A recent commentary in The Buffalo News caught my attention because it summed up the feelings of many Catholics in the Diocese of Buffalo who have endured the sexual abuse scandal and coverup that resulted in more than 900 verified abuse claims against priests of the diocese.

During this unsettling period some Catholics like the commentary writer sought alternatives to the Catholic Church. She, and others returned to the Catholic Church only to face the closure or merger of parishes that had been the center of their spiritual lives. Catholics were told the closures were due to the shortage of priests, due in part by the adverse impact the abuse scandal had on vocations. However, in some cases the closures seemed driven more by the price a parishes properties would realize on the real estate market. For a cash poor diocese facing a payout of $150 million to abuse victims, property values seemed more important than the feeling of parishioners.

A few weeks ago, my grandson made his first communion at a parish in the Buffalo southtowns that is slated for closure but has appealed to the Vatican to have that diocesan edict reversed. This 11 a.m. Sunday Mass in the spacious church was well attended. Twenty men and women formed the choir accompanied by half a dozen musicians. Other parishioners served as Eucharistic ministers and ushers. It seemed an active parish with engaged parishioners. However, the parish has a problem because the church is on a large site with several parking lots and could command a high price if it went on the market.

The abuse victims deserve recompense for all they suffered at the hands of Catholic priests who were men they and their families trusted. In a sort of clerical shell game these priests were moved from parish to parish where they often struck again. All of these actions were orchestrated by a succession of Bishops and diocesan officials who wished to divert public attention from the problem but as is the case with most such efforts the truth finally came out.

On April 22, the Diocese reached an agreement on a settlement of $150 million with abuse survivors. With assets of $49 million the diocese does not have the cash to pay the full amount of the settlement.

The diocese did realize $4.2 million from the sale of Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora. However, a decision by Chief Judge Carl H. Bucki of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York could prevent the diocese from applying two-thirds of the sale price because donors were told that their contributions to the Seminary fund drive would be used for establishing a permanent seminary and that under state law the donors intentions must be honored.

The Diocese has appealed this ruling that might seem a little arbitrary under the circumstances, but I wonder if Bucki ruled as he did because he was fed up with the diocese’s profligate spending on things like hundreds of thousands of dollars to block the release of 25,000 pages of internal abuse records without informing the bankruptcy court. In addition, the Diocese spent more than $15 million on other attorney fees, $400,000 on a “boutique” crisis public relations firm, and paid a retired M&T Bank officer who also chairs the diocesan finance council $236,000 in consulting fees.

The $150 million settlement will be funded as follows: $80 million by parishes, $30 million from the sale of parish properties, $15 million from the sale of diocesan properties, $15 million by diocesan funds, and $10 million by Catholic affiliates such as Catholic Cemeteries.

The formula adopted to determine parish contributions calls for contributions 10% to 80% of each parish’s unrestricted assets as of Aug. 31, 2024, with the highest percentage applied to parishes that will either be merged or closed. Parishes with less than $250,000 in unrestricted cash and investments will contribute 10%. Those parishes with less than $500,000 will pay 25%. The percentages increase up to 75% for parishes that have more than $3 million in unrestricted assets.

The reaction has been less than favorable in some quarters. Peter Gorman the procurator of Save Our Buffalo Churches said of the program that “it’s going to be pretty catastrophic” and Craig Speers a parishioner at St. Michael Church in Buffalo said of the plan: “It’s really incredibly vicious and incredibly retaliatory against those parishes who had the nerve to follow the proper channels and appeal to the Vatican. I’m absolutely appalled.” A diocesan official has said that if an appealing church wins its appeal the payment will revert to the lower figure.

Phillip Gray, a canon lawyer who has been assisting parishes attempting to reverse their closure or merger, has said that he believes the methods employed by the diocese for raising money from the parishes do not conform with church Canon Law which directs that what he describes as a “tax” can only be put on income and not on bank accounts. However, the diocese says the payments are not a tax but a contribution. They also assure parishes that payment will shield them from any future liability but adding that failure to pay means that they will have to face any additional liability alone.

I think that aspects of how the Road to Renewal and funding of the bankruptcy settlement has been handled inspire words and phrases like ham-handed, uncaring, and thoughtless marked by a lack of creative thinking that will leave some Catholics disenchanted.

I end with the closing words of the commentary contributor: “I do need Church leadership to really look at themselves in the mirror and ask themselves how they would feel if they were being asked to foot the bill for the habitual abuse of children at the hands of those whom, above all should have been protecting them.”

Thomas Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com