Parishioners for the Preservation of Holy Angels Parish responds to bulletin insert with questions.

To: Beacons Pathway Team November 30, 2023

Attention HA Representatives: Jill Heitmeyer, Dan Freytag

Re: Bulletin Insert of 11/4 &11/5 of 2023 -Response and Questions

In the original insert in which we were introduced to the Pathway Team, we were encouraged to reach out to any of the team members with questions.

We hope you will be able to help us out because there are statements made on the bulletin insert which we do not understand. We are including questions we hope you will be able to answer for us. The questions are in bold print.

For example, In response to the question: Does Merger= Closure, the answer given is No. We believe it would be more complete and, therefore, more accurate to say that merger does not equal closure of a church, but merger does equal “closure (canonical extinction) of a parish. To state that merger does not equal closure implies that there is nothing really changing, especially since the example given does not seem to be an appropriate analogy.

Sts. Peter & Paul and St. Michael were “brought together” in what could be described as a “cluster”. Neither were canonically nor legally merged as is the plan for our four parishes. Because they were just “brought together”, they have been able to “thrive”. They each still have their own parish structure and community to support them.

It will not be the same for us. We are not just being “brought together.” According to the Beacons website the definition of merger is “two or more former parishes unite to become a single new parish; all previous parishes become extinct” We assume from previous statements that we are scheduled for extinction/ merger rather than amalgamation. Is that correct?

Further questions: What will the people who attend HA church be called? Can HA have HA “parishioners” if we don’t have a parish? Won’t we all be “parishioners” of St. Joseph, Pillar of Families?

How will it be decided if people are “supporting” HA church?

Will we be able leave money to Holy Angels church in our wills if there is no HA parish?

Will we be able to designate HA as the recipient of donations from our IRA’s, or will the 501c3 be in the name of St. Joseph, Pillar of Families and the funds co-mingled with others?

If HA church is not a legal or canonical entity such as Holy Angels parish is at this time, will all collections at Mass go to St. Joseph, Pillar of Families?

How will we know how much money goes to “support” HA church?

Attendees may give to a collection while at Mass, but that money can’t go to HA church if it is not a legal entity, can it?

Who decides how much we get to sustain our church? If HA church has a need and a decision is made not to fund it, what recourse do we have? It seems as if we are moving away from local control of our parish and church to a more centralized governing structure. We are concerned that such a move does not respect the Catholic social principle of subsidiarity. Will we have Sunday collection envelopes for “Maintenance” of HA church?

The merger/closure question states that the decision to close a church comes from the parish up. That is puzzling because there will be no HA parish to request that our church be closed or stay open. In reality then, will that decision come from the “new parish? If so, who will be guiding that decision?

Looking to parishes that have already had a decree issued, we note that:

The St. Henry decree states: “The intentions of the founders and donors regarding the temporal goods and patrimonial rights of the former parishes … must be respected.” What does that mean? And, how does that happen?

It goes on to say that “…the goods, rights, and assets, including bona sacra and religious articles as well as the obligations and liabilities of the former parishes… shall transfer to St. Henry Parish.”

That sounds like everything from our four parishes will be going to St. Joseph Pillar of Families Parish. Is that correct? What about the “intentions of founders and donors… which must be respected” from the previous paragraph? What happens if there are conflicts and something that was donated to HA parish/church by a parishioner (including money) is not “respected”. Who decides?

Also from the St. Henry decree:“The sacramental record of the former parishes…shall be closed and transferred to St. Henry Parish.” Any sacraments taking place at those churches are to be recorded in the sacramental registers of St. Henry parish. Will our sacramental records go to St. Joseph Pillar of Families Parish? Will all future sacraments be recorded at St. Joseph, Pillar of Families parish?

The final paragraph of the St. Henry decree states: “Recourse may be taken against this decree in accord with the norms of canon law.” Are you aware that there are provisions in canon law allowing faithful Catholics to appeal decisions which they deem to be unjust?

Will HA church be recommended as the parochial church? If not, we will become a subsidiary church along with two of the other churches. Beacons explains the differences and indicates that what will be included in the decree for extinction is the name of the parochial church. The insert says that it may be possible to include “stipulations” in the decree of merger. There is nothing like that included in the St. Henry decree. Has a decree been issued in this diocese that includes the stipulations mentioned in the bulletin insert? For what time frame would that kind of a stipulation be guaranteed?

We recognize that the pastor and bishop have power and discretion in making decisions of which we may not be aware. We have been trying to discern from canon law and the Beacons website what reasons are valid for the extinction of parishes and which are not. We have been unable to come up with reasons sufficient to justify the extinction/merger of Holy Angels parish; we don’t meet the criteria.

In conclusion: We recognize and appreciate that HA church was built and cared for by parishioners of HA parish. It has taken decades of hard work and sacrifice for the people of Holy Angels to build up a parish community which has continued to support its people and its church. We honor those who have bequeathed such a gift to us.

Our church is beautiful because we were able to preserve it at a time when some other churches ripped out all the altars, stations & statues. Because we preserved it, we were able to restore it. Not all churches and parishes were so fortunate. Because it was preserved, we are now able to continue to share the beauty and inspiration it provides with others just as we are able to share our faith through the many persons and groups which evangelize and catechize in our parish.

We don’t believe we have a right to “dismantle” our parish. We believe that preserving our parish is an exercise of good stewardship. We do not believe it is “selfish” to take good care of what you have been given so that you can pass it onto others for their spiritual benefit.

Thank you for considering our concerns and questions. We look forward to hearing from you soon so that we can share the answers to our questions with our group. Thank you.

Parishioners for the Preservation of Holy Angels Parish