On Sunday, April 27, 2014 1:57 AM
To all in Cleveland,
I am sorry to
report that we may have found a bishop even worse than Lennon. At this moment
in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, in the small town of Monongahela in Washington
County, about thirty parishioners are inside of St. Anthony’s church, cold and
hungry. They began a peaceful vigil to protest the church’s closing after the
final mass yesterday afternoon. The town police chief ordered his officers not
to get involved. The Diocese of Pittsburgh however chose to have private
security guards at the church, and to order those guards to block any food,
water, or parishioners from entering the church. The plan seems to be to starve
out those inside.
A hearing was
held last evening, and the judge stated that they were not willing to touch
this case. So, that leaves these parishioners, imprisoned in their church by
the hired thugs of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. If they leave, they can’t return.
These last eight hours have been a true testament to the cruelty human beings
can inflict upon one another. At one point, a parishioner (the nephew of the
church’s former pastor,) attempted to open a window for fresh air. The church’s
current pastor, Fr. William Terza, slammed the window shut, as television cameras
rolled, narrowly missing the man’s fingers. At another point, coordination led
to a pizza being hurled through another open window, with the pastor then
slammed shut. Thirty people can hardly be fed by one pizza, but they want to
make the point that they will last as long as they can, and that this is as
unchristlike as possible.
The parishioners
range in age from the young to the very old. One couple, ages 84 and 86 are
there, hungry and tired. The man’s brother’s dying request was that he look
after the church and grounds. He’s honoring that wish, and suffering to do so.
Others have never protested before, but can’t stand by while the church they
have invested millions of dollars of improvements in over the course of the
last decade is stolen from under them. I was hoping that after the Congregation
for the Clergy issued its instruction to the bishops of the world, to stop
selling churches needlessly, that things would change. They have in many parts
of America, with bishops making compromise agreements that will see at least
occasional services said in churches, in exchange for the parishioners agreeing
to shoulder the financial responsibility of caring for them. That was offered
to Bishop David Zubik of Pittsburgh; he just wants St. Anthony’s gone.
I have never even
seen anything this barbaric in my decade of helping the churches of Boston.
Does Bishop David Zubik have a soul? Does this pastor, Fr. William Terza have a
soul? Denying food to the elderly? Bishop Zubik’s father, Stanley, lives at the
Pittsburgh diocesan seminary. Would he starve his father? Would he starve his
mother were she still alive? The world needs to know about the horrors which
are going on this very moment, in this little Western Pennsylvania town, by the
order of the Pittsburgh Diocese. Let us pray the bishop’s chosen course of
action doesn’t lead to anyone’s death.
Laura Magone, the
leader of the vigil has her IPhone with her. Texts, or calls, could be given to
her, ([deleted phone#]sic.) She does not have access to email. I would request that everyone
pray for her and the others. I’ve been fairly unreachable these last few weeks
working on this issue. I pray some good can come from this terrible situation.
Brody Hale
P.S., media coverage is pasted below.
P.P.S., any actions which anyone can take to spread the word
about this, or to apply pressure on the Diocese of Pittsburgh to feed these
people, would be greatly appreciated.
