NEW HAVEN, Mo. -- Parishioners of a small Roman Catholic Church in central Missouri who had fought a bishop's order to make changes in their church altars today won their two-year legal battle.
Osage County Circuit Judge John Brackman said Bishop Michael McAuliffe 'is enjoined permanently in his capacity as trustee, from removing the main altar from its site in the sanctuary of Holy Family Parish Church.'
Holy Family Catholic Church in Freeburg is located in a small, strongly Catholic community about 25 miles south of Jefferson City. The current structure was built in 1920.
The ruling was a victory for parishioners who had sought to prevent the bishop from making alterations in the church.
Joseph Struemph, one of five parishioners who filed the lawsuit, said the church was built with money, labor and materials donated by parishioners. The lawsuit was heard in Osage County Circuit Court in Linn in December 1980.
His family, he said, gave the marble decorating the side altars the diocese removed.
'It was the pride and joy of our life; that's what we worked for,' Struemph said. 'I didn't feel that it was right to stand back and let it happen (the removal of the altars).'
At the trial, the bishop said he had the authority to make the controversial decision and brought the general counsel of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and a consultant to the Vatican, Fr. Adam J. Maida, to back up his contention.
In his 10-page opinion, Brackman said the court found the results of the lawsuit tragic.
'No matter what may finally transpire, a small rural community has suffered rents and tears that will scar for generations,' he said. 'The Roman Catholic Bishop of Jefferson City wishes to change the physical characteristics of that church. This tragic lawsuit is the result.'
Brackman ordered the defendants (the bishop and priest) to restore the two side altars with reredos, an ornamental screen or partition wall behind an altar, 'to their position in the sanctuary.'
When the bishop ordered changes in the structure, he said he was doing so in line with orders from the Second Vatican Council.
At the trial, the bishop said he had the authority to make the controversial decision and brought the general counsel of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and a consultant to the Vatican, Fr. Adam J. Maida, to back up his contention.
'If we cannot do this, we would go out of business,' McAuliffe said.
In his 10 page opinion, Brackman said the court found the results of the lawsuit tragic.
'No matter what may finally transpire, a small rural community has suffered rents and tears that will scar for generations,' he said.
'The Roman Catholic Bishop of Jefferson City wishes to change the physical characteristics of that church,' he added. 'This tragic lawsuit is the result.'
Brackman said he had been called by news media representatives from throughout the country and stopped on the street by laymen who wished to express their opinion.
'In the space of one block the judge has had father and son express opposite views; this suit has families torn like the civil war,' he said.
He said there would be no winner in the suit, even though a legal resolution would be reached.
'Oh a legal decision is reached and may or may not be appealed but no matter where it ends, there will be no winner,' Brackman wrote. 'In the course of this lawsuit this Protestant judge has learned enough about the Roman Catholic Church to realize that plaintiffs' respect for the bishop and their faith have both suffered.'
The church is located in a small, strongly Catholic community about 25 miles south of Jefferson City. The current structure was built in 1920.
When the bishop ordered changes in the structure, he said he was doing so in line with orders from the Second Vatican Council.
The main marble altar, donated to the church by the Struemph family, was flanked by two smaller marble side altars. The bishop ordered the side altars removed, but the court said they must be kept in good condition on the church grounds until the case is completed.
McAuliffe said the altar is the focal point of the Mass and the change in altars was made to enhance the worship and make the service more solemn.
'There is no doubt the physical arrangement has an impact on the people,' McAuliffe said. 'The change must be made.'
Ronald McMillin, attorney for the parishioners, said the church belonged to the members, not the diocese.
'The bishop is merely a trustee to act at the will of the parishioners,' McMillin said.
