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Fr. Richard Plishka announces that, due to complaints received from a small handful of clergy and laity, the Holy See (Rome) has informed His Grace, Bishop John Kudrick that he must close the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center.


https://vimeo.com/132648146

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More information please.

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If you watched the video in the link I provided that is all of the information that I have at this time......I can give you my opinion but that in the past here hasn't amounted to much....

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This is a very serious and drastic move...

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I am surprised that Rome can even do this....obviously there are others here who know canon law way more than me but I am surprised that this can even happen. If Bishop Kudrick wanted to close this down, ok that I could understand from a LEGAL perspective. I would disagree with it still but I could understand how it legally could happen....but Rome telling him to shut down a cultural center is surprising to me....

What is interesting here is that this was once Holy Ghost Byzantine Catholic Church, that it was closed down about 6-8 years ago (I simply don't know the date)....that it was decided to keep it as a museum and cultural center. A priest was placed there to maintain it and really has done some great things with it from the times I have been there....it is the oldest active Byzantine Church in the Cleveland area (as far as I know...also I should note from a structure perspective it is the oldest as I don't think this is actually a parish currently)....it has a magnificent iconostasis

When it was closed years ago I think 5-10 people were showing up on Sundays on average. Now there are more people going there and they are promoting the Byzantine Church quite well.....I could talk about the art exhibits that have been there.....how the relics of Theodore Romzha were donated from Eastern Europe.....how the church actually celebrates Vespers, Matins, and Liturgy....

It just absolutely makes me shake my head that this is happening....

And a final point...is Bishop Kudrick going to have a Liturgy shutting it down for the 2nd time in 6-8 years?!?!?!


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Very sad. From what I see on their website it is a life-giving place...

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What r the complaints ?

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I don't know the specifics of this, however, my understanding is that a suppressed parish assets and goods are supposed to be given to the parish that accepts its former members. If sold, the money to be given to the same. I'm not sure keeping it open as a culture center has been addressed in the Canons, although it is a great and creative idea.

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From Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center Facebook [facebook.com] this morning.

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Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center
22 mins ·

Thank you for the tremendous outpouring of support for the BCCC!

Since His Grace, Bishop John M. Kudrick directed Fr. Richard to inform those who worship here of the Center’s closing, we felt an obligation to inform our online community as well. Though the Bishop did not request a video announcement, the Center prepared it because we believe that so many of you who faithfully follow the BCCC online have a right to hear this news in the same way that those who worship here heard this announcement Sunday morning.

While our natural reactions to this news range from disappointment to sadness to disbelief and even anger, please remember that above all, we are Christians, and must do and say all things in charity. Please refrain from any uncharitable comments toward our Holy Father, the Holy See, our hierarchs, our clergy, individuals, or other churches.

If you wish to express your opinions to our Bishop or other church authorities, please do NOT utilize Facebook or other social media outlets. Wall posts and private messages sent to Bishop Kudrick, Fr. Richard, or others, are not appropriate. If you wish to voice your support for our God-loving Bishop, John and his vision for our Eparchy of Parma, a group of supportive clergy and laity have organized a petition. Should you wish to voice your support, they have provided the following link ( https://www.dropbox.com/s/3p40a5uijoa…/Sample%20Letters.pdf…), which informs you what to write and to whom.

Remember, our Holy Father Francis did not issue the decree that necessitated this closing, but rather, as the Bishop’s letter states, it was a “directive from the Congregation for Eastern Churches,” an office of the Vatican.

While we would like to disclose fully the nature of the complaints that lead to this decision, unfortunately we have not been informed fully regarding the content of these complaints. We do know that in part the complaints involve finances, and we assure you that the BCCC is guilty of no financial malfeasance, a fact which the Eparchial College of Consultors confirmed and communicated in writing to the Apostolic Nuncio on March 19, 2014.

No eparchial parish funds contribute to the Center. Programming and operating costs for the Center are covered by a grant from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Home Missions Fund and private donations. The Eparchy of Parma only pays personnel costs, which account for approximately only 1/3 of the total annual budget for the Cultural Center. The Eparchy of Parma has contributed no money to the physical improvements to the property, all of which are being subsidized by additional grants or private donors.

