CLARENCE, N.Y. (WKBW) — Two Catholic parishes in Western New York are celebrating a major victory after the Vatican overturned the Buffalo Diocese's decision to close and merge their churches as part of the "Road to Renewal" restructuring plan.
Our Lady of Peace Parish in Clarence and Holy Apostles Parish in Jamestown appealed to the Vatican, which ruled that both churches can remain open despite the diocese's original orders.
"Our Lady of Peace is open for business, ready to be their home for many, many years to come," Tim Creenan, a parishioner, said.
At Our Lady of Peace, parishioners shared their relief and joy at the Vatican's decision. The Buffalo Diocese's Road to Renewal plan had called for the parish to merge with nearby Nativity parish.
"It's wonderful. It's amazing,” Lois Meyers, a parishioner, said.
Meyers, who has been a parishioner for more than 70 years, said the community never lost hope.
"We stood our ground and continue to pray for everybody else in the appeal," Meyers said. "It's a long process, but please don't lose faith."
Creenan feels vindicated by the Vatican's ruling, pointing to the parish's financial standing and active participation from parishioners.
"We're really thrilled that we're able to receive that ruling," Creenan said. "The data of Our Lady of Peace shows that it's been and continues to be in financially good standing, and the participation of the parishioners is very good."
Parishioners at Holy Apostles Parish in Jamestown are also celebrating their successful appeal. Samantha Scalise, a lifelong parishioner, described feeling "insanely relieved" after more than a year of uncertainty.
"It's been a very long year and a half now, I think thereabouts, lot of stress, lot of uncertainty," Scalise said.
For Scalise, the decision means preserving the faith community where she hopes to raise her children one day.
"This is the parish that I've known my entire life, and it's the faith community that one day, if I do have children, I was hoping to raise them in as well," she said.
The diocese could appeal these Vatican decisions, but the leader of Save Our Buffalo Churches said she believes it's time to end the Road to Renewal and reboot.
Mary Pruski showed me that the Vatican provided detailed explanations of where they disagreed with the bishop's closure decrees.
"It's time to do the right kind of renewal. The Vatican is standing firm," she said. "You can't use money from the sale of anything of any parish, you can't use the assessment money that they put out this past summer for the bankruptcy."
The diocese fully supports the parish's right to appeal the decisions to close or merge these churches under the Road to Renewal.
WATCH: 'We stood our ground': Vatican says two more churches can remain open in WNY
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