Sick Computer
The big fear of our digital age is that our computer devices will fail. My lap top computer failed tonight. Windows keeps shutting down and restarting even during an attempt to repair the problem. I have been writing an update to our efforts to get the million plus dollars to the needs of poor and marginalized. I used my wife’s laptop to complete the update, but someone other’s laptop just does not have the feel. So rather than take up more tasks while my computer is down I will send the update about the million dollars on this posting. Digital life goes on and on, if you can do it. Hope you enjoy it.
Dear Most Reverend Jerome E. Listecki, Corporation Board, Parish Council and People of God,
It has been two years since the Archdiocese of Milwaukee closed Blessed Trinity the last of the 14 Catholic Churches closed in North Central Milwaukee since the 60′s. When the Church was closed the people of God intended that the monies from the sale of the Church property plus the remaining monies from sale of the two churches merged to form Blessed Trinity be used for outreach to needs of people in North Central Milwaukee, the “preferential option of the Church for poor and marginalized.” Here is an update of information that is available. However the question remains: When will the people of God have a public hearing to discuss and dialog with you how to use the one million dollars plus from the sale of three Catholic churches in North Central Milwaukee for the preferential mission of the Catholic Church for the poor and marginalized?
“When I was hungry and thirsty and you gave me food and drink and a stove and refrigerator to store and prepare healthy food and drink.”
“When I was sleeping on the floor you gave me and my children beds to sleep on.”
When North Central Milwaukee, starting in the 1960’s, became more and more segregated and considerably less wealthy, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee rather than “evangelize” the incoming population chose to close and sell the Catholic Churches of that neighborhood. Where there were 17 Catholic Churches with the mission to bring the Good News of Jesus to the people in North Central Milwaukee, there now remain only 3 Catholic Churches with this mission. The last Catholic Church to close in the area was Blessed Trinity, itself the merger of three churches: St. Nicholas, St. Albert and Holy Redeemer. When the Archdiocese had an accepted offer of $750,000 it closed Blessed Trinity and transferred its assets to another parish corporation board, headed by the Archbishop, the pastor of the Church, the Auxiliary Bishop and two lay trustees of the new parish. Blessed Trinity had been in a cluster with two other parishes in North Central Milwaukee; but, the new Church was on the southwest fringe of the parish and in a cluster with another Catholic Church totally outside the aforementioned area.
At the time of closure and transfer of assets, Blessed Trinity had about $221,000 in funds from the sale of St. Nicholas in 1993. The property was sold for 1.5 million dollars but a good part of that money was used for legal fees over a dispute involving St. Nicholas schools and some for operating and capital expenses at Blessed Trinity. There was $250, 000 in a trust fund from sale of St. Albert’s Catholic Church. (This fund was dedicated to education and to service of the poor and had already been reduced from $300,000 to $250,000.) The intention of Blessed Trinity, prior to its sale, was to combine these two funds with all monies from its own sale to form one large fund dedicated to: “outreach in our current neighborhood.” As one parish council member of Blessed Trinity, now a parish council member of the Church holding the funds, stated: “the intention was that the money from the sale and consolidation of Church assets be directed to doing the most good in assisting the poor, with as little overhead as possible.”
In June of 2011 the sale of Blessed Trinity fell through and the Church property was again put on the market. The people renting the school, who had made a previous offer for the building, purchased the property for $733,000 in June, 2012. Combined with the other two accounts the total of funds from all sales of these 3 properties was $1,204,000. Since $100,000 to $200,000 of this money was used of these funds, we can only safely say there is a million dollars plus left from the sale of the 3 church properties.
The parish council of the church where the money resides acts as the advisory committee to the corporation board of that parish. The advisory committee established a subcommittee to consider uses of the money and reports to the advisory committee. The number and nature of the proposals has been kept secret from the Catholic Church community of this parish and to the Catholic community at large. The chairperson of the advisory committee who is also the chairperson of the subcommittee, has even censored certain background information on the issue from the popular newsletter published by Catholics for Peace & Justice such as the essay on The Catholic Church in North Central Milwaukee and the parable Thy Kingdom Come … on Earth as It is in Heaven. (Note: this widely distributed Catholic newsletter is also headquartered at said parish and censured by the same person chairing the aforementioned groups.)
A recent proposal, a Sustainable Works of Mercy Fund, one built from the parable of ‘what could be’, was submitted to the corporation board and the parish council and its subcommittee, the advisory committee. This proposal, since it incorporates some of the other known proposals and expresses the intention of the people who donated the money, was written as a draft to stimulate discussion and thought. It has been completely ignored by the corporation board and parish council advisory committee.
So, it is now two years since the Archdiocese closed the merged parish of Blessed Trinity in North Central Milwaukee. The need for a sustainable fund to do the corporal works of mercy: providing beds, stoves and refrigerators for a people in need in North Central Milwaukee has been ever-increasing and equally … being ever-ignored; when, so much sustainable good could be realized by dialog and listening to people and Gospel.
It is time to break the secrecy of the Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee about this money, where it came from and how it will be used.
&red& When will the people of God have a public hearing to discuss and dialog with you how to use the one million dollars plus from the sale of three Catholic churches in North Central Milwaukee for the preferential mission of the Catholic Church for the poor and marginalized?
Comments
(:commentboxchrono:)