Whereas Sacred Heart Mission was founded in Scriba in 1972 as a quasi-territorial parish or “mission” under the pastoral care of the pastor of the parish of Saint Paul in Oswego, New York and the present church was dedicated in 1976;
Whereas Sacred Heart Mission was then placed under the pastoral care of the pastor of the parish of Saint Peter in Oswego, New York in 1989;
Whereas Sacred Heart Mission was eventually merged (extinctive union – amalgamation) into the newly formed Christ the Good Shepherd Parish in Oswego, New York in 2021 because of a significant decline in the number of registered parishioners and those attending Mass, an annual operational deficit, close proximity to the parish of Christ the Good Shepherd (i.e., 5.5 miles), the absence of a surge in population anticipated around the time of its founding, and a shortage of clergy in the Diocese of Syracuse;
Whereas the faithful continued to have the right of entry to the church of Sacred Heart Mission for public worship since 2021 but the building remains underutilized;
Whereas the pastoral care of the people of the parish is being provided by the clergy, church buildings, and other facilities of the parish of Christ the Good Shepherd;
Whereas the Reverend John Canorro, pastor of Christ the Good Shepherd, presented the status of Sacred Heart Mission (demographics, finances, maintenance, etc.) to the parish trustees and finance council as well as at a town hall meeting with parishioners, which resulted in no opposition, but rather a consensus to petition me to relegate the church of Sacred Heart to profane but not sordid use for the purpose of alienating the property in order to ensure the existence and vitality of the parish;
Whereas Reverend John Canorro petitioned me to relegate the church of Sacred Heart to profane but not sordid use because: (1) the condition of the building has deteriorated, (2) the maintenance of the building has become a significant financial burden to the parish, (3) the needs of the parish for worship are being adequately met at Christ the Good Shepherd, which has functioned as the principal church of the parish since 2021, (4) the underused building poses potential future risk management concerns;
Whereas where grave causes suggest that a church no longer be used for divine worship, the diocesan bishop, after having heard the presbyteral council, can relegate it to profane but not sordid use, with the consent of those who legitimately claim rights for themselves in the church and provided that the good of souls suffers no detriment hereby (canon 1222 §2);
Whereas the grave cause of relegation to profane but not sordid use may exist not in one obvious grave cause but may arise from a combination of many just causes which combined together manifest a grave cause (see Congregation for Clergy, Procedural Guidelines for the Modification of Parishes, the Closure or Relegation of Churches to Profane but not Sordid Use, and the Alienation of the Same, April 30, 2013, Prot. No. 20131348);
Whereas, having examined the facts of the present case, it has been well established that grave reasons required by canon 1222 §2 are present, even if some of the reasons invoked may not by themselves constitute a grave cause, they do so when taken together;
Whereas after a careful examination, it was established that nobody could legitimately claim rights for themselves in the church, understood primarily as patrimonial rights or rights associated with patrimonial rights (see Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, Final Decree of the College of Judges, 21 November 1988, Communicationes 20 [1988] 93);
Whereas, I convoked the Presbyteral Council on 3 June 2024 and presided over it according to the norm of law (cans. 127 §1, 166 §1, and 500 §1), placing the relegation of the church of Sacred Heart on the agenda ahead of time, ensuring that a summary of its status was provided to the members of the Council (can. 50), proposing the relegation, seeking the informed and free counsel of the members concerning the proposed modification (can. 515 §2), listening to arguments both for and against the proposed relegation, and receiving unanimous support for the proposed relegation;
Therefore, I the undersigned Bishop of Syracuse, after prayerful consideration, having weighed all the reasons and causes, have decided as follows:
DECREE
1. The church of Sacred Heart of the Parish of Christ the Good Shepherd is hereby reduced to profane but not sordid use according to the prescripts of canon 1222 §2) for the grave causes mentioned above.
2. Negotiations that may lead to the sale of the property can begin, following the proper procedures for alienation.
3. Prior to alienation, all sacred objects, relics, sacred furnishings, stained-glass windows, bells, confessionals, altars, etc. are to be removed for use in other sacred edifices or to be stored in ecclesiastical custody. In case the altars cannot be removed, they must be destroyed (see canons 1212 and 1238).
I further order this decree to be made public to all the faithful through its publication on this day. This publication on both the diocesan website (www.syrdio.org) and the parish website (christthegoodshepherd.org/) as well as in the local diocesan newspaper (The Catholic Sun) will be the legitimate notification. A notarized copy of the decree will be sent to the pastor.
This decree may be challenged by anyone who feels aggrieved by it within the peremptory time limit of ten days from the legitimate notification of the decree, that is, on 20, June 2024, by seeking its revocation or emendation directly from me (can. 1734 §2).
Given at the Chancery of the Diocese of Syracuse on this twentieth day in June in the year of our Lord, two thousand and twenty-four.