Sacred steeples sold to sound a different call as bishop redefines evangelism
If you appreciate articles like this, sign up for our daily email newsletter and support us with a donation.
The diocese of Buffalo, New York, which is in the process of shutting down approximately half of its churches, has sold another historic sanctuary at a bargain-basement price.
The scandal-plagued diocese, which has been buried under an avalanche of clerical sex abuse lawsuits, has traded its historic Gothic St. Ann's Church and Shrine for $250,000 to Buffalo's Muslim community, for conversion into a mosque and an Islamic Center.
CATHOLIC BACKLASH
Catholics reacted with outrage after well-known Catholic priest, Fr. Ronald Vierling, drew attention to the sale on Monday. Vierling's post on the social media platform X has attracted over 10 million views at the time of writing.
"No anger should be directed against the Islamic community," wrote Vierling. "No doubt the changing demographics of the area and the inability to financially support the complex made the continuance of St. Ann as a viable parish impossible."
"This scenario is being played out in once large, urban dioceses across the country," the priest warned.
"Terrible. I know a dozen Catholics who would have pulled together to buy the building instead of letting it get sold off," Catholic award-winning radio show host David J. Reilly replied, adding: "Sometimes the diocese chooses to not sell to certain groups like the SSPX & FSSP."
"Muslims get a church for $250k but I can't buy a house in a decent neighborhood for less than $500k," a Catholic lamented.
Saint Ann's Church, built by German immigrants in 1886, had fallen into disrepair and was decommissioned in 2013. Bishop Richard J. Malone – who in 2019 resigned as head of the diocese over allegations of sex abuse cover-up – had slated the building for demolition, as the diocese had estimated repairs could cost at least $12 million. Malone, however, changed his mind and said that the new plan was to put the property up for sale.
The Downtown Islamic Center, which purchased the property from the diocese through its affiliate Buffalo Crescent Holdings, said it would spend the millions of dollars necessary to renovate the historic structure.
"We're looking to put several million dollars into this in the next year, in the church alone," Talha Bakth, president of the Downtown Islamic Center, told the Buffalo News. "The space will be able to be used for worship within a year or two."
Buffalo Crescent Holdings is also purchasing a former rectory at the complex that had been converted to apartments in a separate transaction, the media added.
QUEEN OF PEACE CHURCH CONVERTED TO JAMI MASJID
In 2007, the diocese sold the Queen of Peace Church for $300,000 to the Muslim Society of Buffalo, which converted the building into the Jami Masjid (mosque).
Since Islam prohibits the depiction of a human or living being in sacred iconography, Muslim volunteers painted all the Catholic murals sky blue, removed statues at the altar, and replaced the church's well-preserved stained-glass windows with plain, frosted glass.
"Churches are not poker chips a bishop can use to cash out when he's in a bind."
The main altar was removed entirely and replaced by a carpeted space for reading. The church's former apse, the area behind the main altar where the choir would sing, has been screened off as a prayer space for women.
Today, the Jami Masjid has Turkish carpets instead of pews and Arabic calligraphy adorns the Gothic brackets. The orientation of prayer has changed so the imam stands along the eastern wall of the building, so that when worshippers can face Mecca when they offer their prayers and bow.
ST. AGNES CHURCH CONVERTED TO BUDDHIST SHRINE
In 2009, the Buffalo diocese sold St. Agnes Church to the International Sangha Bhiksu Buddhist Association for conversion to a Buddhist temple and meditation center. The historic church, which was consecrated on December 9, 1883, had served German and Italian immigrants for over a century.
The church closed its doors on October 21, 2007, and remained empty for two years before Vietnamese monk Thich Minh Tuyen bought it in 2009 for $250,000. It reopened in 2012 as a Buddhist temple after the iconography, including the crucifix and images of the Stations of the Cross, was removed.
The Buddhist occupants also added three 2,000-pound sitting Buddhas shipped from Canada, and six standing Buddhas, that cluster around a shrine in the narthex. The monks also replaced six pews with carpets for worshippers, but left the remaining pews intact for those who cannot sit on the floor.
The new owners also hung Buddhist banners alongside the intact stained glass windows, intending to combine Buddhist iconography with the existing Catholic themes.
'CHURCHES ARE NOT POKER CHIPS'
Attorney Brody Hale, co-founder and president of the St. Stephen Protomartyr Project, which works to preserve Catholic churches for sacred use, lamented the sale and conversion of churches into non-Christian places of worship.
"A church as defined by canon law is a sacred edifice," he told FrontPage Magazine. "Churches as sacred buildings have fundamentally more protections under canon law than parishes."
"This is not what churches are supposed to be used for according to canon law. Churches are not poker chips a bishop can use to cash out when he's in a bind," Hale stated.
MILLIONS SPENT ON CLERICAL SEX ABUSE SCANDALS
Earlier in May, the Buffalo diocese announced plans to merge approximately 34% of the 160 parishes across Western New York and reduce places of worship by 38%.
Bishop Michael Fisher said the mergers were due to financial pressures brought about by the filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020, after scores of clerical sex abuse lawsuits were filed under the Child Victims Act; as well as a priest shortage, aging congregations, and declining Mass attendance.
"This scenario is being played out in once large, urban dioceses across the country."
The consolidation would bring the number of parishes from 160 to a projected 106, and the number of worship centers from 196 to a projected 121.
Last year, the Buffalo diocese offered $100 million, in addition to any insurance funds, to settle 891 clerical sex abuse cases. The diocese said it would sell its 795 Main Street headquarters, the former Christ the King Seminary campus, and other "non-essential" property to cover half the settlement.
More than $15 million has already been paid to attorneys for the diocese in its bankruptcy and the state Attorney General's investigation.
DIOCESE FAILS TO EVANGELIZE THE LOST
Interestingly, the diocesan website has a drop-down menu titled "How We Evangelize" on its opening page, but the word "evangelization" seems to be re-defined with no mention of any attempts to reach people of other faiths or no faith.
Instead, the subcategories under the menu lists buzz phrases such as "Cultural Diversity," "Catholic Education," and the controversial "Catholic Charities," with events like a diocesan "Multicultural Mass" and an annual "Cultural Diversity Celebration Dinner."
Editor's note: To learn how Catholicism prevented Islam from taking over Europe,
check out our book selection by clicking here.
Dr. Jules Gomes, (BA, BD, MTh, PhD), has a doctorate in biblical studies from the University of Cambridge. Currently a Vatican-accredited journalist based in Rome, he is the author of five books and several academic articles. Gomes lectured at Catholic and Protestant seminaries and universities and was canon theologian and artistic director at Liverpool Cathedral.
Let's see how many homeless they take in.
I think of the evil perpertrated under the roofs of churches and cathedrals AND they get away with it. OR are they getting what they reap??
Will all the 'Catholic' churches succumb to the evil taint; I say tear 'em all down and start afresh; or sell 'em and see the further evils brought under their roofs.
Go outside and see God's Sky and Earth; no manmade building can compare. AND His Might can be witnessed.