When I tell people I live in Gasport many of them respond with a resounding, “That’s God’s Country!”
That, it is. It’s a beautiful area and a great place to live. But, come June, it will be a little less godly. St. Mary’s Church, the sole Roman Catholic in our hamlet, is one of almost 90 Catholic churches that will be — or have been — closed or merged by the Buffalo Diocese.
I don’t claim to be the most religious man in the world. Moreover, I’m not Catholic, but my wife is. So, as someone who is an outsider with an insider’s perspective and one possessed of an understanding of what makes communities tick, I see nothing but harm being brought about by these closings. There are two bonds that can consistently bring together dissimilar peoples of an area. They are the senses of religious belonging and civic belonging. The closing of a church can have wide-ranging consequences on the community at large by actually destroying the aforementioned senses.
This is especially true when it occurs in rural areas. The problem is exacerbated in such locales because entities such as St. Mary’s represent the only venue for a specific denomination. Take that away and the people have nothing. Sure, most will make due by traveling to Lockport or Medina for their worship, but many will lose their religion (and weekly friends) by being unable to make what is for some — especially seniors — a lengthy trip. Lost forever will be the religious and civic bonds that were forged across generations and made that church and its followers unique. The sense of community once vital and beloved by those followers has essentially been squashed. Gasport will forever be removed from Catholicism and vice versa. Because of that, Gasport as a whole will suffer because the tie that binds many of its residents has become unbound.
You can see the agony in the local church community which truly has become a family torn apart by actions out of their control. Gasport’s Father Badding seems deeply affected by it and at a loss of words when he speaks of it in his sermons. The long-term worshippers are visibly shaken by the loss of a church they have been attending for decades, one that their parents did before them. This heartbreaking situation in Gasport mirrors what is happening all across Western New York, be it in smaller towns and villages or in the myriad unique communities that can be found nestled within the larger urban areas.
Why would the Catholic church inflict so much damage on so many people? The Diocese claims it’s due to a decrease in attendance (customers) in churches across the area. It needs to streamline its operations (cost costs) and make the most of its message (increase profits).
That being said, the church could be considered guilty of participating in the modern day corporate mindset. It is, after all, the largest corporation in the world. It far rivals Wal-Mart in terms of customers (1.31 billion served and counting!). Its revenues are without peer: The United States Catholic Church alone contributes about $110 billion per year to the church and World Youth Day itself rakes in over $150 million. Its treasury total is typically kept hush-hush but it is known to exceed the treasury values of most all nations.
This approach to spreading its word and managing its monies makes it obvious that the church has taken on the downsizing ways of many of today’s biggest moneymakers. It has de-emphasized the value of its people and its Almighty God, instead emphasizing the value of the Almighty Dollar. It was once in the business of enlightenment, but now just appears to be in the business of business.
If the Catholic church’s management still hung to its core values of spreading the word and not focusing on returns, the act of closures would never have crossed their minds. Most churches in the region, regardless of denomination, have declining membership. Some rural Protestant churches struggle to get 40 attendees a week. Yet, somehow, they stay open and their higher ups want them to stay open.
Such churches understand that they have an important service to deliver to the people, that God’s Word comes first. Money, to them, is an afterthought and nowhere near their driving force. It’s too bad that the Buffalo Diocese and the Vatican’s leadership don’t see things that same way. Corporate greed has ruined them and has hurt Catholics and non-Catholics everywhere.
Bob Confer is a Gasport resident and vice president of Confer Plastics Inc. in North Tonawanda. E-mail him at bobconfer@juno.com.
Bob Confer
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Discussion
May 6, 2008
CONFER: Catholics and the almighty dollar
- Bob Confer
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CONFER: Climate security and economic run
We live in an era of much unrest in which people fear for their security, be it socially (terror threats), economically (recession), or environmentally (global warming). Feeding off this, our elected officials have been quite successful in using fear-mongering to introduce endless amounts of legislation that do much more harm than good.
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Last week the New York Senate voted for a holiday on the state’s gas tax, calling for suspension of the government markup during the summer months (Memorial Day through Labor Day). Sure, it’s most definitely an election year tactic by the Republican Senate, a sort of sales gimmick for incumbency, but nonetheless it is still a welcomed and much-needed gesture.
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CONFER: Catholics and the almighty dollar
When I tell people I live in Gasport many of them respond with a resounding, “That’s God’s Country!”
That, it is. It’s a beautiful area and a great place to live. But, come June, it will be a little less godly. St. Mary’s Church, the sole Roman Catholic in our hamlet, is one of almost 90 Catholic churches that will be — or have been — closed or merged by the Buffalo Diocese. -
CONFER: Young blood needed in community
Last week’s column was probably the most popular one I’ve written. My inbox was flooded with e-mails from all across the United States, everyone to a person agreeing with my analysis of how our state’s political climate makes it darn near impossible to live and work in the Empire State, in the end forcing our dear family and friends to greener pastures far away.
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CONFER: Why your loved ones have left NY
The chances are very good that you know someone who has left New York. According to the US Census Bureau, from July 2006 to July 2007 the Buffalo-Niagara region lost 5,166 people and since 2000 the Rochester area has lost over 7,300 of its residents.
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CONFER: Values do matter in public service
Public officials and sex. They seem to go hand in hand. It’s probably because absolute power not only corrupts absolutely, it perverts absolutely, too. Throughout history those in power have abused it to satisfy their most carnal urges, either gaining praise for their actions (JFK and Marilyn) or having their reigns rocked by controversy (Bill Clinton and Monica).
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CONFER: The importance of Tom Christy
I’ll admit, at times my columns can be a little dry. When it comes to expounding on government it can be difficult to make the subject matter palatable to the average person. Government affects every one of us, but, boy, can it ever be boring. People can only hear so much about how government works, where it is broken and how it can be fixed.
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CONFER: The new governor's black eye
When Eliot Spitzer was elected to office in 2006 by a record-setting 69 percent of the vote, his massive victory was declared a mandate of the people. The voters wanted serious change, someone who would come into Albany and clean-up all the dirt. Here it is, not even a year and a half later, and the man who fed that incredible optimism has proven to be no better than the rest and, actually, dirtier than most. Spitzer has left office with a reign that will be recognized as the greatest political letdown in the history of the state.
- CONFER: No new taxes — just bigger ones Last week in the state capital the legislature and Governor Spitzer were arguing over what the budget deficit would be for fiscal year 2008-2009. This wasn’t quibbling over pennies; their differences were in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Spitzer believes the deficit will be $4.8 billion.
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CONFER: The candidates and American jobs
“It’s the economy, stupid.”
That phrase, made famous by James Carville for Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign 16 years ago, still rings true to this day. It always has and always will. - More Bob Confer Headlines
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