SOUND: conversation from group discussion tables
About thirty people from Cuyahoga and Summit counties got together at St Adalbert's church on Cleveland's east side to plan a campaign to change the parish reconfiguration process. Last March, the Bishop announced the downsizing the Diocese by over 50 parishes, but upon reconsideration, St. Colman and St. Ignatius were granted reprieves, last week. Bob Kloos led the discussion at St. Adalbert's on Saturday morning and he says the group hopes to reach out to suburban parishes that were spared the fate of many city churches
BOB KLOOS: For people in the suburbs or people in a huge parish to allow a significant part of the churches of the Diocese of Cleveland just to be suppressed --- and that's the technical word, "suppressed" --- with no comment, that's sort of condoning it. It's complicit.
The group is planning to hold a demonstration at the closing of Cleveland's Epiphany church at the end of the month. The Diocese has gone on record that they will accept no further appeals, but parishioners from St Adalbert's say the Bishop has agreed to meet with them, next week.