Talks continue between Bishop Richard Lennon of the Catholic Diocese of Cleveland and representatives of the Community of St. Peter, a congregation that left the diocese after the bishop closed their church.
The two sides met earlier this month to discuss the community's
secession and the setting up of its own worship space in a renovated
warehouse, actions that led to the excommunication in March of the group's pastor, the Rev. Robert Marrone.
During the 11/2-hour meeting on May 3, Lennon told
the representatives -- members of the community's board of trustees --
that Catholic worship outside the authority of the diocese is a
violation of church teachings, according to a report of the meeting in
the community's recent newsletter.
Trustees and the bishop agreed to keep details of the meeting
private. But The Plain Dealer obtained a copy of the newsletter sent to
update members of the congregation.
The report quoted Lennon as saying, "joining in the liturgy at the
community is not evil, but it is not an act in union with the Catholic
church and was outside the authority of the bishop."
The bishop, according to the report, continued, "in Catholic
theology, communion with the bishop is vital as the bishop is the direct
successor of the Apostles."
The newsletter reported that the trustees were presenting the
bishop's statements to the community for feedback and a collective
response to the bishop sometime in June. No date has been set for the
next meeting with Lennon.
The meeting was the first between Lennon and the trustees since he
closed their church, St. Peter Catholic Church, in downtown Cleveland in
2010 as part of a diocesewide downsizing.
That same year, Marrone and more than 300 St. Peter's parishioners,
determined to stay together and keep their priest, set up a nonprofit
group, the Community of St. Peter, and rented commercial space in a
century-old building on Euclid Avenue at East 71st Street.
They have been celebrating Sunday Mass, baptisms and other
sacraments in the space since then, despite warnings from Lennon that
their salvation was at stake.
About five months after the breakaway church formed, Lennon
threatened Marrone with punishment through church law, saying he must
cease his unauthorized Masses and resign from the community.
Faced with remaining faithful to his congregation or to his bishop,
Marrone wrote to Lennon: "It is my decision to remain in my present
position with the Community of St. Peter."
When Marrone read the letter during a Mass, the congregation of more
than 300 jumped to its feet in applause and shouts of "Bravo!"
In March, Lennon declared Marrone excommunicated, saying "Father Marrone's recent actions have been in direct defiance of the church's teachings and authority."
Marrone did not publicly respond to the bishop's declaration. He
could not be reached Monday to discuss the meeting between his board and
Lennon. A spokesman for the diocese had said earlier that the bishop
would not talk publicly about the meeting.
In his excommunication edict, Lennon referred to Marrone's
congregation as "a group which has separated itself from the governance
of the Diocese of Cleveland."
But community members dispute that and take issue with being described as a breakaway community.
During the meeting with Lennon one trustee told the bishop, "We are
not a breakaway community, but rather a thrown-away community," the
newsletter said. "We do not have dispute with Catholic doctrine or
teaching."