The future of Cathedral High School remains in flux. While efforts by students, parents, and alumni to bring about a rebuilding of the school are underway, word from the relatively new Bishop of the Springfield Diocese is making those efforts uncertain.
The Committee for Cathedral Action has a Facebook page. It is undertaking numerous activities, including a “Keep the Momentum” event last Thursday that attracted more than 400 people. You can also contact the group by email — cathedralaction@gmail.com — for more information.
At the same time, the Springfield Republican reports that Bishop Mitchell Rozanski said the Diocese cannot sustain the level of financial support for Cathedral that it provided in the past.
The school building on Surrey Road was heavily damaged by the June 2011 tornado that struck Springfield and other parts of Western and Central Massachusetts. After federal funds and insurance money became available in early 2014, then-Bishop Timothy McDonnell announced at a March press conference that the school would be rebuilt on site. Demolition of damaged areas is underway, but Bishop Rozanski said the Diocese would rethink its decision following discussions with “stakeholders,” designated by the Diocese and not including the Committee for Cathedral Action, this coming weekend.
Diocesan officials told the Republican the Bishop would announce his decision by mid-February.
After a cursory reading of the FB page, I get the impression that the “Committee for Cathedral Action” wants the diocese to rebuild the school and then turn the operation over to that (secular) entity.
This is an interesting dilemma. The outgoing Bishop can see a way to continue support of the repair due to the catastrophic event and the new guard cannot. Either the monetary support was there or not. Perhaps the new administration, because that is what it really is, might have another agenda that does not include restoration of one of our religious, educational institutions. Cathedral High School has produced some of the greatest success stories.
Perhaps the alumni and the Dicese should investigate this.
Progress? I think not. We don’t trash our elderly and infirmed. That is exactly what our grand high school legend is.