CV NEWS FEED // The Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, NY has issued a statement in response to parishioners’ Vatican request to remove Bishop Michael Fisher from his post.
In response to alleged harmful actions and decisions made by the Bishop since his appointment in 2021, five parishioners wrote a letter to Pope Francis, formally requesting a Vatican inquiry into the Bishop, and calling for his removal from the diocese.
The five signatories, who hold some prominent positions in the volunteer network of the diocese, accuse the Bishop of closing churches and consolidating parishes against the will and well-being of the faithful.
“The Bishop has done his best to be a spiritual guide in the diocese and has officiated at Mass at nearly all of the diocese’s 160 parishes since his installation in January of 2021,” the diocese wrote in a statement:
(The Bishop) has a regular presence at grammar schools and high schools especially during opening week, and Catholic Schools Week in addition to hosting school events at Saint Joseph Cathedral.
Also, longstanding programs with Catholic Charities address those on the margins which the Diocese of Buffalo wholeheartedly supports and champions. The Family of Parishes model has increased the participation of Spanish-speaking Catholics in Orleans County.
The diocese also mentioned its Road to Renewal campaign, which Bishop Fisher directs himself.
The group responsible for sending the letter claims the bishop has caused “adverse long-term and irreparable harm to the Catholic laity who reside in (the diocese).”
According to local reports from WBEN, one of the parishioners, Michael Taheri said the general dissatisfaction with Bishop Fisher had been talked about in the community for “some time,” particularly, his alleged lack of spiritual stewardship and leadership.
The letter complains that the number of Masses celebrated in the diocese has gone down, the number of church and school closures have gone up, and that the Bishop appears absent in the midst of it all.
Teheri told WBEN reporters:
After Easter, when we had fewer Masses than ever before, we had had enough, and on April 8, we penned a letter to the Pope asking for him to do an inquiry into Bishop Fisher’s lack of spiritual leadership, Bishop Fisher’s wasting of parishioner assets on all these legal fees.
The diocese has spent nearly $15 million in legal fees for over 900 clergy sex abuse cases. None of these cases have been settled.
The diocese wrote in its statement that “Although several ministries of the diocese had to be eliminated from the diocesan budget and transferred to parishes, or related entities, because of the Chapter 11 filing,” Fisher has appointed a Director of Cultural Diversity, “who represents minority Catholics through African-American, African and Latino commissions.”
The post Buffalo Diocese issues statement in response to group requesting the Vatican to have bishop removed appeared first on CatholicVote org.