More “Ethnic Cleansing” of Polish Parishes....Sep. 2004
By Stas Kmiec
www.polamjournal.com

     BOSTON-Nearly one-fifth of the parishes in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston in Massachusetts will be closed, church officials said, May 25, a convulsive restructuring caused in part by declining attendance and increased financial problems that were worsened by the sexual abuse crisis among clergy members.

     In what may be the largest loss of parishes by an American Catholic diocese at one time, 65 of the archdiocese’s 357 parishes will close by the end of the year, compelling thousands of Catholics to find parishes in other neighborhoods and in some cases other towns.

     The Polish community has been deeply affected by the Catholic Church’s attempt at ethnic cleansing of its parishes in the past decade. Ethnic parishes-Italian, Lithuanian, Portuguese and Polish-have been affected, resulting in all-encompassing parish communities lacking any ethnic identity.

     The loss of the Polish Parish will result in the decline of Polish culture and heritage in the United States. The Polish Parish is the center of the Polish community and in many cases its cultural meeting place. In addition to Polish language mass, the Polish Parish incorporates aspects of Polish tradition directly in the church, such as Pasterka (Christmas Midnight Mass), Gorzkie Zale (Lenten Bitter Lamentations), Swieconka (The Blessing of the Easter Basket) and Wielkanoc (Easter) in a unique manner, not encountered in American Catholic services.

     In addition to the presence of Polish language and history classes, culture is further maintained and preserved with choir and folk dance ensemble activity. Events such as Oplatek and Swieconka dinners, Dozynki, 3-ego Maja and Zapusty (Paczki) celebrations, and pierogi and paczki making circles are only part of the many enriching recreations found in a Polish Parish.

     Under Cardinal Bernard F. Law, Polish parishes were closed in Peabody, Haverhill, and Ipswich, among others, creating a deep, wounding void and destroying the once vibrant cultural life that had been enjoyed since these parishes were founded by immigrant Poles.

     On the heels of the long and painful sexual abuse scandal, Cardinal Law was forced to resign as archbishop in late 2002. The crisis, which alienated some parishioners and donors from the church, was only further heightened with the closing of ethnic parishes.

     In the Boston archdiocese, the number of closings is so high it will affect many of the region’s two million Catholics, with parishes being eliminated in nearly a third of the 144 cities and towns that make up the eastern part of Massachusetts.

     Sixty churches and roughly 120 other affiliated buildings will be closed and sold, said the Rev. Mark O’Connell, a canon lawyer for the archdiocese. And in addition to the closings, 10 or 11 more parishes will be closed in the next few months in Lawrence and Lowell, meaning at least 75 closings in all. Some parishes to be closed have historic significance. The Polish parishes in Lynn, Hyde Park, Lawrence, Lowell and Salem are still in danger of eventually closing.

     John Hynes, chairman of the steering committee of Voice of the Faithful, a lay Catholic group, demanded the archdiocese “show that closing 65 parishes is based on sound financial data that they are willing to share with their constituents, the laity, who paid to build all these parishes.”

     In New Jersey, The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark has begun a major reorganization effort that requires its 235 parishes to examine how efficiently each is using its resources and calls on 48 of them to consider mergers or realignments that would result in some churches being closed.

     Officials said they could not say how many churches were in danger of closing because each of the 48 parishes-the last vestiges of European immigrant populations in older urban areas like Newark, Jersey City and Elizabeth-will have a say in their fate over the coming months. But under recommendations released by a task force named by Archbishop John J. Myers in April 2002, 16 of the 48 churches would probably close and another 11 could close. The officials did not rule out closing or realigning more churches in the future.

     Consolidation plans and church closings have prompted demonstrations and lawsuits in other cities and have fueled emotions in New Jersey as well. St. Casimir, a Polish church in Newark, adamantly and successfully resisted a merger with a Portuguese parish in recent years.

     The Rev. Robert J. Silva, president of the National Federation of Priests’ Councils, based in Chicago, said that no matter how inclusive the process, parish reorganization leaves scars. “These consolidations are just very difficult, not only for the administrators but for the people,” Father Silva said. “When they see the church where their parents married-and they were married and their children baptized-being closed, it’s like the root of their lives is being taken away.”

     What will happen to church buildings that close is still an open question, said Monsignor William Harms. Many are architectural gems that reflect the cultures of the immigrant Irish, Germans, Italians, Poles and others who found work in the area’s factories and gave what they could as donations to build the churches around the end of the 19th century.

