Catholics react to Buffalo diocese’s plan to close churches

LACKAWANNA, N.Y. (WKBW) – “Nobody wants it. It’s just sad,” remarked Colleen Martino, a member of the Catholic community. “It’s hard because you don’t want that to happen.”

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A day after the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo announced plans to close and merge dozens of Catholic churches in Western New York’s eight counties, 7 News wanted to determine the community’s reaction Catholic.

Tuesday at noon, in front of Our Lady of Victory Basilica in Lackawanna, one of the largest churches in the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo. Some were heading to mass, others were visiting and that’s when I caught up with Martino, who tells me she is a parishioner of the Church of the Resurrection in Cheektowaga, while she was reacting to the diocese’s plans to close churches in the future.

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“It’s a little scary because, of course, you get used to the church you go to. The ones you’re comfortable with, you know the other parishioners, your neighbors,” Martino responded.

On Tuesday, the diocese announced it would close 34 percent of its 160 parishes, but it has not specified which churches at this time.

A list will be released on September 1, but if you do the math, that’s a third, or about 54 churches, and that worries Martino.

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“And you are always afraid that it will be your church that closes,” Martino reacted.

The diocese is leading a rightsizing and overhaul plan as part of its road to renewal, saying it faces critical challenges including financial pressure from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, a 49 percent drop in mass attendance, fewer young people present and a significant shortage of priests. .

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“But I can understand why some churches need to be consolidated or closed. There are not as many faithful attending the churches. There are not as many priests available and the age of the priests is increasing,” commented Martino .

7 News has also learned that closures will be based on “contributing” households and not “registered” households.

In the past, parishes have been told that churches would be responsible for paying a percentage to help pay for settlements of 900 Child Victims Act (CVA) cases.

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“All of our parishes, all of our entities will have to participate in order for us to come out of Chapter 11,” said Archbishop Michael Fisher, Catholic Diocese of Buffalo.

“If I give this money away, where does it go? Is it going to this? And of course it has tainted people,” Martino noted.

Bishop Fisher said Tuesday that exactly how they will need help from the parish has not been defined. However, he is not authorized to comment on Chapter 11 proceedings.

Father Bryan Zielenieski, who leads the Path to Renewal process, also responded on the reorganization of the diocese.

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“That’s part of it. The reorganization of chapter 11, with renewal, we must reorganize ourselves for the future and to face the future with hope and that is why reorganization helps us to take a critical look at ourselves and how we let’s emerge from it,” noted Father Zielenieski.

I spoke to a few other Catholics on Tuesday who didn’t want to go on camera, but they told me they were “saddened and disappointed.” One of them said she “disagreed” with the diocesan project. An 82-year-old woman said she had been in the Catholic Church all her life and was “very upset.”