Talks on St. Albert appear to be stalled
Priest says O'Malley is unlikely to relent
Talks between representatives of St. Albert the Great and the Archdiocese of Boston appear stalled after a meeting last night in which Archbishop Sean P. O'Malley's delegates made it clear that he will not reconsider his decision to close the East Weymouth church.
Though O'Malley's stewards offered a meeting with the archbishop, members of the church's pastoral council declined, saying there was nothing to be gained if he would not consider reopening the church.
In a statement released after a two-hour meeting last night, the council addressed O'Malley: ''We are more than willing to sit down with you once we have been assured you will work with us to reestablish our parish."
But the priest sent to meet with the council, the Rev. Jack Ahern, said after the meeting that he doubted the archbishop would change his mind.
''The archbishop wants to let the canonical process continue, and they [parishioners] want something more definite, and we're not able to give that," he said, adding that he would again take parishioners' concerns to O'Malley.
The archdiocese has offered to send a priest to say Sunday Mass if parishioners, who have been occupying the church around-the-clock, leave the building at night. The offer would stand until the church's canon appeal to the Vatican is decided.
Ahern expressed disappointment in the outcome of last night's meeting. ''I think the archbishop has made a good-faith proposal," he said. ''I think he's shown some flexibility. What do they lose by sitting down with the archbishop? I don't understand that. I think they're entrenched."
But parishioners reiterated that they have tried for months to sit down with the archbishop -- before the church closed and before the sit-in began. ''There's nothing to be accomplished by continuing negotiating and by meeting with the archbishop if it's not going to result in St. Albert's being reopened," said Don Gustafson, a pastoral council member.
Mary Akoury, pastoral council cochair, said that O'Malley could reverse his decision, without waiting for Rome to rule on the canon appeal. In fact, the appeal to Rome was made after O'Malley rejected a similar appeal by parishioners, who also have filed a lawsuit to get their church reopened.
''It's difficult for us and our fellow parishioners in St. Albert's to understand why the Archbishop is unable to admit and acknowledge that mistakes were made in the reconfiguration process by closing vibrant parishes when so many have spoken out about this injustice. We, as individuals, acknowledge we are human and make errors; we then apologize and work to rectify them," the statement said.
Last night's meeting came five weeks after the final official Mass was said at the church. Following the Mass, parishioners began an ''eternal prayer vigil," sleeping in the pews and holding three lay-led prayer services a day, one each on weekends.
Ahern said he is ''bewildered" that parishioners would refuse an offer of Mass. ''I just can't understand why any Catholic would say, 'No, I don't want Mass.' For me, that's very confusing. I can understand their anger, their confusion, and their heartache. But why they would want communion without a Mass. . . ."
But the pastoral council said the price of Mass is too high: The archdiocese is insisting they abandon the church at night. In addition, the Mass would be temporary, until the Vatican rules on the appeal -- an appeal that parishioners feel is unlikely to succeed.
''We feel the Archbishop's requests greatly undermine our resolve to keep St. Albert's open. We all acknowledge the importance of the Mass as part of our faith, however, the Archbishop's proposal to offer it only while our recourse is pending with the Vatican is unacceptable," the statement said.
Colin Riley, spokesman for parishioners, said the full-time vigil will continue. ''It's apparent in all our discussion with parishioners that they are firm in their resolve," he said. At an Appreciation Day held yesterday at a nearby restaurant, hundreds of parishioners turned out to see the Rev. Ron Coyne, the church's former priest, who stood in an informal receiving line for more than three hours.
St. Albert's is one of 82 churches scheduled to close before the end of
the year in a reconfiguration plan promulgated by the archdiocese. St.
Albert's was considered a viable parish with full pews and coffers, but
the archdiocese said Weymouth could no longer support five Catholic
churches -- a point parishioners dispute. 