Saturday, October 6, 2012

Perversion (love?) Among the Ruins – Ascension RC Church – Harrowgate Philadelphia

Ascension RC Church - Harrowgate Philadelphia - Out of Business



One of the strangest footings along a pathway of historical research, looking for a historical geographical reference, yesterday, landed me back where I had written a piece about a dying decaying parish adjacent to the parish I grew up in, in Harrowgate Philly, of that of Ascension Church and Parish.

Trying to disseminate the closing story which apparently came very quickly and in a press release, so typical of Charles Chaput, like a thief in the night mentioned somewhere in the Gospels was an overlay story of BTW, the pastor of Ascension already on one admin leave and cleared by one of Charles Chaput’s Blue Ribbon Citizen’s Committees of Justice had to be put back on admin leave because the Blue Ribbon Commission missed something when they gave him a clean bill of health to be around children etc.

Citizen Robespierre Chaput offers no explanations, just a press release. "Off with Ascension's head!"

And since I was trying to disseminate two stories I missed the timeline which was that Pastor Michael Chapman had been re-relieved from his duties(?) among the ruins of a once great city upon a hill church and Parish in old white working class Philly and ten days later the Archdiocese padlocked the place with less than a week’s notice for the sole office worker to pack her box and a few other miserable boxes of church records and become unemployed after 25 years of service etc. 

Want a mass? God is that way. Go 1.7 miles that way or another mile or so that way.

I should say that the racism in Philly has always been there. The neighborhood where I grew up was quite white, catholic and lower working class Irish.  That the new mix of 50% Hispanic and Black probably changes nothing in terms of the human condition there.  Those conditions always were poor to none for the inhabitants.

That I could blame the Hunky Cardinal Krol for ignoring race relations in favor of his politics to become the first Polish pope.  I could also blame the traditionally bigoted Italians, the Guinea Cardinals “Small Tony” Belivacqua or Justin “Big Frank” Rigali as his Swiss Vatican Guard male friends used to refer to him when he was their chaplain, but I won’t blame anybody.  It is what it is. 

It is the modern disease of the American middle class that once you manage to blow, with sex or drugs or frat house connections, a foot over the threshold of the front office, get your toe into that front office cocoon, the back office, the little people, the rest of humanity can just go to hell as you party and count your crony Bonuses etc.  Just the same way Jesus played the establishment game in his day. Right?

Whatever.

Anyway, I do not think that many people read my piece about Ascension in which I actually quoted Pastor Mike – geezus mary and joseph.


The Rev. Michael Chapman, 56, was originally placed on administrative leave following allegations of sexual abuse of minors last spring . Chapman, who is pastor of Ascension of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia, was placed on leave in March 2011 for an alleged violation of archdiocese standards of ministerial behavior and boundaries.

After an investigation, Archbishop Charles Chaput found Chapman suitable for ministry in May 2012. But before Chapman's return, the Archdiocese received new allegations of sexual abuse of minors against Father Chapman in May. The alleged abuse reportedly occurred approximately 30 years ago. The Archdiocese immediately reported the new allegations to law enforcement and delayed Father Chapman's return to the parish.


(Sept 26) Archbishop Charles Chaput has approved plans to close the Ascension of Our Lord Parish in Philadelphia's Harrowgate section, the Archdiocese announced today.
Parishioners can now go to either Holy Innocents Church, about 1.7 miles away, Visitation, B.V.M. Parish, less than a mile away, the Archdiocese said in a statement.
It said the church will not be maintained as a worship site since the 98-year-old building requires at least $3 million in physical improvements.
The closure, effective Oct. 1, is the latest in a series by the Archdiocese as it deals with declining enrollments and rising maintenance costs for aging church buildings.

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