Chicago Catholic News: Turmoil at Tommy More -- Archdiocese plans to transfer pastor, which isn't sitting well with many parishioners

Turmoil at Tommy More -- Archdiocese plans to transfer pastor, which isn't sitting well with many parishioners

(POSTED: 2/1/10) Members of Chicago's St. Thomas More Church -- considered an "oasis" of conservative Catholicism on the South Side -- are up in arms over the Archdiocese of Chicago's plans to transfer their pastor, who is wrapping up his first term and wants to stick around for another.

A recent meeting at the church -- hosted by Auxiliary Bishop Gustavo Garcia-Siller to solicit input on the qualities parishioners would like to see in their next pastor -- turned into an emotional and sometimes noisy lobbying session to keep the Rev. Charles Fanelli, according to several people who were there.

Fanelli was not at the meeting, which drew an estimated 250 people. But he told ChicagoCatholicNews.com later that he has personally appealed to Cardinal Francis George to renew his term.

"As a priest I always have a job, but I hate to leave a parish that will have gone through two major changes in six years," Fanelli, 64, said.

The cardinal appointed Fanelli in 2004 after transferring out the previous pastor, the Rev. Anthony Brankin. Parishioners unsuccessfully fought Brankin's departure, and it turned out to be a rocky transition for Fanelli, in part because the school ended up closing on his watch. Besides, Brankin had been at St. Thomas More for 21 years and earned a fiercely loyal following. But many eventually embraced Fanelli.

Why he's being bounced now is not totally clear.

Priests typically are assigned to parishes for six years, and usually get a second six-year term if they want and the parish is agreeable. In fact, it's not unheard of for priests to stay beyond 12 years. Activist-priest Michael Pfleger, for instance, has served at nearby St. Sabina Church for nearly three decades -- a point raised several times by parishioners at the meeting with the bishop.

Fanelli (pictured above) said he's been given evolving reasons for his "non-renewal."

All Church officials would say is there's no scandal or wrong-doing -- just some "administrative" issues that Fanelli is well aware of. At the January meeting, one of the priests with Garcia-Siller told the crowd "this is not a punitive measure in any way, shape or form, they were simply not approving his request for a second term," recalled parishioner Terry Hodges.

Among other things, Fanelli's supporters like that he's carried on the tradition of Brankin, who re-introduced Latin mass to St. Thomas More years back. (Brankin said he did so at the request of the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.)

Parishioner John Chesna said "99 percent of the people there" at the recent meeting were in favor of Fanelli staying. "I personally asked everyone to do one hour of adoration for Father Fanelli, . . . that he could stay."

But the parish is not wealthy, and some members were upset with his spending habits, and some of the changes he implemented. Fanelli's decision to refurbish candles, move the altar and add lights to the confessionals were among the things that bothered folks, said Anthony Philbin, a long-time parishioner.

"He's a very holy man, . . . but he has no sense of money whatsoever," Philbin said.

Fanelli alluded to some of his critics in the parish bulletin, writing: "Please keep praying for me and for the parish that we love so much. Once again I apologize to anyone whom I may have hurt or disappointed in any way. Please forgive me and let us work together for the future of this beautiful parish."

Unless the cardinal grants a reprieve -- neither he nor his press office could be reached, so it's unclear whether that will happen -- St. Thomas More will likely be among roughly 30 parishes that sees turnover in pastors this year, officials said.

Whatever the outcome, the church at 2825 W. 81st St. has challenges ahead.

The once white, largely Catholic neighborhood surrounding the church has turned largely black and non-Catholic. Many members of the parish still come from other parts of the region -- from Palos Park and Oak Lawn to beyond -- for mass, and there's a dedicated following for the Latin service. But the number of parishioners is shrinking. Roughly 520 people attend mass there on the average Sunday.

Fanelli said one of his goals was to make more inroads in the immediate community.

By Robert Herguth, for ChicagoCatholicNews.com
Contact: info@chicagocatholicnews.com

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