By Mark Squibb/September 9, 2022
The long-time pastor to several Roman Catholic communities on the Southern Avalon is sympathetic to the feelings of shock and outrage among his parishioners over the sale of their churches.
Many residents in the region were appalled earlier this month to hear that Our Lady of Fatima Church in St. Shotts, Holy Rosary Church in Portugal Cove South, and the Holy Redeemer Church and Hall in Trepassey, along with a rectory and parish office in Trepassey, had been put on the market.
“Everybody was completely shocked and surprised,” said Reverend Peter Golden, 86. “We had no idea. It was a large blow to us all, a major blow… people are upset and angry.”
Golden said that in many rural communities, it was the residents of generations past who first built the churches, and the residents of today who maintain and keep them.
“There wasn’t a penny paid for them by the Archdiocese,” said Golden. “Everything that was paid was paid by the people.”
Both Our Lady of Fatima and Holy Redeemer Church and Hall are going for $100,000 a piece, while the Holy Rosary Church is going for $75,000. The rectory and parish office are going for $50,000. All told, the sale of the buildings as listed will garner $325,000 for the Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of St. John's, the legal arm of the Archdiocese of St. John's, in their attempt to settle sexual abuse claims.
The St. Shott’s church, meanwhile, is still a fairly new building, built and consecrated within the last decade. The church in Portugal Cove South, while a lot older, received extensive upgrades and renovations after a long running fundraising effort by residents of the community two years ago.
Golden said the question of how to compensate victims, if not through church sales, is a difficult question to answer, although he did suggest that victims could have been paid over a period of time so that the Archdiocese might have had more time to come up with a solution.
The question of what parishioners can do to save their church buildings is even harder to answer.
“I have no idea,” said Golden when asked about the plan moving forward, though he has asked folks to carefully consider the ramifications of the sales to the community and what next steps could be taken.
Buying the buildings seem out of the question, as most congregations, largely composed of ageing parishioners, can only just afford to keep the lights on.
“The congregations in our three communities are mostly all older people,” said Golden. “Most are pensioners and can only pay so much for the upkeep… All parishes and communities are very soon having to come to terms, and churches will be closing.”
Golden, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1962 and served in the Holy Redeemer Parish for over three decades, can remember the pre-moratorium days when the Trepassey region boasted some 500 students.
This year, he said, roughly 25 K-12 students are attending Stella Maris Academy in Trepassey.
“We’ve been through turmoil before,” said Golden, reflecting on the massive out-migration following the moratorium. “The plant closed, and that was a major, major crisis, and for two years people were in complete turmoil. But people have great ways to learn to survive, and our survival story is amazing here.”
