Members of St. Agnes take diocese to court over parish merger
Six members of St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church in Richeyville are fighting a merger that combined the parish with others to form the St. Katharine Drexel congregation by taking the Diocese of Pittsburgh and Bishop David A. Zubik to court.
Filing suit in Washington County Court were Andy Pagac, Donna Ewedosh, Bernard Kurjanowicz, Marge Sawicky and Steven M. Kime, all of Richeyville, and Carol Oshetsky, a Washington County resident who has a Brownsville mailing address. In court documents, they wrote they were acting individually and on behalf of the St. Agnes congregation.
They are seeking an injunction to prevent the merger of St. Agnes Church with the other parishes, Ave Maria, Bentleyville; St. Joseph, Roscoe; St. Oliver Plunkett, Fredericktown; and St. Thomas Aquinas, California.
St. Agnes parishioners first met formally about the parish’s fate in February 2015. Despite the possibility of the church closing, Masses continued to be said there and contributions in the form of tithes, donations and offerings continued as a means of financial support.
Last Dec. 3, the diocese announced what plaintiffs in the suit called “the extinctive merger” of St. Agnes with the other parishes, “downgrading” it from a parochial church to the less desirable status of “ancillary worship site” that would be open for occasional worship for baptisms, weddings and funerals, but not for regular Masses. All parishioners would become members of St. Katharine Drexel, which the plaintiffs call a part of a diocesan plan to create “mega-parishes.”
The plaintiffs claim the diocese failed to publish a relevant decree as required by canon law that would give St. Agnes parishioners official notice of their congregation’s fate, but that St. Agnes members were notified only through vague and inaccurate media reports and announcements from the Rev. Edward Yuhas, parish priest, that left them “concerned and confused,” and “extremely contradictory” letters that provided them with no clear guidance as to the status of the St. Agnes sanctuary.
They cited a Dec. 2 letter from Zubik indicating that the five church buildings would remain available for worship, with Mass to be celebrated in each of them on the anniversary of their dedication and on the observance of their patron saint’s day. But on Dec. 5, Yuhas sent a letter stating there would not be any Masses celebrated at St. Agnes.
The diocese, “owed, at a minimum, clear correspondence regarding the fate of their congregation, a duty that the defendants chose to ignore,” the plaintiffs contend. Beginning in March 2015, the six who filed suit said they and other parishioners raised more than $100,000 over 21 months to benefit the St. Agnes congregation and keep it open. They call St. Agnes the most-recently constructed of the five merged parishes and the only one that complies with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, making it accessible to the elderly.
The suit includes copies of three deeds recorded between 1955 and 1967 conveying land to then-bishops of the Pittsburgh diocese, the Most Revs. John Dearden and John J. Wright, as trustees of St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church.
They say the diocese and Zubik failed to consider the finances of St. Agnes, which they said has flourishing ministries, remains viable, is covering operating costs and is contributing toward the repayment of debt.
St. Agnes members also hired an engineering firm to assess the five church buildings, concluding the Richeyville parish has projected costs “far below any other church” within the southeast Washington County merger area over the next five to 10 years.
Those bringing suit claim that the diocese and Bishop Zubik have committed fraud and have breached their fiduciary duty as trustee to the St. Agnes congregation by making false representations and continuing to accept monetary donations. They are seeking both compensatory and punitive damages. The plaintiffs also claim the defendants “extorted donations” from those bringing suit on behalf of the St. Agnes parish.
A spokesman for the diocese, the Rev. Nicholas Vaskov, said Monday afternoon, “Really, there’s no comment because we haven’t been served with any legal papers yet. We are unaware of the details of what’s being alleged. The civil courts have widely upheld the authority of Catholic bishops in parish mergers like this.”
In his December announcement, Zubik said in a prepared statement, “I know that this has not been easy for you. Jesus never promised that it would be easy to carry his message of love and mercy to others. He was clear that sacrifice would be necessary. But your sacrifices positions your parish for more effective ministry by addressing serious financial problems, sharing resources and allowing your clergy to focus on the spiritual work for which they were ordained.”
Attorneys Steven Toprani and Michael J. Hammond filed documents with the court Friday afternoon, less than 48 hours before the merger took effect Sunday.
The diocese is working on a major restructuring called “On Mission for the Church Alive!” in response to declining Catholic populations and Mass and sacramental participation, including confirmations and marriages. That plan involves all parishes of the diocese, comprising six counties: Washington, Greene, Allegheny, Beaver, Butler and Lawrence.
Work on the southeastern Washington County merger began before that process was implemented, Zubik said last month.