Rally planned for Friday afternoon, 3:30pm or thereafter at SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, at 296 Flower City Park
We were given the okay from the City and the Police Department. You can park across from the Cathedral, however, if you are asked to move, which they doubt, then just calmly move it. Car pool if possible.
Let's keep it prayerful and stay positive.
We certainly want to be heard and represent our view. Let's endeavor to do it in a Christian way. Remember we are bringing our children and should be role models for them.
Picket will continue through the dinner and news hours. Several news outlets have already picked up on this.
Make some VISIBLE, CLEVER signs - "Let us help ourselves", "We demand answers", etc.
There has been extremely enthusiastic agreement so far from all of the schools involved.
Can someone post a link to making a good picket sign??
BRING YOUR CHILDREN!!!!!! In uniform, of course - have older kids in Catholic Schools? BRING THEM TOO - invite anyone,everyone you know.
We have nothing to lose now, they already took away our schools!
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19 comments:
This is sad. If Catholics picketed the Bishop over anything else, they would be called "Cafeteria Catholics". Bishop Clark was ordained by Pope John Paul II. His authority comes from the Vatican. If you want to protest, protest there, but please, leave the kids at home. They've suffered enough.
Great Idea, but leave the children at home. They may really question their faith if prayers keep going unanswered. They may be hurting more than you know or they show.
Not to mention that it will be around 20 degrees. They'll need plenty of long johns under those skirts. I asked my wife if she wore stockings or anything with her Catholic school uniform when she was a girl. She said no; just high socks. That's crazy. As crazy as watching their parents vent their rage at the Cathedral. Somehow, I doubt all the protesters will be quiet and prayerful. What's next? Protest buttons at Confirmation? Will your children's faith be made stronger by telling them their bishop is a jerk? I told my wife that I read some are so angry, they don't want to be part of the diocese anymore; they want to drive to some conservative church in Bergen. She said, "let them". Think about what you're doing. And definately, leave the kids at home.
You don't think that it's important for your children to see that you are willing to fight for something that is important to your family?
When three schools provide valid business plans to run independently of the diocese, without any financial support from the diocese, and a blanket "no" is given, there is more at work than what is best for the children.
..and by the way, most girls wear sweatpants under the uniforms in the cold weather.
If you are so against this effort, have the guts to sign your name and not use anonymous.
If I had a nickel for every time I heard, "The Catholic Church is not a democracy", I'd be a rich man. The bishop is not an elected official, and you don't get to vote him out, or petition him for redress. Parish councils can make recommendations to their pastor, but he makes the final decision. That's how it works. As my father told me, "Life's not fair". What do you expect to accomplish with this protest? Do you think the bishop will change his mind, or do you just want to embarrass him on the evening news? Do you think the Pope will reprimand or remove him, when all the bishops involved in the abuse scandal, except Cardinal Law, still have their jobs, and he has a new one at the Vatican? What are the complaints against Bishop Clark? That he is too liberal and he closed some schools. Catholic schools are closing all over America. It's sad, but it's reality. And it's not as important as protecting children from those who were supposed to be most trustworthy. If there were no protests in Rochester over that, why not? Because Catholics are not supposed to publicly protest their Church, or its ordained hierarchy. When gays did this at St. Patrick's in New York, they were condemned as bringing civil protest into a holy place. This is not as bad as that, but what example are you setting? Why would other groups not take your cue, ones that you would not necessarily agree with? As far as having the guts to state my real name, that would be folly. I would need to find a new parish, and SMM would be down one family. It's good about the sweatpants.
Can we please keep this civil here? I don't want to start having to edit or remove comments, but I will. I have already been told that if this gets too "negative", that we will lose our link from the school's website, where we are getting over 52% of our traffic from.
I think we all have the best intentions for our children here, regardless of how each of us chose to protest or mourn our loss.
Thanks for your cooperation in keeping this civil.
Do parishioners who disagree have a voice here? Or is it just for the like-minded? If so, fine; delete my posts, but we attend SMM too, and no doubt will be asked to help pay for the school building, whatever its future purpose may be. I'm certain I will have no vote or veto over the final decision. That's how it is. I hope things are civil at the Cathedral today, but I fully expect to see people yelling on the news, with Bob Lonsberry right behind.
Dissenting views are welcome. That is what the rally is all about. I am just asking that we all be civil.
SMM currently pays about $60,000 into the "pot" of Catholic schools. All churches pay an amount based on their size. This won't change. SMM is also responsible for the upkeep of the building. This also won't change, except that there will be no school tuitions coming in to defray these costs.
