www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall Parishes being run into the ground in the Eparchy of Passaic

17 parishes.
The sale of 17 properties over the years should have yielded more than enough for an evangelization or education program that is more than token. What kind of growth have we seen? None.

A painful realization is that one of the clergy, pastor of an upstate parish, is a former Smithtown parishioner who knows many, many of us. He must be aware of what is taking place and yet ..... ????? Silence!

I am sure they are all aware...and yet???? Silence.
Its a sad state of affairs.
We will offer spiritual and emotional support to each other. Though not everyone who reads this forum may post here, I am sure their prayers join ours for you and the people who have left as well as for those who don't know where to go.
God be with all of you.

He probably doesn't want what happened to Father Dan to happen to him; thus the silence. I don't envy any priest in this Eparchy.

At the risk of sounding insensitive, I urge you who have had your parishes sold from under you to get over it and go forward with life. Betrayal is, unfortunately, sometimes part of life. Well, now you have to make a decision: do nothing and feel sad about it, or go forward with your lives (and feel sad about it from time to time). From time to time, you will feel sad about what happened to your former parish for the rest of your lives, because your parish and its loss is a part of you. It's like a death. But, like any other death, time heals all wounds if you let it: by actively living your life and going forward. So: if your bishops have been bad, leave. You're not going to change them, and you might as well go someplace where you can worship Christ unimpeded. I would recommend a different Eastern Catholic church (like the Ukrainians, perhaps?) or the Orthodox Church (except for the OCA, which is having its own problems with allegations of financial corruption). Time is short; you can grieve, but keep moving forward to "run the good race."

-- John

John, I agree that we must move on, and many have already done so. But children have been hurt, in my parish and in the rest of the eparchy. Young adults with families have been hurt. Some of these people are moving on, but not to Catholic "organiations" of any sort. Others have totally abandoned organized religion, in total disgust for what they see going in in our church. This is not to say they have abandoned their faith, just organized religion. Nobody in the hierarchy seems to care about these souls; they appear to be more interested in the business aspect of "admininstering" to their flock. It is for this reason that some people, while getting on with their lives mentally and spiritually, choose to try and do something to put an end to this.

Does that mean silence buys security in this Eparchy? The first Christians died for what they believed. Now we see hurt and sorrow all around heaped on the broken bones of the faithful and nobody "within" cares.

I'm sure he is aware...these stories are known outside the BCC...When HT was closed I heard more from other Jurisdictions, (Orthodox, Roman Catholic & even Protestant) appauled at what occured...I heard nothing from the BCC...so I'm sure a priest of the eparchy would know...but Fr. Dan is not the only one who has been removed, as we can only assume since this has never been refuted, for speaking out...There have been other instances where the priest who spoke out was "fired" and lost the retirement that was due him...I know of at least one case that was tried in Spiritual Court and, Thank God, the priest won...

Sadly, none of this is new.

Chris

Hence the empty pews in most of our little parishes.

Apparently we all need to eat our vegetables and play nice with each other. It is a sad day when the faithful members of a parish are cast aside by those who have taken holy vows to guide them and lead them from this world into the next.

It has been said that we should accept the fact that we have been betrayed, and we should move on. For some people, that is an option, and many have availed themselves of it. Some of us moved away before all this began. Some of us do not want to move on, refuse to accept that no one in the Eparchy cares about us, and are willing to fight for our place. Even though circumstances dictated that I am no longer on Long Island, I still consider myself a member of this parish, as my family and I put forth many hours of volunteered time, devotion, and work in order to help our parish grow to what it was. I now find myself saying how it was, because how it is now is a shadow of what it was. I can only ask this - what right does the leaders of the Eparchy have to determine that a parish is no longer a viable one? What is "the bottom line"? When is a parish considered to be "in the red" and liquidated spiratually?

Meg, may God bless you !

I can sympathize. When my former Roman Catholic diocese shut or merged over 20 parishes in one year, it was a shock to say the least.

But, some folks --like you-- are at least trying to make the best of the situation: by helping others.

That is the Church: not the building, not even the bishops, but Jesus Christ and all who are united to Him by living lives of selfless love. This is where the rubber hits the road. It is the people who are willing to step through the pain to help others --following Christ's Cross and Resurrection-- that will revive the Church.

Your example --and the example of others like you-- are what keep the Church going.

Then the question becomes: Where? Where to revive the Church? Where to lead people back to Christ? Where --as you put it-- to "do something to put an end to this"?

The leadership of the BCC has made its views clear, with selling off parishes and with "revising" the Liturgy. And, the laity can't challenge the leadership in the BCC. They have all the power in the organization and all the property and money. All that people can do is choose to go or stay.

If you choose to go, the closest fit might be a another Eastern Catholic church (maybe the UGCC) or an Orthodox parish. I think you (or another person from your community) posted about going to the local Greek Orthodox parish? Wherever you go, if you go with love (and not bitterness), Christ will use you to bless and renew the Church.

I'm trying to encourage people to be practical. Everyone needs to vent their anger, but then people need to move forward: or else they will become stuck in bitterness. (I know that because I saw that happen to some people too.) The ones who could get practical and decide where to move are the ones who are renewing the Church.

Best wishes and my prayers,

-- John

John, Your words are appreciated. I am the one who is moving on to the Greek Orthodox Church...certainly with love and not bitterness and knowing that I bring the warmth and appreciation of my experience from Smithtown parish. It has just taken time to accept the fact that I have to leave my "home" of 33 years. We were broadsided by the Eparchy with Fr. Dan's removal and the very hurtful actions that followed over the past two years. Ours was such a wonderful, vibrant Parish Family. It took the cancellation of our famous biennial Bazaar for the shock to create a reaction, and understandably, anger. We are so appreciative of the words from all who have posted comments of care and concern to us. They were ever so helpful. Yes, those who are left will have to try to move forward...some will be able to do so more quickly than others...and we will extend our hands to others who my be in pain in the future because that is what we are about...doing this in the Name of Christ.

I was reading the posts on the other forum, and one poster questioned why Smithtown was forcibly supressed as opposed to Westbury. Westbury apparently has half the number of people in their congregation and much less in terms of income. Westbury and Smithtown share the same priest. (I'm not saying Westbury deserves such treatment either)

Brings me back to the same question. One that will never be honestly answered, I'm guessing. Was the destruction of this parish done solely for the $$$?

I do pray for the people of Smithtown. You know full well it was not you who are responsible for this situation. I too hope you can move on from this tragedy and find a truly God fearing Church to welcome you.

With no disrespect or insensitivity intended to the pain and anger being endured by folks over this situation, I respectfully, nonetheless, wish to express my concern and disappointment over what appears to be an accepted interchangibility between Byzantine Catholicisms and Eastern Orthodoxy.

I don't believe Byzantine Catholicism and Eastern Orthodox are, or should be, interchangable. I think Catholicism is Catholicism. Byzantine Catholicism should be interchangeable with Roman Latin Catholicism, Maronite Catholicism, Chaledean Catholicism etc.

Best to all,
Robster

Robster, I respectfully disagree. We Byzantine Catholics derive our liturgical, spiritual and theological patrimony from the east. With a few minor differences, we are "Orthodox in union with Rome". Nearly all of us have Orthodox counterparts. We relate to and identify more closely with Orthodoxy than Roman Catholicism.