In Church Restructuring, Some Suspect Hand of Developers

At Mary Help of Christians Church in the East Village yesterday, some parishioners said they are convinced that their church — slated to close in the spring as part of a reorganization of the Archdiocese of New York — will soon be scooped up by real estate developers, though church officials said they have no plans to sell it.

The archdiocese announced Friday that 10 of its parishes will close and another 11 will merge with nearby parishes, as part of its response to a shifting Catholic population out of the city.

Yesterday about 150 parishioners, many of them children and teenagers, packed the pews at Mary Help of Christians for a music-filled Spanish-language Mass. In February, about a month before the archdiocese announced that the parish could close, two adjacent low-rise buildings were sold to a real estate developer. "We don't feel that it's a coincidence," a parish youth adviser, Josephine Gaglio, 44, said. "Our suspicion is that this is about property."

On Friday, Bishop Dennis Sullivan, who has led the archdiocese's realignment effort since 2005, dismissed the idea that the church is looking to cash in on its real estate, saying the shuttered churches will house chapels, offices, or meeting halls for Catholic organizations.

During his sermon yesterday, the Reverend James Heuser urged parishioners at Mary Help of Christians to put aside their resentment and accept the archdiocese's decision "with dignity and grace."

A parishioner, Marlene Palacios, 54, said she still hoped to change Edward Cardinal Egan's mind. "We're not going to lose dignity by letting him know that we don't agree or by expressing our feelings," she said.

Ms. Palacios, who has been a member of the church for 15 years, said she thought the archdiocese wants to sell the property, which is likely worth tens of millions of dollars. "This is a gold mine," she said.

On Staten Island there was less vocal opposition to the reorganization at Saint John the Baptist de LaSalle, which the archdiocese also plans to close. About 15 people, many of them elderly, attended Mass yesterday morning.

The Reverend Peter Byrne said the parish's vital signs have been weak for many years. "We do a baptism about every other year," he said. "Our last wedding was a year and a half ago. We do more funerals than anything else."

The archdiocese also plans to shut Our Lady Queen of Angels in Harlem, Saint Mary's Church in the Bronx, and six churches in Westchester, Orange, and Dutchess counties. It will establish a parish on the south shore of Staten Island in addition to four others upstate. The archdiocese is reviewing the status of other parishes, including Our Lady of Esperanza on West 156th Street.

At churches throughout the archdiocese — comprising Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, in addition to six suburban and upstate counties — parishioners yesterday received a form letter from Cardinal Egan explaining that the reorganization plans were made after extensive consultation with clergy and lay representatives. "While some parishioners may be concerned or even upset by the realignment decisions, they have my assurance that all will be faithfully served in the parishes where they will be members, and warmly welcomed members at that," the cardinal said in the letter, published in English and Spanish.

Celebrating Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral yesterday, Cardinal Egan made no mention of the reorganization of the archdiocese. Instead, with the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade decision approaching, he spoke out against abortion, holding up pictures of fetuses during his homily.