At Churches Set to Close, Faithful Dig In for Battle

A week after the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York released itsfinal list of 21 parishes to be closed as part of a broadreorganization, some parishioners are digging in for a battle,enlisting help from parishioners in the Boston Archdiocese whosuccessfully resisted some church closings there with round-the-clocksit-ins.

Parishioners from Our Lady Queen of Angels in EastHarlem plan to march today in their neighborhood to protest thearchdiocese's decision to shutter their parish. They have also invitedPeter Borré, co-chairman of a group in the Boston Archdiocese calledthe Council of Parishes that fought church closings, to speak to themand offer advice on how to take on church authorities.

Thedecision to consult with Mr. Borré, 68, who has also been in touch thisweek with parishioners at Mary Help of Christians in the East Village,which is also on the closing list, could portend a protracted struggleahead for archdiocesan officials in New York.

"We're not out totell anybody what to do," Mr. Borré said. "That's up to theparishioners. But we'll share willingly all of our experiences."

InBoston, Roman Catholic officials have sought to close 83 parishes since2004, but parishioners managed to win at least partial reprieves forabout two dozen churches through a combination of appeals to the Vatican, lawsuits, sit-ins and news media attention, Mr. Borré said.

Inabout half the cases, the victories are for now only temporary, headded, with authorities merely holding off on a promised closing, ordelaying issuing a final date for the "suppression" of the parish.

Butin the other cases, he said, archdiocesan officials actually reversedtheir decision to close the parish, or at least allowed parishioners tokeep their church building as a worship site, or established for themsmaller chapels attached to another parish.

Parishioners arestill conducting sit-ins in five churches, in some cases occupying thebuildings 24 hours a day for 27 straight months, holding services weekin and week out without a priest, even though the churches areconsidered closed by church authorities.

The efforts of Mr. Borré's organization have been extensively chronicled in The Boston Globe. Mr. Borré, a Harvardgraduate who spent his career working on energy issues in governmentand the private sector, is in many ways an unlikely crusader againstthe Roman Catholic hierarchy. He got involved in fighting churchauthorities when his parish in Charlestown, Mass., was scheduled toclose. He and other parishioners won a partial reprieve when thearchdiocese agreed not to close their church completely but allowedthem to keep their building as a worship site connected to anotherparish.

A member of Mary Help of Christians contacted Mr. Borréfor advice this week, but church members have not yet decided theirnext move. They will be convening tomorrow to discuss strategy, saidanother longtime member, Marlena Palacios. They are contemplating,among other possibilities, a protest in front of St. Patrick'sCathedral, she said.

But an important question is how many parishioners feel strongly enough to devote themselves to the effort.

"Alot of people want to fight," Ms. Palacios said. "A lot of people wantto keep it open, but that doesn't mean they're going to get involved."

Parishioners at Our Lady Queen of Angels began mobilizing almost immediately after the announcement last week.

Establishedin 1886, the parish initially served German immigrants. Today, itcaters to a mixture of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Dominicans and blackcongregants. Attendance at the parish has dwindled to about 400 atSunday services.

For members of the mostly immigrantcongregation, said Carmen Villegas, 52, a longtime parishioner, thechurch is a home away from home.

"There's only a few places wefeel at home, and at Queen of Angels, we feel at home," she said."They're taking our home from us."

Ms. Villegas said she had been in touch over the past year with Francis Piderit, a New York-area leader of Voice of the Faithful,a national organization that was formed in the aftermath of the clergysexual abuse scandal to press for more accountability and transparencyfrom Roman Catholic leaders.

Voice of the Faithful organized ameeting in the spring for parishes on the initial New York Archdiocesanlist to discuss their options.

Soon after last week'sannouncement, Mr. Piderit contacted Ms. Villegas to offer hiscondolences, told her about Mr. Borré's successful efforts in Bostonand asked if she might want to talk with him. She immediately agreed,she said.

"They have done a great job in Boston," Ms. Villegas said. "They have stopped the process in some of the churches."

The next day, Mr. Borré offered to fly down to meet with Ms. Villegas and others from the parish.

LastSunday, Ms. Villegas stood at the altar after the Spanish-language Massand told her fellow parishioners about Mr. Borré and called on them toform a prayer circle for the church outside after service. "I got up inthe pulpit and said, ‘We are resisting this decision,'" Ms. Villegassaid. "If you want to join me, I'll be outside."

About 150 people gathered and sang "We Shall Overcome," she said. About 50 more gathered after the English-language Mass.

Ms.Villegas, who has been a member of the parish since 1974, said she wasunsure if the church had enough people to hold a round-the-clocksit-in, something Mr. Borré said required about two dozen committedmembers.

Gloria Lopez, 61, said she was prepared do whatever was necessary to keep her church open.

"We're not going to budge from the church," she said. "They won't be able to get us out."

JosephZwilling, a spokesman for the archdiocese, said that the churches onthe closing list already had their chance to make their case. "Webelieve we have acted properly, carefully, consulting at every stepalong the way. The decisions have been made, and there is no intentionto go back on them."