Hub groups resist closing of churches in 3 other states

Dissident Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston have joined parishioners in New York in struggling to keep open some of the 21 churches slated to be closed there and are working with groups in Ohio and Arizona to encourage resistance to parish closings nationwide.

The Council of Parishes and Voice of the Faithful, two Boston-based organizations critical of the Catholic hierarchy, are providing information and advice to some of the parishes scheduled to close by March 1 in the Archdiocese of New York.

Peter Borre, cochairman of the Council of Parishes, is credited by New York parishioners with helping them prepare to resist the closings, based on the Boston-area protests.

"We called Peter to help us in this because he has experience," said Carmen M. Villegas, one of six women arrested Monday night at Our Lady Queen of the Angels in East Harlem, where police and private security guards terminated attempts by about 40 parishioners to start a Boston-style occupation. Boston area churches fought back in 2004 when the archdiocese announced that about 80 parishes would close and their members be merged into other parishes, to help cope with a financial crisis caused in part by declining church attendance and clergy numbers . In recent years, the number of parishes in the archdiocese has been reduced from 357 to fewer than 300. Several planned closings are being appealed to church authorities in Rome.

"Peter is helping us get organized; he is instrumental," said Villegas, who added, in a phone interview, that one of the police officers who helped break up the vigil told parishioners "the diocese is furious at us that we brought that man in."

Though the vigil was broken up, the parishioners scored what they consider a public relations coup, as New York television stations broadcast film of burly, black-clad private security personnel, referred to by the parishioners as the church's gorillas, pushing poor Hispanic parishioners and journalists out of the church.

A vigil at another New York church, Our Lady of the Rosary in Yonkers, was broken up Sunday. Two people were arrested there.

Officials of the Archdiocese of New York could not be reached for comment yesterday.

John Moynihan, spokesman for Voice of the Faithful, said his organization has been heavily involved in organizing New York parishes, since a long list of proposed closings was announced there last spring.

"Our affiliate in New York called all the parishes on the preliminary list," Moynihan said. "We told them that if they would like to protest, we have some experience with this."

He said that Voice of the Faithful worked particularly closely with the two churches where parishioners launched vigils and were thwarted last weekend, helping them make practical preparations for what were expected to be long occupations.

Borre said the Council of Parishes, Voice of the Faithful, and several organizations that seek to reform the Catholic Church from within are discussing how they can cooperate to help local parishes resist closure orders from the church hierarchy. Some of them plan to hold a public event outside the now-closed Our Lady Queen of Angels on Feb. 25.

Charles A. Radin can be reached at radin@globe.com.