September 20, 2011

Vatican upholds closing of Holyoke’s Mater Dolorosa Parish and church

 

REGIONAL

Staff report
(Iobserve file photos)

SPRINGFIELD – The Vatican has upheld the decrees merging Holyoke’s Mater Dolorosa and Holy Cross parishes, as part of a pastoral initiative to create the new Our Lady of the Cross Parish on July 1, 2011. 

Ruling on an appeal filed by former Mater Dolorosa parishioners in Holyoke, the Congregation for the Clergy on Sept. 8 upheld the decisions of Springfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell to both merge the parishes and cease to use the Mater Dolorosa Church on Maple Street. The new Our Lady of the Cross Parish worships at the site of the former Holy Cross Parish on Sycamore Street, approximately one mile away. The new parish also maintains the Mater Dolorosa School, Mater Dolorosa Cemetery and Pope John Paul the Second Social Center.

The decision to merge the parishes came after many years of analysis and study by the Pastoral Planning Committee which Bishop McDonnell appointed in 2005. Made up of clergy, religious and laity from across western Massachusetts, the committee considered a wide range of data including demographic trends and the proximity to other Catholic churches before making their recommendations. As part of this process, representatives from all parishes were invited to take part in regional listening sessions and there also were meetings with clergy in each region of the diocese. All recommendations were, as required by church law, presented before the Presbyteral Council.

In order to maintain the great Polish customs from the former parish, and to ease the transition to a new place of worhsip, the Conventual Franciscans accepted Bishop McDonnell’s invitation to continue their parish ministry in Holyoke at the new parish. The new Our Lady of the Cross Parish offers a Sunday Polish liturgy at 9 a.m. and recently held the annual summer parish festival featuring a Polish kitchen.

The decision to consolidate Mater Dolorosa and Holy Cross parishes was first announced in late August 2009. Recently identified structural concerns involving the Mater Dolorosa Church resulted in the decision this past May to move ahead with these plans effective July 1, 2011, designating Holy Cross Church as the place of worship for the new parish community.

An extensive study conducted by Engineering Design Associates of West Springfield identified serious strcutural concerns regarding the Mater Dolorosa steeple. Those findings have recently been backed up by a Pittsfield engineering firm brought in for a secondary opinion.

In a Sept. 15 letter sent to diocesan lawyers at Egan, Flanagan and Cohen, P.C., structural engineer Bernard J. Hunt of Pittsfield contractor Barry Engineers and Constructors, Inc., gave an initial report on its analysis of the steeple at Mater Dolorosa Church.

“The immediate concern is the structural stability of the steeple from the bell floor elevation up to the steeple top,” Hunt wrote. “Below the bell floor elevation at the rear of the choir loft, cracking is evident in the plaster which indicates there may also be load related damage to the masonry at this level.”

Hunt also noted “brick masonry is badly decayed at the base of the wood steeple walls” and there are separated wood structure joints, as well as loose slate and bricks on the church roof.

The letter states further: “It is our professional opinion that the steeple structure should be repaired to be safe from possible collapse during a high wind or seismic events.” Hunt’s estimated construction cost for repairs to the steeple is $250,000 to $350,000.

In accepting the Vatican’s decision upholding the parish and church closings, Bishop McDonnell recognized there would be some disappointment on the part of those who appealed the closing. “On the church calendar, the feast days of the Holy Cross and Mater Dolorosa (Mother of Sorrows) come together this very week, September 14^th and 15^th,” Bishop McDonnell said last week. “Despite the disappointment felt by those appealing the parish closing, I pray that now they will come together in the new parish of Our Lady of the Cross which honors both Holy Cross and the Mother of Sorrows.”

That sentiment was also expressed by Msgr. Antonio Neri from the Congegation of the Clergy in his cover letter accompanying the decision. “Although you may be disappointed with this Decision, you are encouraged to give yourselves wholeheartedly to the new parochoial community to which you belong, under the pastoral care of the Conventual Franciscan Friars with whom you can ensure the continuance of the laudable heritage of faith and devotion that have characterised your community,” he wrote.

Mark E. Dupont, diocesan spokesman, again reitereated the diocese’s desire that the vigil end, even should the group appeal the latest decision, saying, “Although we know this decision will come as a disappointment to those who sought this appeal, we hope that it will also be an opportunity to cast aside differences and emotions to focus on what is in the best interest for the future of their Catholic community.

“We also hope and pray that those in vigil will end their divisive actions and join with their fellow parishioners at the new Our Lady of the Cross Parish,” said Dupont.

Organizers have signaled that they will appeal the latest ruling. However, canon law experts warn this would be an even greater legal challenge as the basis for the appeal must be on the more limited merits of the Congregation for the Clergy’s ruling and not the diocesan decree or the circumstances which led to its issuance.