6/1/04

Dear Archbishop O'Malley

We were very disheartened to find out that Sacred Heart Parish in Lexington is being closed.  We're sure everyone thinks their church is a special place but Sacred Heart made everyone feel welcome no matter what their background or life situation.  People come from outside of Lexington to attend our church and to be part of our community.   Due to the smaller physical space, this enabled us to actually know people with whom we attended church.  Most other Catholic churches we've been in were too big to really give you that same sense of spirit and closeness.  St. Brigid's is one such church where the space is simply too big.  We understand the practical, physical situation, St. Brigid's parishioners could not fit into our space but we can fit into theirs but is that a reason to kill such a vibrant, self-supporting community?  We think if there were a more valid reason for closure, such as the retirement of Fr. Colletti and no replacement priest available, we would be more understanding.  As it stands, while we are financially viable, our understanding is that St. Brigids has financial problems. To make matters worse, our money will not even go to help St. Brigid's but to the diocese.  In addition, we have people, ourselves included, who gave to special funds such as the Promise for Tomorrow with the understanding that it would go towards Sacred Heart.  We have already written letters telling you that we will no longer be making my payments as we consider the Diocese to be in breach of contract.

We are adding our voices to those of others at Sacred Heart asking you to reconsider your decision.  There have been reasons enough for people to leave the Catholic Church in recent years and now you are just adding more fuel to the fire and making it more difficult for people who have not yet left.  Ruth was introduced to Sacred Heart by her partner, Mary, who is one of the reasons Ruth is still a part of the Catholic Church. Is it your goal to reduce the size of the archdiocese so the only ones left are the ones who would have been comfortable in the Catholic Church as it was 50 years ago? If so, we think you are well on your way to achieving that goal.

Sincerely,

Lexington, MA 02421