Our Lady of Assumption parishioners are taking the case to keep their church open to a higher authority, composing a letter and having it signed by more than 700 people before sending it to the Vatican this week, a campaign leader said.
On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 750 people gathered at Assumption Church on West 23rd Street in a show of support, according to former Mayor Joseph Doria, a church trustee.
Assumption, whose congregation is composed of large populations of Italians, Spanish, and Filipinos, among others, is slated to close by Jan. 1 after the Newark Archdiocese announced in September that it would be combined with St. Michael’s/St. Joseph’s and Our Lady of Mount Carmel into a new entity to be called Pope John Paul II Parish. The new parish would operate at what is now Mount Carmel.
The archdiocese’s plan also calls for St. Mary Star of the Sea to be combined with St. Andrew the Apostle and be called Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich Parish after the soon-to-be hometown saint. St. Mary’s and St. Andrew are already linked, sharing pastoral and administrative staffs. No decision has been made yet about which of those two churches would eventually close.
St. Henry and St. Vincent DePaul churches are to remain standalone parishes.
The archdiocese made the decisions about the seven Catholic parishes because of demographic changes that have affected churchgoing, according to Jim Goodness, an archdiocesan spokesman.
“I go to that church and find solace. That’s what Assumption Parish has done for me.” – Michelle Polera Burger
____________
He said that the city can no longer support seven churches, because of lower attendance rates and contributions.
According to Goodness, Sunday Mass attendance in Bayonne fell from 14,000 in 1983 to its current weekly level of 5,600.
“Sixty percent of those who had been attending are not here anymore,” he said.
Goodness also said that Assumption is $1.3 million in debt, a figure which the parish could no longer sustain. But Doria disputed that figure, saying it was an exaggeration. He acknowledged that the church has not paid the archdiocese its portions of collections for several years. But Doria said much of the debt figure is for projects the archdiocese approved contractors for who did not do the work properly.
“They’re counting that,” he said. “They want the parish to pay for shoddy work where they picked the contractors to get it done.”
Assumption parishioners, some of whose families have been involved with the church for up to 100 years, oppose the closing.
“All 750 people signed it and we’re sending it out this week,” Doria said. “It’s going to the agency that deals with the parishes. Hopefully, they’ll respond to the letter.”
Doria said the parish is petitioning Rome because the archdiocese has not responded to their repeated communications.
“We received nothing from [Archbishop John] Myers; no replies,” Doria said. “The only reply to the parish was with a form letter.”
Parishioners say that closing Assumption is more than just closing doors; part of their lives will be shut too.
Michelle Polera Burger said she and her siblings graduated from the former Assumption school, and received their sacraments there. She has been a parishioner for 44 years, her entire life, and her mother has been one for more than 50. Family members have been involved with the parish dating back 100 years.
“It’s part of my life; I grew up here. It’s like taking something away that’s been part of me for all these years,” she said. “We have roots here. I think it’s unfair the diocese is taking this away from us. It’s very disheartening.”
Burger said that after the death of her father, Assumption helped her cope with the loss.
“This church has helped me get through the passing of my father, it helped me grieve and deal with it better, now that he’s no longer with us,” she said. “I go to that church and find solace. That’s what Assumption Parish has done for me.”
Traveling to church
Dominic Ciraco is so devoted to his church that he still attends, even after moving out of town. Each week he makes the trek up from the Parlin section of Sayreville, in Middlesex County, to attend services. A parishioner since 1964, he is a cantor there.
“It’s my home away from home,” Ciraco said. “I go there to celebrate my faith.”
Ciraco was one of the six busloads of parishioners who protested the archdiocese’s decision on Nov. 1 at the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.
Making better odds
Doria said that even with the support, he knows it is an uphill battle to keep Assumption open.
“I’d say it’s a 50/50 chance, and we’re fighting to make it better odds,” he said.
Goodness said the archdiocese has no plans to change its decision, and that this message has been communicated to Assumption.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.