Fatima’s parishioners must still wait

Parishioners of Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church have waited patiently to worship in an actual church building.

Long-time members like Joan Leeds have been waiting for nearly 50 years.

But with the Diocese of Spokane poised to file for bankruptcy on Dec. 6, Leeds and the nearly 800 families who belong to the church must now wait even longer.

The new building was supposed to be completed in two weeks. But the church, which needed a $500,000 loan for the finishing touches, lost its funding this month when the diocese announced it had no choice but to file for Chapter 11 due to mounting claims of clergy sexual abuse.

Some were in tears when they heard the news, said Leeds, the director of religious formation for this South Hill parish. “We were disappointed and angry and upset,” she said. “But there’s been no despair, no fear that we won’t get it done. We just have to keep waiting.”

The sadness and frustration experienced by parishioners at Fatima are among the early emotional fallout of the diocese’s decision to file for bankruptcy.

Chapter 11 reorganization will not close down parishes or schools, Bishop William Skylstad assured Catholics earlier this month. But it has affected people’s lives – not just the victims who allegedly have been abused by clergy, but also parishioners, church personnel and others who strive to continue the Catholic Church’s ministry in Eastern Washington.

Leeds was a sixth-grader when Our Lady of Fatima was founded in 1956. At that time, the parish had no worship space so its members gathered for Mass each Sunday inside the gym of nearby Hutton Elementary School. After the school was built, the east end of the building became the sanctuary while the west end held the classrooms for grades one through four, recalled Leeds.

In the late 1950s, Fatima and other Spokane parishes built school gyms, which they used as sanctuaries until they finally had the money to build an actual church.

“We’ve been looking forward to having our own worship space,” said Leeds.

The church had raised most of the money needed for construction, which began earlier this year. The building looks done from the outside, but the landscaping, floors and finish work remains to be completed.

The new church was scheduled to be dedicated Dec. 10, with a procession from the old sanctuary (now called “St. Gym”), music sung by the choir and the bishop celebrating Mass.

Now, everything has been put on hold.

A week after announcing its plan to declare bankruptcy, the diocese informed the people of Fatima that it could not provide it with a loan “due to the financial pressures on the Diocese of Spokane,” the Rev. Steve Dublinski, vicar general for the Diocese of Spokane said earlier this month. He indicated that the situation could change after the diocese files for Chapter 11, which it is scheduled to do on Dec. 6.

On Wednesday, Dublinski said he didn’t have any additional comments about the lack of funding to finish the Fatima project.

Parishes raise their own money and oversee their own budgets. Except for the money raised during the Annual Catholic Appeal and other special collections throughout the year, money placed in the offering plate on Sundays stays in a particular church.

Loans for capital projects, however, come from the diocesan Deposit and Loan account. Church officials say the fund can’t be accessed at this time, although parishes have been assured that their money in that account will be available again after the bankruptcy filing.

According to the diocese’s deposit and loan policy, parishes and institutions of the diocese must deposit excess funds, including savings and large gifts, with the diocese. This money allows the diocese to provide loans for improvement and construction projects, according to the policy. Parishes cannot borrow from this account unless they deposit their savings with the diocese.

Money from this fund, however, has also been used to pay the diocese’s litigation costs in the past. According to the Diocese of Spokane’s 2002-2003 finance report, published earlier this year, the cost of defending the diocese in lawsuits has been covered by investments and “internally borrowed money, mainly from the diocesan Deposit and Loan Fund.”

Since the diocese’s loan has fallen through temporarily, Fatima’s pastoral and finance councils have tried to find alternate funding to finish their church. Other parishes and even the schools must now use other sources of cash until they can access their money in the diocese’s deposit and loan accounts.

Leeds said she can’t talk about the money details, but like others at the parish, she has simply accepted the consequences of the bankruptcy filing. “We’re one church,” she said. “We share blame and we share glory. We are all dealing with the problems.”

Despite the disappointment that parishioners have faced, she and others have no doubt that they will someday worship in their new sanctuary. “Our spirits are great,” she said. “We’re just anxious to see this through.”