www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Smithtown Church & Fr. Daniel Bitsko

John K, you say your disillusionment continues to grow, as does mine. Imagine how you would feel if you were a devoted member of this parish for over 35 years who had the "misfortune" to have been baptized in a Roman Catholic church. After our years of contributions, both financial and physical, to this parish, we are told we are no longer welcome, by virtue of our baptismal status. The protest yeserday was not just about the Bazaar; it was about cruelty - to the children who were unceremoniously dumped out of nursery school, and religion school - to the young parents who had to uproot their kids and find another church school to enroll them in - to the elderly, and parishioners who live at a distance, who now find it a hardship to attend the one Divine Liturgy on Sunday because of the early hour - to the elderly who couldn't attend Christmas Liturgy, because the only Liturgy offered at Christmas was at 8:00 PM Christmas Eve, and they don't drive at night - to the many parishioners who worked so hard and so diligently to build up our parish, only to see the fruits of their labor being frittered away on un-necessary expenditures, at the whim of their new pastor, with no accountability to the parishioners. It was heartbreaking yesterday to see members of our parish family who have been forced out of the parish for various reasons. We were so happy to see one another, but so sad to realize that we won't be able to see one another again - to watch each other's children grow, get married, and have children of their own. On most Sundays now, the one Divine Liturgy is attended by a small group of older adults - not a child amongst them. How then can this church continue to exist? It's future has been removed. My heart is broken.

This sounds all too familar...Bridgeport, CT 2 years ago...Joliet, Il back in the 1980's...and about 17 other parishes in between...

What could the possible link be?

Chris

Meg--

I was baptized Roman as well and had attended my Ruthenian parish for over 12 years and also "put in my time." I understand your pain. I watched what happened to the parish that was a mission of ours and how they were treated and what happened to their church. I also know what is happening with other parishes in my state. From the way things are going, ours won't be far behind.

When will it end? How long O Lord?

Here is a quote from the comment section of the online news article. Why is this "Shepherd" allowed to terrorize Catholics in this way? Does he actually think the people he has so severely wounded will ever join another church? He has destroyed the faith of so many innocent people. It disgusts me. Fr Untereiner must think his paycheck is worth it.

Isn't Bishop Andrew, 80 years old? That is well over the retirement age for a bishop. Why is he still active?

Fr. Harry does not care about his paycheck. He tells us his actions are driven directly from Bishop Andrew's orders. We have been labeled "Father Dan's cult" and we must be erraticated. But does that make Fr. Harry blameless??? Or perhaps there is an underlying agenda at work? Why would anyone who professes to be a pastor and man of God go to such lengths to destroy his parish by chasing away the very heart of his church, the parishioners. I know that vows of obedience are important but when does one say enough? Why does he continue to do what is morally wrong and against all Christ's teachings. Perhaps he is not what he appears.Perhaps when alleged prior wrong doings come to light we will know better why he is under the Bishops thumb.
You ask about Bishop Andrews legacy. You have only to read the newspapers and internet sites to follow his legacy from Parma to New Jersey. A connection???

karenp:

Has anyone organized a meeting of the parishioners yet? I mean outside any church building or property.

Has anyone passed around the idea of organizing and asking another Byzantine bishop to grant you mission status? In the United States, there are several Byzantine eparchies and some of them are not part of the BCC Metropolitan Church. That means that, unlike the Latins who have faced church closings and are locked into the territorial diocese with no other place to go, you have the chance to have another bishop send you a priest to start a brand new mission parish.

Has anyone seriously pursued this avenue? A lot of good time and energy has been spent protesting what is a fact--the parish is being strangled and will die. So, is the Faith worth keeping and how do the people go about keeping it?

Unless you can't get another bishop to help you, the situation is not altogether hopeless. If his Grace, Bishop Andrew, doesn't want you, why keep trying to force yourselves on him? It's like a dating relationship that's gone bad--you can't keep trying to force a different outcome than the breakup that is already in progress.

A parish is not buildings; it's not land; it's not the treasury; it's the people and their willngness to stand together for Christ and for the Faith.

In Christ,

BOB

<<Has anyone passed around the idea of organizing and asking another Byzantine bishop to grant you mission status? In the United States, there are several Byzantine eparchies and some of them are not part of the BCC Metropolitan Church. That means that, unlike the Latins who have faced church closings and are locked into the territorial diocese with no other place to go, you have the chance to have another bishop send you a priest to start a brand new mission parish.

