I witnessed firsthand the anger, sadness, and loss of faith that came about as a result of this program as I traveled to many of the parishes and churches which were targeted for closure in 2004 and 2005. I kept coming back to one question, if a church is “just a building,” why then does it seem like those who suffer the closure of their church experience such severe physical, emotional and spiritual pain as a result?
It seemed to me that if a church were “just a building,” Catholics would not experience so much distress at losing one, especially when it is not difficult to travel a few miles to another to
attend Mass.
REGINA: Yes, a whole lot of pain.
BRODY: After witnessing all that happened in Boston, I felt I needed to learn as much as I could about the closure of churches and parishes. I wanted to understand what made churches “special,” and I also believed my own home church of St. Francis of Assisi was not out of the woods. Unfortunately, I was not in time to save St. Francis of Assisi Church. In 2006, my family church was closed by Bishop Timothy Anthony McDonnell of Springfield, in spite of being in the black financially and being packed every Sunday.
REGINA: Tragic. And infuriating.
BRODY: I was frustrated that in spite of studying the issue for two years at the time my church closed, I still didn’t understand the specifics of when a church could be closed and whether any alternatives to closure had been tried and found to be successful in other Catholic dioceses and archdioceses either in the United States or internationally.
I threw myself into researching the actual rules governing the closure and sale of Catholic churches, as well as possible alternative courses of action that would make their closure and liquidation unnecessary.
Over the course of several more years, I found that these alternatives did exist, and in fact that they had existed for decades. I was extremely frustrated to realize that most Catholics not only did not know of this assistance but believed instead that they could do nothing if their church was threatened.
Thus, I began to both create the informational resources that I wish I had when St. Francis of Assisi was facing closure in 2006, and also to reach out and specifically help those who both desired to prevent the closure of their churches and who were willing to do the work necessary to make their dream of retaining their churches as Catholic sacred spaces a reality.
REGINA | 51