Parishioners Sue Pastor, Bishop, Diocese

This important story comes from an unlikely locale--Pass Christian, Mississippi.

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Catholic congregation sues diocese in Pass Christian

5/12/2007, 4:19 p.m. ET The Associated Press

PASS CHRISTIAN, Miss. (AP) — Bishop Thomas J. Rodi says he is deeply saddened by a lawsuit filed by more than 150 members of Holy Family Parish, formerly St. Paul Parish in Pass Christian.

The suit, filed May 1, names Rodi, the Diocese of Biloxi and Holy Family pastor the Rev. Dennis Carver as defendants. The bishop's response was published Friday in the Gulf Pine Catholic, the diocese's newspaper, and was reprinted on http://www.sunherald.com.

The lawsuit asks the court to compel the diocese to rebuild the church on the beach and get an accounting of donations made to the church after Hurricane Katrina.

Rodi writes that the lawsuit "is not in keeping with our understanding of the fundamental nature of the Catholic Church. We are a church, not independent congregations. In faith, worship and practice, we are in union."

Some of the 156 plaintiffs have said the St. Paul Church property on Scenic Drive was originally deeded and trusted to that Catholic congregation and money raised to rebuild St. Paul church will not be used to do so.

Eric D. Wooten, the Gulfport attorney for the plaintiffs, said the lawsuit is not about trying to keep St. Paul Church open. He said the bishop has a responsibility to manage the property in the best interest of the parish.

"We just want to know what's become of the money collected for St. Paul Parish," Wooten said.

Wooten said those who filed the lawsuit want assurance from the court that the diocese is holding the St. Paul property and money in trust for the congregation, "so the property can't be sold to a developer," he said.

"Bishop Rodi is my bishop, and I have great respect for him," Wooten said. "I don't file suits unless I think I can win them, and I'm confident Mississippi law is behind our position. I think it supports our claims."

Rodi, who is a canon lawyer, said in his published statement that the lawsuit is an attempt to have the courts order the Catholic Church to have a church building in a specific place.

"If this lawsuit would be successful, it would mean, in effect, that the courts would tell the Catholic Church where God must be worshipped, where Mass and other sacraments must be celebrated and how the Catholic Church must use the financial resources of Holy Family Parish," he wrote. "This lawsuit attacks both the unity and the liberty of the Church."