With church-closing list due today, many priests uneasy
Worried for flock, and for themselves
The Rev. William P. Joy knows he is going to get good news and bad news today.
Joy, administrator of three Catholic parishes, in Dorchester, Hyde Park, and Mattapan, awaited the overnight mail with a mixture of anticipation and dread, certain that Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley would order at least one of his parishes closed and would leave at least one open.
Most of Joy's parishioners are immigrants from Haiti or the West Indies, and as they struggle to adjust to the loss of their houses of worship, he will be struggling, too.
"This is a trauma for people, and it's one of those things we should probably have addressed a long while ago, but we didn't have the nerve or the wherewithal,'' said Joy, who leads St. Angela Merici Church in Mattapan, St. Joseph Church in Hyde Park, and St. Matthew Church in Dorchester. "And it's a challenge for priests. It's a stirring of the pot. We are living at a time of profound change on a large scale, and it's not easy.''
The parish closings to be announced today will have a profound effect on all parts of the Boston Archdiocese. But the closings have the potential to be particularly unsettling for priests, many of whom were already struggling emotionally as a result of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, and who now face involuntary transfer from their jobs and homes.
Monsignor Paul V. Garrity, pastor of St. Mary Church in Lynn, a city that is expected to lose as many as three of its six remaining churches, said many older priests may choose to retire or accept assisting positions rather than take a new assignment as pastor.
"Twenty-five years ago this would have been unheard of - becoming a pastor was the goal - but today, more and more priests are deciding they don't want to be pastors,'' he said.
O'Malley's spokesman, the Rev. Christopher J. Coyne, said yesterday that "priests in parishes that have been closed will be reassigned to other parishes and pastoral ministries, some as pastors, and others serving as parochial vicars or priests.'' O'Malley plans to meet with the priests of all closing parishes at St. Julia Church in Weston on Thursday.
The archdiocese is clearly anticipating that the reconfiguration will be traumatic for priests. In April, a top archdiocesan official sent a letter to priests, saying that he was preparing lists of counselors and psychiatrists to help priests, and that on Thursday, the first order of business "will be to deal with the personal needs and concerns of the priests. ... Important questions like `What about me?' and `Where will I live?' should be addressed first before anyone can deal effectively with the staff, parish, and pragmatic issues.''
O'Malley made two public appearances yesterday, giving a benediction at Boston College's commencement exercises and attending a groundbreaking at a Catholic high school in Lynn, but he did not address reconfiguration and he declined to take questions from a reporter.
Priests interviewed yesterday said they were anticipating today's announcement with a mix of emotions. Many accept that some closings are necessary, but dread having to shut down churches they love, and they fear what is next for them personally.
"There has been so much anger and resentment about so many issues in this diocese, and a lot of us are just really exhausted by trying to minister in this time,'' said the Rev. Robert F. VerEecke, pastor of St. Ignatius Loyola Church in Newton.
Some say they cannot imagine starting over.
"My needs are secondary to those of the people - I can live anywhere or do anything, but I don't know what happens to these people who I've been entrusted to care for,'' said the Rev. Robert J. Bowers, pastor of Our Lady Catherine of Siena Church in Charlestown. "But of course I also have concerns about what I do - I am not interested in another assignment because I am completely invested in this parish and these people.''
The Rev. Francis M. Glynn, pastor of St. Anthony Church in Lowell, said priests will have to play several unpleasant roles over the next several months, laying off longtime employees and counselling distraught parishioners.
"It's a really heavy load, and somehow we're supposed to cheer up the people who are down when we're not particularly cheerful ourselves,'' Glynn said. "And then, for all the guys whose parishes close, they are going to have to go start over again, and if you're 60 years old, that's hard. But most guys are focused on their people, and will deal with that other part later.''
Michael Paulson can be reached at mpaulson@globe.com. Marcella Bombardieri and Kathy McCabe of the Globe staff contributed to this report. 