LAKEWOOD: Cleveland Bishop Richard G. Lennon on Monday said the Catholic diocese is stronger after the closing of about 50 parishes.“In order to be stronger, we had to make some difficult decisions about closing and merging parishes, but the end result has been a stronger, more vibrant Church across the diocese,” Lennon said. “We are committed to having strong parishes. We are committed to good stewardship of our resources and we are transparent in what we are doing with the assets and the sales of the parishes that have closed.”On Monday, Lennon called a news conference at the Museum of Divine Statues to answer questions about diocesan finances in light of the sale of 26 of the churches closed in the eight-county diocese. The closings were part of a reconfiguration that reduced the number of parishes from 224 to 174 between August 2009 and June 2010. The plan was implemented in response to declining attendance, financial hardship, demographic shifts and a worsening clergy shortage.In saying that the Church is financially stronger, Lennon said that three years ago, the diocese included 84 parishes that were in deficit spending. The number has been reduced to 14.During the conference, Lennon and James P. Gulick, the diocesan financial director, shared with the media information from the 2011 diocesan Report to the Community. The report shows that the offertory collection in the diocese has been stable over the last five years, fluctuating within a five percent range, with a negative net change of 2 percent. The report was distributed during weekend Masses to the diocese’s more than 700,000 parishioners in Ashland, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Summit and Wayne counties. It includes the first financial accounting of money associated with the assets and sales of closed churches.Details in the report reveal that $7.8 million of the $19.5 million received by the diocese from the assets and sales of closed parishes has been distributed at the parish level. The remainder has been used to pay $4.9 million in expenses, with $6.8 million remaining in the custody of the diocese to be used for the dozen remaining properties that have not been sold.In addition, there are 14 former parishes that have appealed to the Vatican to have Lennon’s decision to close them overturned. The sale of those properties is prohibited, pending a ruling from Rome, which come could as early as March, according to a letter received by the diocese from the Vatican.Lennon used the Museum of Divine Statues as a backdrop for his news conference to highlight it as an example of how the closed church properties are being used to benefit the community. The museum, in the former St. Hedwig Church building at 12905 Madison Ave., opened last April and includes some of the statues and artifacts from the closed parishes, including two in Summit County.Museum owner, Lou McClung, is a professional make-up artist, cosmetics manufacturer and artist who restores religious statues. He purchased the property, which includes former school and rectory buildings, for $150,000. He operates his company, Lusso Cosmetics Inc., out of the school and lives in the rectory.McClung, who is Catholic, began restoring religious statues for profit about six years ago. When he heard about the local churches closing, he wanted to do something to help preserve their history and came up with the idea for the museum.“I love art, but I’m also interested in the people who donated these items to their parishes. I want to create a connection between the people, the parish and each piece of art,” McClung said. “We’re doing this in a very modest way, just like many of the people built their parishes early on – many of them started in the basement and built their way up. Much like that, we are a work in progress.”Among the statues and artifacts in the museum are stained-glass windows from the former SS Cyril and Methodius Church in Barberton and a prie-dieu (prayer desk) from the former Sacred Heart of Jesus in Akron. While McClung restores the statues in the museum, he accepts donations for renovation work on religious statues and artifacts. He is renovating the lower level of the church building, where he plans to open a coffee shop and an art gallery to display the history of the Cleveland diocese. He would also like to make the building accessible to the handicapped.The museum is open from noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays and by appointment. Admission is $8. Guided tour and group rates are also available. For information, visit www.
museumofdivinestatues.com or call 216-228-9950.Lennon and Gulick praised McClung for the work he is doing to preserve the history of the parishes in the diocese. Other closed buildings in the diocese are being used for worship by non-Catholic congregations and as charter schools, a day-care center and an adult education and student tutoring center. The three closed properties in Summit County that have been sold now belong to nondenominational congregations and Oriana House, a chemical dependency and community corrections agency. Gulick, whose office manages the sale of the church properties, said each sale includes a restriction in the deed that prohibits certain activities.Those restrictions include activities related to abortion, stem-cell research, euthanasia, pornography or anything that goes against the ethical or moral teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. He said the restriction remains in place permanently as a way to prevent “unacceptable” use of the buildings by future owners.“We are doing everything we can to ensure that the properties are used for things that will enhance the neighborhoods and communities that they serve,” Gulick said. “We carefully evaluate the buyers to make sure that they will be good neighbors.”Gulick and Lennon agreed that the ultimate goal is for the diocese to work to build a stronger faith community.“It is truly not about buildings. It is about our relationship with God,” Lennon said. “Everything that we do is about worshipping God, evangelization and outreach to others.”To view the full 2011 Report to the Community, along with separate status reports for each closed parish, go to www.
dioceseofcleveland.org. The site includes audited financial statements of the diocesan financial office and answers to a list of frequently asked questions.Colette Jenkins can be reached at 330-996-3731 or cjenkins@thebeaconjournal.com.