     St. Ann’s was built in Jersey City for a new Polish community, but that group is declining and the area has a large Asian population now. The parish is being asked to explore merging with the 112-year old St. John the Baptist Church in Jersey City, which, according to its pastor, Msgr. Charles G. Stengel, has the third-largest mosaic interior in the United States. Formerly an Irish church, it now serves, aside from descendants of Poles, Germans and Italians, a number of people from Bangladesh, a large Filipino contingent and Koreans and Egyptians.

     Sacred Heart, a church in Irvington with Polish roots, is being asked to merge with Saint Leo’s, once a German church, now with a largely Hispanic and Haitian congregation. But the Rev. Beaubrun Ardouin, pastor of St. Leo’s, said that since the task force began gathering data on his church and Sacred Heart, both churches have turned the corner, and he thinks they should remain separate parishes.

     Msgr. Ronald J. Marczewski, pastor of St. Adalbert, a Polish church in Elizabeth, which is to explore linking up or merging with another Polish church, St. Hedwig, less than a mile away also in Elizabeth, sees the realignment generally as a positive way to respond to changes in immigration.

     His church, a stately Romanesque structure was founded in 1905, and as the Polish population grew, St. Hedwig was founded to take the overflow, he said. It makes sense for them to realign because they have a common ancestry, he added.

     “They are all CEO’s,” said Rev. Rino Lavaroni, referring to the task force of pastors, pastoral associates and parishioners that came up with the recommendations for the Archdiocese. “I’m a sociologist, so I know you have to take a good picture of the situation, but they didn’t look. These people never came to see the reality.”

     At St. Anthony of Padua Church, the oldest Polish Roman Catholic parish in the city, the Rev. Joseph Urban, has other plans on his mind. The church is trying to organize a celebration for its 120th anniversary next month. He, too, sees signs of hope. He said he has already seen attendance on Sunday grow to 300 people from about 40 in the last three years, though it is still nowhere near the 10,000 congregants of the past.

     Even as the seven churches are scheduled to be merged into one parish, possibly under three roofs, another church in downtown Jersey City seems to have survived the first round of recommendations.

     That church, Our Lady of Czestochowa, once served the city’s large Polish population. It ceased Polish language Mass in 2001, a year after it had to adopt the title, “Our Lady’s Church on the Waterfront,” to reach out to the new, wealthier residents who were settling nearby in developments along the Jersey City waterfront. Polish congregants protested, calling the plan a form of ethnic cleansing and a tasteless ploy.

     James Goodness, spokesman for the Newark Archdiocese, said no offense had been meant, and calls it smart marketing. After years of establishing and cultivating our Polish identity, must we now make an attempt to successfully market our ethnicity in order to fit into an oddly changing new society?

     -Information obtained from Janon Fisher, Jason George, John Holl, Pam Belluck, and George James

     sidebar 1 to above

     PROTESTERS SEND MESSAGE. Over 700 people gathered outside the Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark, N.J., May 23, to protest the end of Polish-language masses at the former Our Lady of Czestochowa parish in Jersey City.

     Renamed Our Lady’s Church on the Waterfront in a church consolidation move three years ago, the decision to terminate masses in Polish is a move by Archbishop John D. Myers to rid the church of its ethnic identity and make it more appealing to “rich people who just moved into Jersey City,” said members of the Committee for the Defense of Our Lady of Czestochowa Roman Church.

     Sidebar 2 to above

     CARDINAL CALLS ON CHURCH TO PRESERVE POLISH CULTURE. Cardinal Adam J. Maida of Detroit called for the preservation of Polish traditions, culture and legacy in the U.S. Catholic Church at a national gathering of Polish American priests and bishops April 21 in Syracuse, N.Y.

     “It is important for our country, church and culture that our Polish parishes flourish,” said Cardinal Maida, who is episcopal moderator of the Polish-American Priests Association. “We need to support this mission.”

     The cardinal’s talk was part of an April 19-23 convention at Le Moyne College that brought 80 priests and bishops to Syracuse. It was the 15th annual convention for the association, founded in 1989 by Bishop John W. Yanta of Amarillo, Texas, and based in San Antonio.

     In his talk, Cardinal Maida expressed concern over the reconfiguration and closing of churches and its impact on Polish parishes.

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