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Dec 29th, 2019
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Joined: Nov 2005
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FYI...
In regards to Smithtown...At Midnight Liturgy (Christmas) the celebrant announced that the new pastor will be a Jesuit named Fr. Harry Untereiner from Pa. effective Jan 12, 2006.
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quick question..who celebrated midnight Liturgy at Smithtown?
How is the new priest doing?
Hope he can heal the wounds
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The following is the basic text of an email regarding the status of Smithtown. Fr. Harry Untereiner is a biritual RC Jesuit who is now at the helm in both Smithtown and Westbury. He apparently was a teacher for 30+ years and his 'first parish' was an assignment by Bp Pataki at a parish in Mont Clare PA, following the resignation of Fr. Glenn Davidowich in 2004. St. Michael the Archangel parish, Mont Clare PA was made a mission in January, after Fr Untereiner was reassigned to Smithtown. A realtor was seen measuring frontage of the parish rectory which is now vacant. And sadly it continues. Sam Thought I would try to bring you up to date here in
Smithtown, NY.
The new pastor is a former Jesuit who quit after 30 years and says
that Pataki made him an offer he couldn't refuse. He immediately set out
to find all the money in the parish. The pre-school kindergarten has
been closed. The Parish cemetery has been closed and all committees
connected with it were dissolved.
He wants everyone to fill out a form saying where you and your
parents were baptized. If you are a RC and want to join you must fill out
such a form. Rumor is that he has claimed that there are few genuine
Byzantines in the parish and we shouldn't exist only to serve RC's.
There are not many weekday Liturgies. The choir is harmonizing and
the cantor is off in his own world with sounds unfamiliar to anyone and
therefore, little or no participation in the responses to the Liturgy.
I am very disappointed in what is passing for Liturgy now...
I spoke to our former pastor, Fr. Dan Bitsko, who is in retirement in
Penna. He sounds to me like a broken man. He is reduced to the status
of a parishioner where he attends Liturgy. No reason was ever given
for his removal after 36 years of faithful service. He hears things
being said about the parish by the new pastor which are not true and it is
upsetting him.
I have come to the conclusion that Fr Harry is here to shut down the
two parishes over the next year and a half. Our assessment to the
Bishop was for $18500. of which only 17% was collected, The rest was paid
for from the Slavic Festival Funds. Last year the entire amount was
paid by the parishioners.
He is making efforts to show that the parish income is not meeting
the expenses of running the parish. He has not won over the hearts of
the parishioners and until he does so, the contributions will continue to
fall short. Parishioners frequently make the trip to Penna to visit Fr
Dan and cheer him up. He has no Social Security and no pension. A
small stipend is given by Pataki to sustain him. He is in need of our
prayers for his health, sanity and spirituality.
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that is truly heartwrenching. God grant a miracle, and I hope all the RCs attending there will make a decision for the East. perhaps there is strength in numbers, as there is in conviction.
Much Love,
Jonn
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After reading some of the posts here i can see why one person I spoke to refereed to the bishop as "the Hungarian". Feelings are clearly running very high. I first really noticed him when it came to the monastery in Florida going to the OCA. Keep complaining to the Cardinal Prefect for the Oriental Churches in Rome if you are not happy.
ICXC
NIKA
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It's sad to hear about all this, especially about Fr. Dan. He's done a great deal of good work and should receive better treatment.
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Originally posted by sam:
The following is the basic text of an email regarding the status of Smithtown. Fr. Harry Untereiner is a biritual RC Jesuit who is now at the helm in both Smithtown and Westbury. He apparently was a teacher for 30+ years and his 'first parish' was an assignment by Bp Pataki at a parish in Mont Clare PA, following the resignation of Fr. Glenn Davidowich in 2004.
St. Michael the Archangel parish, Mont Clare PA was made a mission in January, after Fr Untereiner was reassigned to Smithtown. A realtor was seen measuring frontage of the parish rectory which is now vacant. And sadly it continues. I've been by that church, it's right across the river from the Carpatho-Russian Church. Why was it made a mission? What happened to the previous priest? Andrew
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Andrew,
I sent you an email.
I was told there is one Sunday Liturgy with only about 60 in attendance, about a third of the number prior to Frs Davidowich/Untereiner.
The priest who cares for them now is from the parish in Pottstowne PA, and said to be very hard working.
Sam
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I am confused by which church you are speaking about.
Is the Pa church now down to 60 attendees or is it the smithtown church?
May I suggest that you mention the church name because it is hard to follow.
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LGC
St Michael Church, Montclare PA is down to around 60 attending at their one Sunday Liturgy. Their former pastor, Fr Harry Untereiner was transferred from Montclare to Smithtown in January.
Hope this helps clear any confusion.
Sam
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Any updates on the parish in Smithtown? I would like to know how it is doing. Thanks.
In Christ,
Anthony
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How is the smithtown church doing?
My prayers for Father Bitsko in this time
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Unfortunately, I have not heard any updates on the Smithtown/Westbury situation...
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The Smithtown church is in crisis. 300 families have been reduced to about 75 in a year and a half. This is due to the policy of Bishop Andrew and his administor Fr. Untereiner. A brief of the last 18 months. Our cemetery is closed and up for sale. Our preschool is closed. Our religious education center is closed and the building up for sale. First confession classes cancelled. Our main fundraiser (slavic festival) is cancelled. All items related to the festival are being disposed of. The rectory and religious center has all the utilities turned off. Ground lights are all off. The church itself this winter had minimal heat, no ac this summer, lights down to low, not even our nations flag was illuminated. There is a systematic spending of our assets with no accountability. All services that the parishoners offered freely were refused and turned over to outside agencies. Community ties have been severed. More disturbing is the lack of open dialogue. No one informs us of any decisions. Our money, time, efforts and most of all Christian morality dictates our right to a say in what happens to our programs, projects and ultimately to our church. We are not being treated with dignity or respect. We are feeling unwanted. Faithful disciples of Jesus Christ are being disregarded. We are told, some after decades of attendance and support, to go to our territorial RC church, that we are not true byzantines and do not belong. We have, and always will, support legitimate church authority. In turn, the church bears the responsibility of exercising its power within the concept of love, which flows from mutual respect and justice. For 38 years our parish has grown and has met its fiscal responsibilities. In 18 months we have been reduced to a parish on the brink of closure, if not financially then morally.
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Our cemetery is closed and up for sale. I don't know what the laws of your state are concerning a cemetery, but I do know that there are legal issues concerning cemeteries in my state that make this a bit more than a simple task. First of all, if there are any living relatives of those interred, their permission to disinterment is necessary before anything like what you post is permitted. While canon law may place the actual land ownership in the hands of the bishop, the laws of the land typically do not allow for the wholesale movement of a cemetery without some VERY GOOD reason--and the desire to cash in on land value is not usually one of them. BOB
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