Movie Night - Foreclosing on Faith

We're presenting and discussing the 2017 documentary “Foreclosing on Faith” on church closings in Boston, New York, and Cleveland. Fortunately for us we'll have the film’s director and producer, Viktoria Somogyi, join us to present an introduction to the film and to remain with us for an extended Q&A session after the 50 min film. This documentary is especially timely as we at St Pat’s, as well as St Mary’s and Our Lady of Mt Virgin, discern responses to the proposed closing/merger of our parishes.

The documentary’s story: Bishops justify the closings with claims of cash-strapped parishes, priest shortages and lack of vibrancy. Yet the faithful cry foul and claim it’s all about raising money for dioceses facing financial challenges. Many of these churches have strong ethnic identities, ancestral and cultural ties going back centuries. This intense battle over the closures is the focus of this documentary — a modern-day David and Goliath tale as Catholics strive to keep their precious communities. Every time a church is closed, a small piece of the community fades away. Churches provide a social safety net that is unraveling, while those with strong ethnic ties provide a strong sense of cultural identity. At a time when immigration and discrimination have never been more polarizing, this is one conversation people from every community need to start having.

“Foreclosing on Faith” documents this dramatic struggle taking place in Cleveland, Boston and New York, some of which is fallout from the Church’s sexual abuse crisis. Picking up where the Academy Award winning “Spotlight” left off, the film uncovers the truth behind the official reasons of church closings.

Join us on zoom,  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87671456490... .