Blessed Sacrament in Tonawanda announces counterproposal submission to Catholic Diocese

TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) — Local Catholic churches only have a few weeks left to submit their counterproposals after the Buffalo Diocese recommended the closure of nearly 90 worship sites.

The diocese reported that no church family has requested a meeting to discuss these recommendations yet, but some parishioners are questioning their inclusion on the list.

Throughout the region, parishioners have expressed various concerns regarding the Road to Renewal process.

Where will the ministries go? Faithful worried amid more recommended closures

Some churches, including Blessed Sacrament in Tonawanda, are puzzled about their recommended closure. They announced at a parish family meeting that they will be submitting a counterproposal.

“We feel bad that somebody has to close, but we feel that we have more to offer than the other parishes,” said Tom Puchalski and Maria Gust, who are on the Blessed Sacrament counterproposal team. Gust is also the parish council president.

On Monday, Parish Family 17 from the Northern Erie Vicariate met at St. John the Baptist in Kenmore to discuss the proposed merger of Blessed Sacrament in Tonawanda with St. Paul in Kenmore.

The president of the parish council at Blessed Sacrament said that keeping their church would benefit the long-term viability of the parish family.

“Parking is better, our location is more centrally located, and we would probably fit all three or four parishes inside our church, in our buildings,” Gust said.

At Monday’s meeting, the priest stated that each parish in a family can create a counterproposal. The proposal must then be shared with all other parishes and signed off by the pastors before being reviewed by the Renewal Committee. Essentially, up to six proposals can be presented to Bishop Michael Fisher and his advisors for consideration.

“We felt it necessary to offer a counterproposal,” Gust said. “We respectfully disagreed with what the diocese, like Tom said, so we had to do what we had to do.”

Other parishioners have expressed that Blessed Sacrament submitting a counterproposal compels their churches to consider doing the same, even though they are technically not on the chopping block.

“We don’t want to make it look like we’re not working together, but there may be something the Blessed Sacrament has that we don’t know about, or there may be something that Saint Timothy’s has that we think maybe the other parishes don’t know, so, we’ve got to put those things together,” Parish Council President of St. Timothy Judy Tomasini said.

Churches and parish families have until July 15 to submit a counterproposal that could convince the diocese to reconsider their decisions.

“Show me why — data, statistically, pastorally — why your parish needs to remain open without refuting what we’ve already put out there,” Vicar for Renewal Father Bryan Zielenieski said. “Give us the rest of the story that we might be missing. If we’re not missing part of the story, that’s where I am suggesting the data speaks for itself.”

St. Benedict parishioner pushes back against Buffalo Diocese closure recommendation

“We don’t know what the chances are. We don’t know what’s in the in the diocese’s — what their plan really is, so, we’re going to put our best foot forward and give it a good shot,” Puchalski concluded.

The number of recommended closures should remain consistent in any alternative plan.

Parishioners, speaking off camera, conveyed that this fact led to heated discussions among the churches, casting a shadow of secrecy and deception over the process.

This leaves many questioning the data or reasoning other churches possess that could jeopardize their own.

To view News 4’s full coverage of the Buffalo Diocese restructuring, click here.

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Dillon Morello is a reporter from Pittsburgh who has been part of the News 4 team since September of 2023. See more of his work here and follow him on Twitter.

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