Translation of decree of the Apostolic Signatura from the Latin original
Protocol No. 52630/16 CA
CHICAGO
Suppression of the parish of St. Adalbert
(Ms. Blanca Torres and others – Congregation for the Clergy)
By a decree dated May 23, 2016, His Excellency [not yet promoted to cardinal] the Archbishop of Chicago suppressed the parish of St. Adalbert through an extinctive union with the parish of St. Paul and by a decree dated May 24, 2016 reduced the church of St. Adalbert to profane but not sordid use.
Having presented against these decisions, Ms. B. Torres and others presented in vain a remonstratio [a request for the ordinary to reconsider], and brought an appeal to the Congregation for the Clergy on July 1, 2016. With two appeals pending against, by a decree of October 31, 2016, His Excellency the Archbishop revoked the decree of May 24, 2016 [closing the church of St. Adalbert], at the same time establishing the church of St. Adalbert and putting up for sale to the cultural institute [sic] Chicago Academy of Music, having nonetheless in mind that the church would be used for occasional divine worship.
With the foregoing, the Congregation for the Clergy by a decree of November 22, 2016, ruled that the appeal against the reduction to profane use had lapsed because of the revocation of the decree [of the ordinary of May 24, 2016] thus the appeal against the reduction to profane use was rejected [since the issue was by then moot] and the appeal against the suppression of the parish of St. Adalbert was rejected.
Ms. Torres and others appealed to the Signatura on February 4, 2017, against the Congregation decree [namely the part that upheld the merger of the parishes], particularly regarding the suppression of the parish, but in fact expressing some doubt also regarding the sale of the church to the Chicago Academy of Music. Having requested the case documents from the Congregation, having received these and having given them a careful review, having consulted with the Rev. Deputy Promoter of Justice [the Signatura monsignor handling the appeal], on May 15, 2017 the H.S.T. [the Signatura through its lowest appeal level, the Secretary of the court] rejected the [Torres] appeal [against the merger of the parishes] because of the obvious flaw of the lack of a basis. But the distinguished advocate for the appellants [Advocate AlessiaGullo, on behalf to Torres et al.] brought forward on May 26, 2017, an appeal to the Congressio of the H.S.T. [a committee of Signatura officials, but not the bench itself; the second screening level of the H.S.T.]
Having duly deliberated the matter among the distinguished advocates for the contending parties [Torres et al; the archdiocese of Chicago; the Congregation for the Clergy] as well as the Rev. Deputy Promoter of Justice,
THE SUPREME TRIBUNAL OF THE APOSTOLIC SIGNATURA
Having before its eyes paragraph 7 [*** Torres appeal, language in footnote below] of the appeal of February 4, 2017, where the appellants expressed doubts whether the church of St. Adalbert as a sacred building utilized for divine worship (cf. canon 1222 paragraph 2) should remain in the hands of the Chicago Academy of Music;
Giving attention to the letter of July 30, 2017, by which appellants argued before the H.S.T. that the aforesaid cultural institution would not be of a sufficiently cautiouscharacter for the use of the church of St. Adalbert as “a sacred place open to public and private worship.”
Having out the matter through a thorough exam before the undersigned Cardinal Prefect held on December 19, 2017,
decreed:
That the appeal for debate before the Eminent and Excellent Fathers Judges [cardinals and bishops] is to be admitted and is fact is admitted [to the Collegium, i.e. the bench of judges of the Signatura.]
And those with an interest in this matter are to be notified
Given in Rome, from the seat of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, on December 19, 2017.
[signed]
Dominic Cardinal MAMBERTI, Prefect
Joseph SCIACCA, Secretary
***Paragraph 7 of the Torres appeal of Feb. 4, 2017:
“It should be noted that the prospective buyer with whom the Archdiocese of Chicago is in advanced negotiations, the Chicago Academy of Music, is a private non-profit entity with no Catholic affiliation or mission whatever. Since His Eminence the Archbishop of Chicago’s decree of October 31, 2016, rescinds his previous reduction to profane use of the church of St. Adalbert, there is now the distinct possibility that the management of access and liturgy ion what is yet again a bona fide Catholic church would soon be entrusted to a secular owner with no Catholic sensibility, and possibly no ability or willingness to preclude the use of the church for music and performances inconsistent with what is appropriate for a prominent Catholic worship site in Pilsen.”