CLEVELAND - A large portion of the congregation at St. Casimir's Catholic Church walked out on Bishop Richard Lennon as he said the parish's final mass...
As Bishop Lennon approached the podium, many people stood and turned their backs on him and walked towards the rear of the church. They then paused and sang a Polish anthem.
"It's terrible, terrible, terrible," said Eleanor Stanish, a long-time parishioner who hoped to have her funeral said some day at St. Casimir's. "I don't know what's wrong with that bishop."
Bishop Lennon has made it a practice to say the final mass at a church that is closing. He expressed his sadness at this day, and a few people offered words of understanding. One man said, "If you got to close it, you got to close it. All the families are moving out."
But many others expressed anger - especially because some people claim to still have an appeal pending with the Vatican to keep the church opened. "This church is still on appeal," one woman shouted at Bishop Lennon. "You have no business being here." - Source
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In his final words to the St. John congregation, Lennon said, "You are greater than any temple, church or cathedral that can be built by human hands."
Some in the protest group -- including Nancy McGrath of Endangered Catholics, a local coalition fighting the closing of churches -- said they would find another way to further the fight.
Before they were escorted out, Lennon approached the group sitting in pews and asked them to "kindly leave the church."
That request instigated a heated exchange as the protesters accused Lennon of trading "souls for cash" and of not including parishioners in the consolidation decision. - Source
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"Bishop Lennon is an uncaring, inconsiderate and coldhearted person. He is not worthy to lead the Cleveland Catholic Diocese...
I will not lose my faith in God, but Bishop Lennon is making it very difficult to have faith in the church itself." - Source
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"Today is a special day, a day of sadness, a day of wonderment and a day of anger for some," Lennon said in his sermon. "This is a story of God and men and women working together for over a century. May we rely on God in these days of darkness and sadness."
During the service, uniformed Cleveland police officers watched over the bishop. One followed him down the main aisle during the final procession. Then, flanked by officers, Lennon left the church and walked in the rain through a back parking lot, ignoring the protest signs - "Dis-Membering in Process," "This is Not God's Plan," "Keep Our Church Open."
Protesters Marta Fordos of Fairview Park and Hanna Gereby of Cleveland ran after Lennon, catching up to him. "I'm sorry you have to ruin our churches," snapped Fordos. "Judas!"
Lennon, his eyes downcast, did not respond, continuing his wet march toward his car. - Source
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I empathize with these people who will have to move from the parishes they've been at for their entire lives, where they were baptized, married, where funerals took place, but part of me would like to see Bishop Lennon present a slide show to them following the final Masses and the protests, showing the murders of Christians in Iraq, India, and other parts of the world, and perhaps describe the lives of the Saints and how they suffered, putting things in perspective for them.