The main concern that parents have is that there has been no information disseminated from the Diocese. The report of the task force and their data was not made public, the reason that business plans for viable independent schools was rejected was not made public, the selection process for displaced children applying to new schools was not made public, what happens to "extra students" if the re-application rate exceeds the 46% estimated was not made public (polls of schools show that up to 80% of students are re-applying elsewhere, and there may not be room for all the children in the remaining 11 schools). This is what the rally is about.
My way of protesting the Diocese's changes is by developing a Plan B! While I am sitting around waiting to hear what school my child may get in and what size her class will be, I am applying at Nazareth. For $25 (signifigantly less than the DOR $100 fee) I can be working on alternatives when I am told that "there is no room at the inn". Heck, I've considered public schools in the last 24 hours too. I spent a considerable amout of my time researching and visiting schools during the last several weeks. The fruits of my labor will harvest a wait and see what school they select for my child? That angers and frustrates me. So that my fellow SMM families is my suggestion as a way to protest. Develop a Plan B!
The children want to be a part of what is going on, they don't want to be defenseless pawns. That's why they wrote letters, had their own prayer vigils, etc.. We know how to dress our children for the weather. They are in less danger standing outside at the cathedral than they would be sledding or ice skating. We're doing this for them, we're not going neglect them in the process. The original plan was to be at Buffalo Road offices, but the safety of the children was of concern (standing on Buffalo Road during rush hour)so it was moved to the next most visible place in the Diocese.
SMM will still have the expense of the school building, and the school taxes in Irondequoit are going to go up yet again when these families leave the Catholic schools. You pay either way. Let us do what we need to do to get the answers we need. It's not going to change the effect you either way.
I am not disagreeing with those who want more transparency in how the decisions were made. If I were a parent of one of the affected students, I would feel the same way. But, that is how the Catholic Church works. When decisions come down from the Pope or any of the hierarchy, I don't get to demand a look at how those decisions were arrived at. I don't get to look at the books. I just have to deal with it, and accept it if I want to remain Catholic. There is a conflict between being American and being Catholic. As Americans, we expect our leaders to answer to us. As Catholics, we answer to our leaders. When we get the two confused, we get angry. I am aware of how current contributions fund the building and other schools. I'm also aware that without tuition to defray those costs, the parish cost will go up, and parishioners will be asked to make up the difference. I think the building should be rented out, with the stipulation that the parish gets to use it for its own needs. If not, it should be demolished, and the former sister's residence renovated for religious ed, scouts, soup suppers, etc. I don't think we should build a parish center, and I think the new steps are too expensive. But, my opinion is not a vote, and I won't have any recourse if things don't go my way, except maybe to join another parish. I would certainly do that before marching with signs down Rogers Parkway. I would deal with it, and look for a Plan B, like the mother who is doing that for her child.
Has anyone considered the possibility of going over Bishop Clark's head? Perhaps a petition addressed to Cardinal Egan with thousands of signatures might put some pressure on the Bishop to keep even one more school open. It's worth a shot!
Plan B! Hand an empty envelope in the collection on Sunday with the words written on the outside "no school,no money!". Collectively the response would be amazing and I believe the DOR would be quick to respond with this uniform protest of parishioners in Rochester.kq
No one wants to hurt their parish to get back at the Bishop, you can't get enough people to make a difference.
Please remember we all need our Parish Commitment letters signed for next year. To qualify for the parish "rate" you need to give of your time, talent and treasure. Your Pastor is the one judging this. Not using your envelope may hurt you in the long run. I would agree with the post in that my weekly contributions will be changing but not eliminated.
I teach my child that God answers all prayers, but sometimes the answer is NO. I believe that if God wants one or more of the schools to remain open, it will happen. If not, "thy will be done." In the mean time, I will continue to pray for the miracle that will keep Saint Margaret Mary School open, and I hope that many more will do the same. I have faith that, come next September, my child will be attending a Catholic School. I only wish the same were true of the teachers and staff of the closing schools. Not much has been said about that.
It's not just the staff at the closing schools anymore. At St. Rita's, one of their newer teachers is going to lose her job so they can place one of the more experienced teachers there that would be losing her job.
"Hand an empty envelope in the collection on Sunday with the words written on the outside 'no school,no money!'."
Ah yes. The way to gain and gather allies from the pews.
A better suggestion would be to keep the protest time for protesting and devote Sunday Mass to prayer. Parishioners, some of whom were once school parents, might regard well a weekly commitment to liturgy, the involvement of adults in the parish, and the friendly, faith-filled faces of children.
You could do far worse than pray, and if you were to convince other parishioners of the value of your parish (not private, not prep) school, you might eventually turn the tide.
Todd
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