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It’s hard to listen to the Diocese appear shocked at the filing of the Historic Landmark Designation Application. Individuals like me had been reaching out to them for weeks pleading with them for time and an opportunity to work through options and avoid a public fight.

And while we reached out to them behind the scenes in good faith, it now seems that they were dragging us along never intending to explore any other options. Instead, they acted in bad faith and began their illegal demolition operation. It sickens me that artifacts from this treasured building were being harvested for weeks and are now being sold as “salvage” through a resale shop operated by the demolition contractor.

The Bishop and the Diocese need to own the fact that they intentionally ignored civil authority and broke the law. They forced our hand by refusing to recognize or respect the voice of their Church members or the voice of the broader community and civil authority.

Sadly, this seems to be a recurring them of our Catholic Church across the nation. Concerned Catholics and community members must fight for change.