BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The plan by the bankrupt Catholic Diocese of Buffalo to right-size and reshape parishes to get on a firm financial footing is getting some tough criticism from parishioners, fighting the Road to Renewal.
"I think the Road to Renewal program is coming off the rails," Speers said.
Craig Speers continues to fight to keep St. Michael's Church in downtown Buffalo open, and so far, he is winning. The Vatican paused a plan to close and merge the parish with Saint Louis Church last year under the Road to Renewal.
WATCH: 'We're not giving up': Parishioners keep fighting Buffalo Diocese Road to Renewal
Speers contacted me to show me a letter he received from Father Peter Santandreau, vice chancellor at the Buffalo Diocese.
"He was asking if we were going to abandon our Vatican appeals against the extinctive merger, closure of St Michael's Church," Speers said. "We're not giving up. Actually, we'll never surrender. This place means so much to the Buffalo community that we will never surrender against the illegal and immoral actions of the Road to Renewal."
Mary Pruski with Save Our Buffalo Churches is also fighting against the Road to Renewal. I found her at the Broadway Market collecting signatures, asking the Vatican to come to Buffalo to investigate Bishop Michael Fisher and his executive team.
"And the letter that Craig received has been received by other parishes who are still waiting to hear from the dicastery," Pruski said. "Our hope is they will either say stop your Road to Renewal program and stop going after the money in the churches, or maybe even replace the bishop and his executive team."
Pruski says the organization has already collected more than 1,000 signatures, receiving great reaction from the Catholic community.
"And from the folks we are meeting here at the Broadway Market and in our other public signings. people immediately say -- yeah – something needs to be done --we're not having any success here in Buffalo," Pruski said.
Meanwhile, 7 News learned Tuesday the Buffalo Diocese held a mandatory meeting for all priests Tuesday to discuss bankruptcy proceedings and church closures as parishioners actively fight to keep their churches open.
The meeting and closures are part of the "Road to Renewal" plan, aimed at getting the diocese back on firm financial footing following a $150 million settlement made last August for survivors of sex abuse within the diocese. But now with commitments from insurance companies, that amount is more than $300 million.
The diocese continues to try to settle more than 900 Child Victims Act lawsuits of clergy sexual abuse in bankruptcy court.
I received a copy of an email sent to all active and retired priests calling on them to attend a mandatory virtual meeting on Tuesday to be updated on the Chapter 11 process.
The priests were instructed to make sure they were in a confidential space for the meeting with no staffers or volunteers nearby.
A spokesman for the diocese confirmed the meeting was to discuss the bankruptcy and Road to Renewal. The spokesman said the confidentiality aspect is required by the court when discussing the Chapter 11 process.
The original Road to Renewal plan was to merge about 34% of the diocese's 160 parishes. Since then, dozens of churches have appealed their closures to the Vatican. So far, six have won those appeals, keeping them open.
This Wednesday and Thursday, March 25 & 26, more clergy abuse survivors will be appearing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to deliver their impact statements. Sessions were also held in January and February
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