Has anyone seriously pursued this avenue? A lot of good time and energy has been spent protesting what is a fact--the parish is being strangled and will die. So, is the Faith worth keeping and how do the people go about keeping it?>>

Bob, thanks for your suggestion. The problem is, our parishioners come from many neighboring towns; some have to travel long distances to come to church. That is why the changing of the Liturgy to 9:00 PM has been effective in eliminating some parishioners. There are several Eastern Rite churches on Long Island, but all necessitate at least a 35 minute drive from Smithtown, some even a longer drive. Most of us love our Byzantine Liturgy and traditions (even though we may have been baptized Roman Catholic) and would now not feel comfortable attending a Roman Catholic church. Thus, we have been effectively disenfranchised. In speaking to many in our parish family, when discussing where we will go, or what we will do when our church inevitably closes, many say they will go nowhere, because there is nowhere for them to go. Of course, we will continue to live our lives as decent, good Christians, and continue to follow Christ's teachings. I feel with certainty that we will ultimately be judged on how we lived our lives, not which church we attended. We will miss seeing the friends we have made over the years, who are now more like family to us, every Sunday, but we will continue to maintain our friendships.

While reading all this with the call for Bishop Pataki to go, i am reminded of a quote "be careful what you pray for you may get it."

Who are the possible successors?

Will they be better?

We can only pray.

Eastern Europe seem to have a large number of seminarians.

Why not bring some to the States?

Just my two cents.

Peace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.

Meg:

I think you miss my point. Why not stay where you are, find a hall or some temporary quarters, find a bishop to send you a priest, and start a new mission. I know starting over is for some a big leap in imagination, but no parish as it now stands started with a full complement of buildings, programs, etc.

Why would you have to go to another town? Isn't there ANY property available that you could put up a building on? If there are 300 families there should surely be enough people willing to contribute to support a priest in the area. You'd need to find the man an apartment for the time being. You'd need to find a temporary place to worship--a fire hall room or school auditorium, or a hotel ballroom that's empty Sunday morning. There are so many people starting new Protestant churches in my area with this same stance that it's possible if people are willing to stick together and commit.

Start over and then use that old advice: work like it all depended on you; pray like it all depended on God.

In Christ,

BOB

I would suggest if you go this route and remain in communion go to the Romainian's...Bishop John seems to be open to this...

Personally, when we went the "mission route" with Holy Trinity in Bridgeport, CT we went with Metropolitan Nicholas at ACROD...

Chris

I agree with the above. As was written somewhere else, its not like you don't have the skills to raise the funds. You've been bringing in thousands from your bazaars. You know how to organize it and where to get the supplies. You know how to advertise and how to make the pirohi. Do you think the neighbors care which church is sponsoring the fun? They are there to spend their money on the food and good times! Start planning for your 2008 bazaar now. You can have another church built in a few short years with all the profits going into a building fund.

I agree that Bishop John would be the best to contact if the people of the parish want to establish a new Eastern Catholic mission in the area.

Regarding Theophan and Sam's comments - the parish, at it's height, was 300 families. Sadly, not all of them were active members. With the parish now reduced to about 60 families, putting on the Bazaar on the scale it once was is next to impossible. Not to mention, many of the dedicated members are now getting to the point where they can no longer physically do the work necessary for the Bazaar. And if what I hear is true, and considering my sources it is, the equipment acquired over the years that was used for the Bazaar is no longer there.

As far as getting land to build a new church, have you seen property values on Long Island? I have heard that the value of the land used as the church parking lot is around a million. As much as we would all like to see our church live on in another form, the reality of the situation is that it will die out through the efforts of the bishop and Fr. Harry.

[quote=Mikula]I used to go to the Church of the Resurrection in Smithtown, NY until I moved to Indiana 10 years ago. I grew up in that church, and knew Fr. Dan from when I was 4 years old. He granted me First Communion, First Confession, I served at the altar with him, was a founding member of the dance group, attended religeos education from first grade through my teens, and then was married by him. He is the most caring and kind human being that I know. He wouldn't hurt a fly if he could avoid it. What he did for the community makes him a saint in my eyes. He always thought of everyone else before himself. He is back in Coaldale , PA, as last year he attended my father's funeral in Hazelton. That was the last time I personally have seen him.quote]

How very sad it is to look into the whereabouts of "MY" priest and stumble into this story. As Mikula states, my family was also active in this church years ago before life moved us on. Father Dan is one of the most special people I have ever met in my life. I did all of the same things as Mikula states and I actually scheduled him at the altar, if I remember corectly. Our family still visits Smithtown and I drive my kids past the church and used to stop by and say hello to everyone there when we were in town. This looks to now be a thing of the past. It makes me wonder why so many people are against organized religion when you hear a story of such a great man and organization being destroyed with no explanation. Father Dan's cult, indeed! He deserves such loyalty, IMHO.

Mikula, you were very good friends with my brother Tim, if you are who I think you are. My father has been trying to contact Father Dan. If you have a number can you please pm me? Thanks!