much of this happening appear to lie in the church as an institution, and the people who make the decisions according to outdated thinking, ideas, and policy.

Another diocesan concern, besides the settlements of awarded monetary payments resulting from lawsuits, and is happening in many dioceses around the world, is the dwindling number of priests choosing religious life as their vocation. I’m sure there are many people who sit in congregations across America and the world, who would accept a vocation to assist in many of the duties and roles of the Catholic Church, if they were not limited by the inability to do so by church policy. Maybe policies need to be revisited and modified to allow more people from parishes to assume duties, right now, performed only by priests.

Meanwhile, the Save Holy Apostles Parish group, is going forward as the bishop has issued a decree date of February 28th as when the merger of Holy Apostles and St. James parishes is scheduled to take place. Until then, the ball is still in play (hopefully, will be for some time). The Save Holy Apostles Parish Facebook page has valuable information regarding what is happening on their end, but not all information can be divulged to everyone unless they have signed a mandate acknowledging and approving the procurator of the group. If you, or anyone who has a connection to the affected parish by contributing to the parish either monetarily, or otherwise, and/or benefits from its ministries, or reside within the territory of the parish, and would like to fill out and submit a mandate, you will be privy to what is happening within the appeal process, and if you sign one with regard to the entire diocese (the Save Our Buffalo Churches), you will be able to receive information on that too. There are restrictions these groups must follow regarding the allowance of certain information to be released unless the person requesting has signed mandates acknowledging their approval of each group’s designated procurator. Individuals connected to the parish where Holy Apostles and Our Lady of Loreto are being merged may also appeal, if you feel you’re being harmed by the decision of the diocese, but you’d have to set up your own appeal process with separate procurator and appeal team.

The Save Holy Apostles Parish group questions aspects of the way Road to Renewal through the Catholic Neighbors in Faith has executed this process, including the rapid pace of the diocese in this process, the limited time given for research and consultation, the limited dialogue allowance with the Bishop during the process, and also the fact that the merger was never mentioned to parishioners, or parish administrator, or the leadership team, nor was it a part of the counter proposal submitted by the CNIF, making it appear that proper consultation couldn’t have taken place.

Again, to stay as informed as can be regarding the appeal of the already proclaimed decree, and possible others to follow, those affected parishioners described two paragraphs ago are highly encouraged to sign the mandates available through the Save Holy Apostles Parish group.

J. Paul Lombardo is a Jamestown resident.