***N.B.***NY Parishioners Sue Archdiocese

The conflict between the parishioners of Our Lady of Vilnius parish in New York City and Cardinal Egan is escalating. The parishioners are taking Cardinal Egan and the New York Archdiocese to court--another demonstration that the most effective way to reform the Catholic Church is through the civil courts and state legislatures.

Here is more information from the Commonweal blog, the New York Post, and the Commonweal blog, respectively.

* * *

From the Commonweal blog, May 4, 2007.

Vilnius parishioners sue archdiocese.

May 4, 2007, 10:27 am

Posted by Grant Gallicho

Dan Mangan of the New York Post has the scoop.

You've seen the term "lay trustee" bandied about in stories about Our Lady of Vilnius. What does it mean? In New York, parishes are separately incorporated, and each is governed by a set of five trustees: the bishop, usually his secretary, the pastor, and two laypeople appointed by the pastor. In most cases, then, if a dispute like the one at Vilnius arises, the bishop has three of the five votes he would need to carry out his wishes. But at Vilnius, the two lay trustees and the administrator (pastor) aren't on board with Cardinal Egan's decision. Now, one might ask, what does it mean for a trustee of a parish to seek its demise? I imagine that question will be taken up in court today.

* **

From the New York Post, May 4, 2007.

May 4, 2007 -- Supporters of a shuttered Lithuanian immigrant church in lower Manhattan are suing the New York Archdiocese to get it reopened and to stop the removal of its items.

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge is set to hear arguments today in the case involving the historic Our Lady of Vilnius Church, and could order the archdiocese to halt its actions there.

Edward Cardinal Egan abruptly closed the church in February.

"I have hopes, very strong hopes," said Joseph Pantuliano, a lay trustee of the church who is one of the plaintiffs.

He called the archdiocese's planned removal of items from the Broome Street church "a disgrace."

Pope Benedict has told Lithuania's president that he supports reopening the church.

* * *

From the Commonweal blog, May 2, 2007.

Our Lady of Vilnius: protected site defaced.

May 2, 2007, 2:18 pm

Posted by Grant Gallicho

In an earlier post, I summarized the latest developments in the case of Our Lady of Vilnius, a Lithuanian parish in Manhattan whose closure was questionably carried out by Cardinal Egan. As photographs have shown, not only have the pews, stained glass, altar, and icon been removed--for safekeeping, according to the archdiocese--but some of the artwork has been painted over. (As you may have guessed, the blue paint in the photo below is not original to the space.)



In 2002, the U.S. government signed an agreement with Lithuania "to protect and preserve the cultural heritage of all national, religious,or ethnic groups that reside or resided in [each country's] territory," as Article I states. Furthermore, "the term 'cultural heritage' for the purposes of this agreement means places of worship" and other places of historical significance.

According to Jeffrey Farrow of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad, Our Lady of Vilnius is covered under Article I of the agreement. In a Feb. 23, 2007, letter I obtained, Warren L. Miller, chairman of the Commission, asks Egan to reconsider closing the parish.

Three days later, Cardinal Egan summoned the parish administrator for a meeting during which private security guards changed the locks on the church.