Parishioners lock themselves inside closed Cleveland Catholic church in protest

Faithful refuse to leave closed Cleveland church

CLEVELAND — Several members of the last of 50 Cleveland-area Roman Catholic parishes shuttered in a downsizing locked themselves inside Thursday, declaring they were well-stocked with food and ready to stay “for a long time” in order to save their church.

Meanwhile, police and officials of St. Emeric Church near downtown Cleveland gathered in front of the historic Hungarian church, where the parishioners had staged a midnight vigil — and never left.

Parishioner Marta Fordos said that when she left the vigil at 8 a.m. for personal reasons there were at least seven people still inside. The pastor gave parishioners the key to the church on Wednesday with the understanding that they could stay until midnight, and they locked the door from the inside, Fordos said.

The group has plenty of food, one of the protesters, John Juhasz, told The Associated Press by phone.

“We’re going to hang out here for a long time,” Juhasz said. The goal, he said, was to force Bishop Richard Lennon into a dialogue toward saving the 106-year-old church.

Last year, a group of about a dozen protesters at St. John the Baptist Church in Akron sat for about two hours following its final Mass. The diocese had obtained a temporary restraining order, and police officers arrived to tell the protesters they would be arrested if they stayed.

Juhasz would not confirm how many people were inside St. Emeric but said the number was growing. No one was seen entering or leaving the church from the front or side doors visible to members of the media, who were kept off church property by the diocese.

“We have been rebuffed for four years by this bishop,” Juhasz said. Parishioners still hoped the closing could be reversed in a Vatican appeal, but that decision has been delayed, “and I believe Rome has taken a hands-off policy,” Juhasz said.

The Diocese of Cleveland announced the closings last year, citing falling attendance, a priest shortage and financial problems. The diocese said Thursday it is reviewing the situation at St. Emeric but would not comment further.

Officials at the Vatican did not immediately return a call after office hours Thursday seeking comment about the situation in Cleveland. They have declined to comment on parish closings in the past.

At St. Emeric, several cars were parked outside, but it was impossible to see inside. Deacon Jim Armstrong, who has advised Lennon on the closings, was at the church. He said he came to see what was going on but wouldn’t comment.

The protesters were prepared in the event of utilities being turned off, but diocesan officials did not indicate any such plan, Juhasz said.

Fordos said the protesters had shopped for food on Wednesday, taking soft drinks, water, desserts and bagels into the church with them.

Holy Communion was still contained in the locked tabernacle of the church, and protesters were maintaining a prayerful, dignified approach respectful of the church environment, Juhasz said.

The demonstrators were inspired by round-the-clock protest vigils at Roman Catholic churches in Boston a few years ago before the archbishop there decided to reverse a few church closings out of dozens, he said.

Lennon was one of then-Archbishop Sean O’Malley’s chief deputies during the Boston church closings. Three parishes were fully reopened, one of which had been occupied by protesters. A fourth church that was scheduled to be closed started a vigil and remained open. Three others were reopened as chapels to a nearby parish.

Associated Press Writers Nicole Winfield in Rome and Jay Lindsay in Boston contributed to this report.