THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, May 23, 1995 TAG: 9505230253
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TOM HOLDEN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: Long : 107 lines
In unusually harsh language, Bishop Walter F. Sullivan of the Catholic Diocese of Richmond has punished a breakaway Hispanic community by revoking its use of the term Catholic.
In a letter made public Monday, Sullivan denounced bulletins that the community has issued in an ongoing dispute with the diocese. Sullivan called the fliers, which criticize a pastoral aide, ``vicious and unchristian.''
The move by Sullivan leaves the Catholic Hispanic Community of Hampton Roads, a group representing a small number of Catholics within a larger Spanish-speaking Catholic network, in the precarious position of not having a bishop to support it.
The dispute has its origins in the long-sought appointment of a Spanish-speaking priest for the Hispanic Apostolate Cristo Rey, a Spanish-speaking community of Catholics that worships at St. Gregory Catholic Church and at the Church of the Holy Family, both in Virginia Beach.
The apostolate has about 260 families consisting of about 800 people and is still recognized by the Catholic Church.
The bishop's anger is directed at the smaller Catholic Hispanic Community of Hampton Roads, which has questioned church authority over community needs. The group's name is a misnomer because it represents only a fraction of the region's roughly 35,000 Hispanic Catholics.
``I have recently seen several bulletins and have been appalled at the vicious and unchristian nature of the attacks and innuendos which attempt to destroy the reputation of Sister Barbara (Gerwe), who has vowed her life to God,'' Sullivan's letter says.
Gerwe is the church's pastoral coordinator, a lay person who helps with the daily spiritual needs of the Hispanic community in Virginia Beach.
``Such attacks cause deep and undeserved hurt which is never acceptable in our church,'' Sullivan wrote. ``Furthermore, this activity divides the community and encourages people not to cooperate with the goals and activities of Cristo Rey. . . . I find it necessary to state that the Catholic Hispanic Community of Hampton Roads may no longer call itself Catholic.
``They have no standing whatsoever in our Church,'' Sullivan said.
Sullivan was not available for comment Monday because he was flying to Italy for a conference.
In January, some members of the Hispanic Apostolate Cristo Rey set up picket lines in front of the Church of the Holy Family to protest Sullivan's dismissal of the community's Spanish-speaking priest.
The priest, Fernando Guillen, had been recruited out of Miami by a community member. It was an unusual move because the presiding bishop normally recruits priests.
Shortly after his arrival, however, Guillen and Sullivan began to disagree on the nature of Guillen's assignment. Sullivan had wanted him to serve as a sacramental priest, meaning he would work with the various Spanish-speaking communities across Hampton Roads. Guillen wanted to work with the local community only.
Because of a nationwide shortage, there are not enough parish priests for every community. So the Catholic Church has turned to laypeople to serve as pastoral coordinators and help with day-to-day community needs. Guillen would have worked throughout Hampton Roads, while Sister Gerwe would be Cristo Rey's pastoral coordinator.
But the breakaway community never recognized her as the rightful coordinator, insisting on a priest of its own. It has fought with Sullivan on the issue ever since.
Guillen has since been recalled to Costa Rica by the bishop there, but reportedly remains in Hampton Roads.
In the months following the protest, the small community broke away from Cristo Rey and began issuing bulletins critical of Gerwe.
One bulletin accused her of being dishonest in not properly telling members of the community the date of a meeting that was intended to reconcile differences between the diocese and the community.
It was this attack, and some others, that triggered Sullivan's letter.
Jose Sosa, a spokesman for the group, had no immediate comment, saying that an official statement would come today after the group's regularly scheduled meeting Monday evening in Norfolk. The meeting was not open to the media.
Sosa did say, however, that he had doubts about what the bishop has learned from the bulletins the apostolate has issued because they were written in Spanish.
``I know the bishop does not speak Spanish, so I don't know what he's been told, unless someone has given him a slanted translation,'' Sosa said.
Steven M. Colecchi, special assistant to Bishop Sullivan, said that was not the issue.
``There may be quibbles about the translation, but I don't think they are substantive in any way,'' he said. ``The bulletins are not being translated in a false way. To make a major issue of the translations is to ignore the facts.''
Gerwe said the group has persisted in looking for ways to attack the church.
``For me, the basic issue is the group recognizes no authority over them, not the bishop, the local pastor, not myself as the pastoral representative. That's the issue. People are confusing what the church means and what it means to belong to the church.
``I think they're forgetting that they voluntarily joined the church. It is my understanding that if you're willing to do that, then you're willing to follow the laws of that church. This group is trying to assert its own authority, which is not the way we do things in the Catholic Church.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
Photo
WHO'S INVOLVED
Bishop Walter F. Sullivan, left, is angry at the Catholic
Hispanic Community of Hampton Roads. The group represents a fraction
of the region's roughly 35,000 Hispanic Catholics.
by CNB