Magyar News, 2006. január-május (17. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
2006-01-01 / 1. szám
THE DEATH OF A PARISH Written by Cal Jones, member of the congregation and witness of the church closing These are the ladies who built with hard work the Holy Trinity Church on Scofield Avenue in Bridgeport, They all came over from Communist Hungary and established a new life in this church. Now, this church has been stolen from them. What began 111 years ago with a few Hungarian immigrants regularly gathering as a community for friendship and worship came to an abrupt end Sunday , October 30, 2005 with the announcement after Liturgy that Holy Trinity Hungarian Byzantine Catholic Church is closed as of that moment. Rev. George Malitz read in his usual monotone an edict from Bishop Andrew Pataki closing the doors on Holy Trinity immediately .There was no announcement that it was to be the Last Liturgy .There were no plans for a closing ceremony and Liturgy. There wasn't even a prepared statement for the press about the closing of the oldest Hungarian church on the East coast. The parishioners stood up angry with this callous attitude and behavior on the part of the I hierarchy and retrieved their donations before walking out forever. They were followed by Rev. Malitz, Rev. Hospador and two armed security guards. Almost everyone had parents, grandparents and even great grandparents who belonged to Holy Trinity and worked for its continued existence. What began in one person's home 111 years ago expanded to a church, rectory and social hall in the West End. The parish moved to Black Rock in 1955 and built everything new. Even though the parish has grown smaller because of death and relocation, the parishioners continued to sponsor many profitable events to meet expenses. The death blow was delivered when the hierarchy, from the local priest to the Bishop, refused to accept any of the parishioners suggestions for cutting expenses and even refused to communicate with them. Even though the hierarchy was insensitive to their needs and feelings, the parishioners gathered for a closing ceremony November 9, 2005 at St. Emery Church Led by the cantors, Chris Gombos and Lou Papp. Many friends of Holy Trinity joined them in their last gathering as a parish and at the social following the ceremony . At this point the parishioners are scattered and searching for places to worship. However, the community that was forged at Holy Trinity will continue because we are family and family is forever. □ At St. Emery's Roman Catholic Church. Top: Cantors Chris Gombos and Lou Papp leading the ceremony of the church closing. Bottom: In the hall is the reception. Standing is Pastor of St. Emery's Louis Pintye. Cliff Jones wrote: I think a full investigation should take place in regards to the squandering of funds by this swindler. The only question is - who can the church go to at this point? Is there anyone out there who will bring justice to this situation? For this priest to come in and destroy what my great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, mother and father help build with their hard work and sweat is nothing short of an atrocity. For this priest to show up in church with 2 armed security guards on the Sunday he read the letter stating the church was shutting down shows what a true coward he is. These actions dictate that he knew that what he was doing was wrong. And still, when it came to choosing between right and wrong, he chose the wrong thing to do. When I was a boy in Holy Trinity, we had priests we could look up to. "Georgie boy" is just that - a little boy masquerading as a "man" of the cloth. We'll see how God judges him when HE enters the Kingdom of Heaven he would talk about every Sunday. He should start praying that doesn't get the same treatment he showed the parishioners of Holy Trinity on October Page 3