The Holy Ghost building never was reduced to secular use following the parish closure, and as such the building remains a church suitable for the celebration of the Divine Services. The bishop stated this fact in his January 27, 2012 letter to clergy of the Eparchy, writing: “…while Holy Ghost Parish has been suppressed, Holy Ghost Church remains a sacred building appropriately suited for both liturgical worship and private prayers. Like any authentically Eastern Christian experience, the Center must remain solidly rooted in a genuine liturgical spirituality. To that end, I have given permission for liturgical prayers to be served at Holy Ghost Church, and I have directed Fr. Richard Plishka and Deacon Michael Lee to offer these services. This does not mean that Holy Ghost Church is now a parish. While faithful may attend divine services at Holy Ghost church on Sundays and days of precept, Holy Ghost Parish remains suppressed. The liturgical life at Holy Ghost Church will serve to foster the life, vitality and authenticity of the Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center, including local components (men’s community, gallery and café) and the Eparchy-wide evangelization efforts.”

The local components and the Eparchy-wide evangelization efforts of the Center continue to be guided by our mission statement which the Bishop together with a group of clergy drafted in 2008, as we prepared for the Eparchy of Parma 40th Anniversary Celebration. On June 28, 2009, Bishop Kudrick formally opened the BCCC, which “promotes the culture of life as proclaimed and lived by Jesus Christ. The Center celebrates those Christian cultures rooted in Constantinople, and promotes those elements of contemporary culture consistent with the Gospel message as lived by Byzantine Christianity. Likewise, the Center challenges those contemporary cultural elements contrary to the Gospel of Life.”

To learn more about “Who We Are,” “Our Story,” or our “Men’s Community” (Nathanael House), visit our website: www.byzcathculturalcenter.org. [byzcathculturalcenter.org.]

God be with you!

"Remember, our Holy Father Francis did not issue the decree that necessitated this closing, but rather, as the Bishop’s letter states, it was a “directive from the Congregation for Eastern Churches,” an office of the Vatican."

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This truly is a tragic event!

May I ask our Brother in Christ, Monomakh, to present his own perspective on this - which would be the most informative and interesting of all?

Alex

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According to their Facebook page: Byzantine Catholic Cultural Center [facebook.com] the Bishop hasn't decided yet if he is going to close the center.

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His Grace, Bishop John M. Kudrick, listened to YOU, our supportive clergy and faithful, and the closure currently is suspended pending further consultation. Please continue to pray and to donate to our Capital Campaign. Your support matters! We will update you as more information become available. We appreciate YOUR support.

Just thought people would like to know.

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If Bishop John was ordered to close the Center by the Congregation in Rome does he have the authority to suspend the closure?

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Or does the Congregation have the authority to tell a bishop what to do with one of his churches? The power of a bishop in his own eparchy is "proper, ordinary, and immediate. (CCEO 178)" The Pope "possesses a primacy of ordinary power over all the eparchies and groupings of them by
which the proper, ordinary and immediate power which bishops possess in the eparchy entrusted to their care is both strengthened and safeguarded (CCEO 44.1)." The next canon provides for the Curiae to assist the Pope in that regard. Does this mean that the Pope has the power and authority to intervene in the affairs of an Eparchy, or is his power to direct and guide the bishop?

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Or, what I think is perhaps an even more pertinent question/issue, does the Congregation have the authority to issue directives without the Pope's knowledge/consent but with full papal authority?

And also - who really needs such a Congregation in this day and age anyway? Is it not a descendant of an earlier Vatican department entrusted with the conversion of pagans etc.?

Hasn't the Vatican grown out of the old view that EC's are really "half-Catholics" or "almost there, but not quite . . .?"

Is it because of the size of the Byzantine Catholic Church that some feel it can be pushed around?

Would the Byzantine Catholic Church ever consider achieving some sort of jurisdictional unity with, let's see . . . ah, I know, the Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church? Hmmm?

Alex

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Originally Posted by Orthodox Catholic
Hasn't the Vatican grown out of the old view that EC's are really "half-Catholics" or "almost there, but not quite . . .?"

Sadly, I think we know the answer to that...

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